I was a bit taken aback when I first heard that E. Lynn Harris‘ first book, Invisible Life, was coming to the stage. I was even more surprised to find out that it would be a musical, complete with original songs by Ashford and Simpson.

I’m a fan of E. Lynn Harris’ books, but I’m just trying to picture Invisible Life as a musical. A musical? But I suppose it won’t be too big of a stretch. If ever there was a play tailor-made for the Tony Awards, this would be it.

Also look for Invisble Life as well as Just As I Am as possible television films for Showtime. Even Pam Grier is bringing an E. Lynn Harris book to film. Her production company has optioned for Not A Day Goes By.

I said a long time ago that I think Boris Kodjoe would make a great character of Basil. He has the look as described in Harris’ books. Maybe if he worked with a decent acting coach, he may stand a chance. But would he take the role, that’s another thing. It would do him good to go outside of the norm and play a man on the DL. Anyway, look for Invisible Life to debut later this year in Washington, D.C.

My cousin Evelyn is a deer hunter. She’s bagged 3 deers in the past 3 years. Not bad, considering she only started hunting them exactly 3 years ago. That’s 1 deer a year so far.

Her weapon of choice? A rifle? No. A crossbow? No. Guess again…………a Jaguar. That’s right, not only has my cousin killed 3 deers in 3 years, but she’s done so with 3 brand new Jaguars.

Somehow, she has a knack for hitting them with her car. They scamper across the highway while she’s on her way to work in the wee hours of the morning. What are the odds of hitting 3 deers on the same stretch of highway 3 years in a row? I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure Evelyn single-handedly holds that record, at least in the state of Mississippi.

She’s totaled out 3 cars in the process. But don’t feel bad, she now has a new job in a new city and doesn’t have to travel that way to work any longer. Bambi, you’re safe from Evelyn……for now.

Got nothing to do this weekend? Wanna make it a Blockbuster night? Well, I have just the flick for you. I don’t recommend too many movies, but if your an Indie film lover like I am, then you might wanna check out On The Outs.

On the outs is short for “on the outside,” as in not currently incarcerated. It follows the lives of three young Jersey City women:

• Oz is a tough 17-year-old crack dealer who never uses the stuff herself. She has a tender side, as we see the way she cares for her mentally handicapped brother, Chuey.
• Suzette, just 15, is responsible and well-behaved, taking care of her younger sister while their mother works. But she is seduced and impregnated by Tyrell, a crack dealer and a grown man. Tyrell charms Suzette by doing magic tricks for her sister, and she’s naïve enough to also be impressed by his money and his street cred.
• Marisol, a crack-addicted single mom, lives for her toddler daughter and her drug. Crack hinders her practical parenting skills, but she’s clearly a kind and loving mother. After a brief stint in jail, Marisol is soon released, drug-free and finds out that she may permanently lose custody of her daughter because of her previous lifestyle.
  

There’s not one father figure in the film, but each of the three young ladies has at least one other family member who loves her. It’s not enough to prevent trouble, but it may mean the difference between a budding hope for the future, and no hope at all.

I should be committed to an insane asylum right this instant. I called one of my cousins last night to inform her that I would be taking her step-daughter Jazmine and her oldest daughter Maria (ages 16 and 13) to a concert on next week.

Mario is scheduled to come to our city during the state fair and the tickets are only $5, so I thought they’d love to see him. These girls are crazy about Mario’s music and this will be their very first concert, so I want to make it a memorable one. Cool idea, huh? Well, I thought so too.

That was until I received 6 calls this morning from the mothers of Jazmine and Maria’s friends. Lawd, these girls have taken it upon themselves to invite 6 other girls to go along as well, and their mothers are calling me for permission for them to tag along. Picture this: Me and 8 screaming teenage girls at a Mario concert. Insanity!

Y’all, pray for me. I’mma need it next Tuesday night as I try to contain these young ladies while Mario becons you should let me love you to them.

This is only the second week of new primetime shows and already I’m addicted to the new NBC show, Heroes. If you have not seen the show, here’s the premise:

Heroes is a serial saga about people all over the world discovering that they have superpowers and trying to deal with how this change affects their lives. The relatable superheroes include Peter Petrelli, a 30-year-old male nurse who believes can fly, Diego Medina, a 28-year-old junkie who has the ability to paint images of the future when he is high, Niki Sanders, a 33-year-old Las Vegas showgirl who can do incredible things with mirrors, Hiro Makamura, a 24-year-old Japanese comic-book geek who literally makes time stand still, D.L. Hawkins, a 31-year-old inmate who can transport himself through walls, Matt Parkman, a beat cop who can hears other people’s thoughts, and Claire Bennet, 17-year-old cheerleader who defies death at every turn.

Not only are they discovering what having superpowers means to them but also the larger picture of where their superpowers come from. Eventually their superpowers draw them together when they try to evade the series’ antagonist who wants to harness their super-DNA for himself. Their ultimate destiny is nothing less than saving the world.

Now what’s funny is that I was watching the second show of the season last night while my mother was at my crib. She watched it for the first 20 minutes and said, “So there are no Black heroes on this show?” I replied, “Well, this is only the second show. These hereos may encounter some Black hereos in future episodes.” To which she replied, “They at least had a brotha or two on Lost, but yet we can’t have one Black hero? We can do heroic shit too.” I just let her talk, because I knew I was going to lose the battle.