Zendaya vs Giuliana Rancic and winning the dreadlock battle

Zendaya is drop-dread gorgeous.

But when the 18-year-old actress wore dreadlocks to the Oscars on Sunday night, E! host Giuliana Rancic mocked her on Fashion Police with a comment so offensive that it immediately became a perfect metaphor for the 2015 lily-white Oscars.

I feel like she smells like patchouli oil or maybe weed, Rancic said on Monday.

And there it was: A white woman telling a black woman how to wear her hair.

Zendaya quickly responded on social media and immediately took back the story with her thoughtful response.

There is already harsh criticism of African-American hair in society without the help of ignorant people who choose to judge others based on the curl of their hair, Zendaya wrote on Monday.

She added that she consciously chose the dreadlock style on Oscar night to showcase them in a positive light (and) remind people of color that our hair is good enough.

Yet in one quip, Rancic reduced black women to a stereotype.

"I'm just appalled it's just as bad as saying black people like fried chicken and watermelon, said Bronx resident Mary Singleton, 36, who was getting her dreads touched up Tuesday at Khamit Kinks, a salon in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn.

But beyond the racism, Rancic was also undermining black self-esteem and strength.

Dreadlocks are a way of life for us, says Sandra Peters, 51, who was born in Guyana and now owns Natty Dreadz in the Bronx. For women, they symbolize empowerment. For me, dreadlocks are about tapping into your roots.

Maitefa Angaza, the co-producer of the hair documentary In Our Heads About Our Hair, added that Rancics classless statement suggests that black womens beauty is not accepted.

Another irony? Rancics comment came one night after Selma, directed by dreadlock-wearing Ava DuVernay, was snubbed for best picture. And none of its acclaimed cast was even nominated.

Zendaya mentioned DuVernay, plus other dreadlock wearers such as the singer Ledisi and Harvard professor Vincent Brown, in her comment.

Brown was surprised to become a social media star, but he wasnt surprised by the conversation.

Rude comments about black peoples hair are something that goes way back in our society, Brown, who has been wearing dreads since 1991, tells the Daily News. Dreadlocks were an indication of culture and history (and) signify the consciousness that their struggle will continue.

Zendaya stood up for all of us who wear our hair in ways that may not be immediately acceptable to others, he adds.

The lack of acceptance is no doubt a lingering relic of white fear of black empowerment. But its also simple ignorance about how dreads are created. They are not, as Rancic wrongly assumed, simply a result of unwashed hair.

I wash my hair regularly, says filmmaker Angaza. I go to the salon and it gets beautifully done by experts.

Dread dread is particularly bizarre these days, given that the First Lady of New York, Chirlane McCray, proudly wears locks. Her daughter, Chiara, gets her hair touched up every so often at Khamit Kinks.

Its offensive and racist, says Anu Prestonia, the 57-year-old owner of the salon, which also serves First Daughter Chiara de Blasio. As beautifully and elegantly as (Zendaya) was dressed, how could you open your mouth and say something about her unless youre a total ignoramus.

Zendaya is anything but that. In fact, she represents a new breed of teenage celebrity. She embraces her biracial background her father is black, her mother white and fearlessly experiments with different beauty standards. The Disney star has worn her hair in a Diana Ross-like Afro, in a straight pixie cut, and in wild, unruly curls.

Zendaya is the grown-up here, says teenage behavior expert Josh Shipp, who has a daughter of his own. Heres a great role model for young girls. Her response was stunning to me she was calm, she was kind and she stood up for herself.

Like Zendaya, DuVernay came up with a creative way to respond to Rancic: Kill the controversy with kindness.

Youre beautiful, DuVernay tweeted at Zendaya on Tuesday. We bless the ignorant and wish them well.

jsettembre@nydailynews.com, mfriedman@nydailynews.com

Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/zendaya-giuliana-rancic-winning-dreadlock-battle-article-1.2127942

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Ed Sheeran covers Christina Aguilera's 'Dirrty'

Its tough to not be a fan of a song in whichRedman encourages throwing elbows and has a super sexy music video. Though those criteria could describe a number of songs, it fits the bill for Christina Aguileras Dirrty.

Its been too long since Dirrty has been discussed in the public discourse, so thank Ed Sheeran for his recent cover of it.

Appearing on BBC Radio 1s Live Lounge, known for inspiring artists to bust out awesome covers, the 24-year-old English star premiered his version of Aguileras cut. Its significantly stripped down from the original, with four backup singers and a pianist alongside Sheerans acoustic guitar. Thats all.

Most importantly, Sheeran handles Redmans entire rap near the end, a 2002 time capsule, reminding us of Lauryn Hill, Bernie Mac, Ol Dirty b*****d, and when Redman was still somewhat relevant.

Spoilers, though: Sheeran is far more clothed in this videothan Christina in hers.

Source: http://www.ew.com/article/2015/02/24/ed-sheeran-covers-christina-aguileras-dirrty

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Josh McCown visiting Cleveland Browns today and tomorrow, source says

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Longtime veteran quarterback Josh McCown is visiting the Cleveland Browns today and Wednesday, a league source told Northeast Ohio Media Group.

It means the Browns' process of overhauling the quarterback position is officially underway.

McCown, 35, was released last week by the Bucs with a year remaining on his two-year deal. Since then, he's visited with the Bills, Bears and Jets, but planned to take his time and visit more of the eight teams interested in him. Most other free-agent quarterbacks won't hit the market until March 10, so McCown can afford to take his time.

A 13-year pro, McCown is viewed by the Browns as the perfect mentor for Johnny Manziel or any other young quarterback they decide to bring in, a source said.

Browns coach Mike Pettine said at theNFL combine Wednesday that the Browns are looking for a starting quarterback in free agency and the draft because they can't count on Manziel right now given his situation. Manziel has been in rehab since Jan. 28, and the Browns don't know how it will all play out.

"That's probably accurate (that we need to find a starter) just because you look at the uncertainty of where he is,'' Pettine said. "Just given the small sample size we still don't know based on what he was going through whether or not he is that answer.

"There's too much unknown. I'd obviously be scared if we had a game this weekend. It's a position we're well aware of where our depth chart is. We'll look to address it here in the coming months."

In 2007, McCown was coached by newBrowns offensive coordinator John DeFilippo, who was then Raiders quarterbacks coach. McCown went 2-5 as a starter that year, with nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions. But the two enjoyed working together and would look forward to the opportunity to do so again, a source said.

A third-round pick of the Cardinals in 2002 out Sam Houston State, McCown is the older brother of former Browns quarterback Luke McCown, a fourth-round pick in 2004 who started four games for the Browns before being traded to Tampa Bay on draft day in 2005.

The Bucs, who own the No. 1 overall pick and might draft Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston, released McCown after a disappointing season in which he went 1-10 and threw 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. McCown, who was replaced during the season by Mike Glennon but then reclaimed the starting job, earned a 70.5 rating, second-worst in the NFL to Jacksonville rookie Blake Bortles.

The sub-par season followed a stellar year with the Bears that earned McCown his two-year, $10 million free-agent contract with the Bucs. In 2013, McCown threw 13 touchdowns and only one interception en route to a 3-2 mark for the Bears. He finished with a 109.0 rating.

If the Browns sign McCown, it could mean the end of Brian Hoyer in Cleveland. Hoyer, who's set to become a free agent next month, is expected to receive several opportunities to compete for a starting job, which is what he wants.

McCown, on the other hand, made it clear at the end of the season that he'd accept a mentor role with the Bucs if that's what they wanted.

"Whatever they ask me to do, I'll do it and do it the best I can, whatever helps this team,'' he told the Tampa Tribune. "That's my stance on it regardless of whether it's me or anyone else (who's starting).

"For a player of my age, he can't play forever anyway. So, somebody has to come in and play and be ready to go. Whether that's next year or whatever, I just want to help whoever it is that's here.''

McCown's release makes it less likely the Bucs will trade Glennon, who's been rumored to be on the Browns' radar.

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam also recently stressed that the Browns are on a mission to find a winning quarterback and will leave no stone unturned until they find their man. McCown isn't expected to play that role, but could help DeFilippo implement his system and the tutor the young quarterbacks.

Source: http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2015/02/josh_mccown_will_visit_clevela.html

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Tim McGraw Honors Glen Campbell With Moving Oscars Performance

The Oscars took a solemn turn when Tim McGraw took the stage Sunday night. Dressed in a tuxedo and his signature black cowboy hat, the country superstar sang Glen Campbell's nominated song, "I'm Not Gonna Miss You," sitting on a stool without his guitar or anything else to detract from the emotional lyrics penned by Campbell with Julian Raymond as a love letter to his family.

Sidebar Why Glen Campbell's Oscar Nod Is Monumental

McGraw was handpicked by the Campbell family to fill in for the ailing legend. A first-time Oscar nominee, Campbell was unable to travel to Los Angeles for the show due to his deteriorating health. The 78-year-old "Rhinestone Cowboy" wasdiagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2011 and had to bemoved into a memory care facility last year. Raymond tells Rolling Stone Country that, sadly, Campbell doesn't understand their nomination.

"I was so pleased that the Grammys gave him a Lifetime Achievement award when he could still understand what it was and appreciate it. But this is a whole different deal," says the pop-country icon's producer and co-writer. "It's a clich thing to say, but I'm just so happy to be nominated, for him and his family. I feel just so happy that this whole thing is creating a brand-new legacy for him and getting some of those great old songs heard. As we joke, he's lived a thousand lifetimes. He's just amazing in so many ways."

Penned during the earlier stages of Campbell's illness, "I'm Not Gonna Miss You" is the final song of the legendary entertainer's 60-year career, written and recorded for his 2014 documentary, Glen CampbellI'll Be Me. The bittersweet love song sends the poignant message that the silver lining of Alzheimer's is that he won't feel his loved ones' pain as they watch him succumb to the disease. His wife, Kim Campbell, tells Rolling Stone Country that making music acted asa speed bump in the early progression of his Alzheimer's.

"Music utilizes all of the brain, not just one little section of it," she says. "Everything's firing all at once. It's really stimulating and probably helped him plateau and not progress as quickly as he might have. I could tell from his spirits that it was good for him. It made him really happy. It was good for the whole family to continue touring and to just keep living our lives. And we hope it encourages other people to do the same."

Kim and daughter Ashley Campbell attended the Academy Awards, stopping to pose with McGraw and wife Faith Hill on the red carpet. "I'm Not Gonna Miss You" wasnominated alongside songs from Selma, The Lego Movie, Beyond the Lights and Begin Again. Selma's "Glory," written and performed by John Legend and Common, was the winner.

Clickhere for Rolling Stone's complete coverage of the 87th annual Academy Awards, and scroll below to see exclusive behind-the-scenes photos, courtesy of Tim McGraw.

Source: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/tim-mcgraw-honors-glen-campbell-with-moving-oscars-performance-20150222

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Whiplash Wins, Jazz Loses

The indie movies were the big winners at the 2015 Oscars, but the biggest loser was jazz.

J.K. Simmons won a well-deserved Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Terence Flethcer, an abusive "genius" director of a big band at some New Yorkish Jazz conservatory, pitted against Miles Teller's Andrew Neyman, an equally arrogant egotistical young drummer who sees himself as the second-coming of Buddy Rich.

In Hollywood lingo the Sony Pictures Classics film Whiplash was The Gene Krupa Story meets Silence of the Lambs.

As a piece of film, the high-adrenaline performances of Simmons and Miles Teller, with the editing and sound mixing that kept the intensity at a razor's edge, that have the film garnering a 95 percent at Rotten Tomatoes.

A major directorial achievement is that writer/director Damien Chazelle's characters are so compelling that you feel pretty abused yourself leaving the theater. For a film to make that strong of a psychological and emotional connection in Hollywoodland is HUGE.

There's only one slight problem. It's all bull.

Setting this Clash of the Psychos drama in a conservatory Jazz big band is a big fail that counterbalances the win of the taught drama in the script.

The suspense of disbelief is mission-critical in the movie biz. If you're doing Fast and Furious 93, you have a lot of latitude in what you can do because it's all largely fantasy. In career-oriented dramas, though, whether it's about fireman, doctors, lawyers, poets, scientists or social evangelists, the buck stops at the writer and director's door to ground the story well enough. To a point at least where people who do that job for a living would find some "reasonable" level of authenticity.

This is stated with the caveat that it is seldom that people in most lines of work covered in the movies find the portrayal of their careers and/or lifestyles fully accurate. Whiplash is not even close.

In Mr. Chazelle's zeal to wring every drop out of the adrenal glands of his audience, he failed miserably on the Truth-O-Meter about jazz and jazz musicians.

It's a genre of music that sits outside of the knowledge base of much of the general public. A province of mostly AARP card-toting hard core jazz fans, musicians, music educators, band students and the odd band parent or two.

Chazelle told Variety:

"When I started the script, I was just writing something in my mind about a drummer, though it could be any kind of artist, going as far as possible to be great, and the price of that. I was also trying to write about the physicality of music, trying to write a music movie as though it were "Raging Bull." And out of that came this character of the teacher, who was modeled somewhat on a teacher I had and somewhat on other bandleaders I'd heard about, like Buddy Rich, who were famous for tormenting their players."

No band director rises to this level of insanity. Certainly not in a high school, and not even at the world's most prestigious conservatories.

"If Wynton Marsalis, who's my boss here at Juilliard, did that," Mark Sherman, a Jazz professor at The Juilliard School told Vulture, "[C]alled kids "cocksuckers" and badgered kids like that -- he'd be thrown out."

The famous practice scene, where Nyland keeps drumming and drumming until he draws blood, is utter nonsense to anyone who plays music at that level.

"That's unrealistic," Sherman told Vulture. "People don't draw blood like that, playing music. It just doesn't happen, and if you do, you're holding the sticks wrong. You're screwed up technically if you're drawing blood."

Picture in Backdraft, Ron Howard's Oscar-winning movie about firefighters, newbie fireman Brian McCafferty grabbing the woman from the burning building, and jumping out of the second story window with her without any net or bag below.

The movie could not come out at a worse time for the music. Unlike fireman, jazz musicians are about as alien to the American general public as working mimes are to your office or factory floor.

One of the first truly original American music forms, there would be no Lady Gaga or Death Metal, Beatles or Ramones without the music that broke out of the regimented stultifying concert/orchestral reproduction of music for the elites and established one of the first "free" spaces in popular music to improvise.

Jazz is a music born in in the streets and bars and brothels of Southern port towns like New Orleans, carried by riverboat and then carloads of musicians like King Oliver and Louis Armstrong to Chicago and then the world.

Its free improvisation was demonized by establishment White America as the sinful sounds of Prohibition-era gin-soaked Speakeasies where young white elites had their first tastes of the taboo.

It became the music of young rebellion during those Roaring 20s and the sound of American popular music by the Great Depression. Jazz overtook the white ballroom dance orchestra and the Big Band owned the sound of popular music and dance through WWII.

At the end of that era, music, thanks to improved recording techniques, exploded and went off in a wide number of different directions. Rhythm and Blues. Soul. Early rock n' roll. Country. Bluegrass, and then the next waves of rap, hip-hop, and alternative music.

At the end of WWII, the next generation of musicians, largely African-Americans, returned back to the small ensembles of the music's roots, channeled Jazz into a new era: Bebop. The Civil Rights Era was also Jazz' golden era of liberation: Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and so many others.

It was an exploration of the frontiers of music, freedom, space and time, in sprees of excess both musically and in the hard-living lifestyles of its players.

Academia embraced jazz for its rich historical significance. Its new young stars became schooled at NEC and Juilliard and Eastman, not the School of Hard Knocks. Jazz moved into middle and high school music curriculum. Out went booze and broads and long drunks and drugs. In came secure teaching jobs and the propriety of pedagogy.

Jazz has existed to this day in the United States with the support of academia and its legions of "Greatest Generation" 3B fans: Big Band. Bop. Bossa. As they pass on, the modern day standard-bearers of the music are seeking new audiences.

"Whiplash" is an apt title because it has beaten up Jazz' rather fragile reputation with a popular music audience that knows little or nothing about it.

The first major American motion picture to be made about Jazz since the short late-80s flurry of films like Clint Eastwood's "Bird," "Round Midnight" and "Straight, No Chaser" it has made it look like the only people who play Jazz are some tribal lot of OCD fringers.

"I teach at a place like Juilliard," said Sherman "which is top-tier, and a lot of these kids are under a lot of pressure, yes. But not that kind of pressure. The pressure, ultimately, is the pressure you put on yourself, to survive and succeed in the industry."

How does jazz survive with a shrinking fan base, and J.K. Simmons' now infamous "Rushing or Dragging" scene being the only understanding of this music that the popular culture knows?

Like Miles Teller's character Andrew Neyman, Mr. Chazelle has had his revenge on his band director. Too bad he tried to take out the music and the musicians all over the world who are so passionate about its future as well.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-ross/post_9102_b_6736644.html

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American Horror Story actor Ben Woolf dies aged 34

Ben Woolf, a cast-member on the television show, American Horror Story, has died from a head injury after a car accident, a publicist has confirmed.

The 4ft4 (1.32m) actor was hospitalised in critical condition last week at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after he was hit by the side mirror of a passing vehicle on the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Gramercy Place.

His condition had been upgraded to stable, but the 34-year-old died on Monday afternoon with his family at his side, said publicist Zack Teperman.

Before joining the cast of Ryan Murphys FX TV show in 2011, Woolf starred in a string of indie horror films including Murder House, Dead Kansas and Haunting Charles Manson. He was also a stunt extra in Dexter.

Woolfs American Horror Story character Meep is one of Frulein Elsas Cabinet of Curiosities, described as a tiny geek with a singular vocabulary (Meep!) and a singular talent biting the heads off of small animals.

In a statement, Woolfs family said they have been overwhelmed by the love and support they had received from fans. Teperman, his publicist, called Woolf one of the kindest and hardest-working people he knew.

The motorist involved in the accident stopped at the scene on Thursday night and is not facing any charges.

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/24/amercian-horror-story-actor-ben-woolf-dies-aged-34

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Pelosi, Obama aides back Patricia Arquette

Patricia Arquette won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. (Robyn Beck, AFP/Getty Images)

As you might expect, Oscar winner Patricia Arquettes call for wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women was received warmly by Democratic lawmakers and top members of President Obamas administration.

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, White House aide Valerie Jarrett and Labor Secretary Thomas Perez were among the Democrats who tweeted support for Arquettes speech, as she accepted the Best Supporting Actress award for her work in Boyhood.

Amen! "Its our time to have wage equality once and for all in the United States of America." Patricia Arquette #Oscars #WomenSucceed

Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) February 23, 2015

Elisabeth Hasselbeck, a host of Fox & Friends and a conservative, asked on Mondays show whether liberal politics are so pervasive in Hollywood right now to the point that we cant even watch the Oscars.

A Democratic bill long supported by Obama to close the pay gap between men and women failed to get the 60 votes needed to pass last year. All Democrats in the Senate at the time voted for it, while none of the Senate Republicans did so. Today, the GOP controls the Senate and expanded their majority in the House making it even less likely that Arquettes plea will move votes in Congress.

Hollywood has long tilted Democratic and liberal when it comes to votes and money. Obama was the overwhelming recipient of celebrity contributions in the 2012 election. Arquette, for example, donated in past presidential campaigns to Obama, John Kerry and Ralph Nader, according to a review of campaign finance reports kept by the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics.

Arquette wasnt the only Academy Award winner to offer political commentary last night. Common and John Legend also spoke out about challenges to voting rights as they accepted their award for Best Song for Glory, from Selma.

campaign finance, Nancy Pelosi, Patricia Arquette, pay equity, President Obama, Thomas Perez, Valerie Jarrett, Talkers

Source: http://onpolitics.usatoday.com/2015/02/23/patricia-arquette-wage-equality-pelosi-obama/

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