Alphas~ Cause and Effect

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Episode 1: Cause and Effect

Okay, so…. I heard rumor that there was going to be a show starring Malik Yoba on SyFy. Part of me was curious, simply because I am a Looooooooooooooong time fan of Malik’s, while the other of me was so not into science fiction. Then, I sat and I watched it just because… and low and behold…. I had been lying to myself. The cool kid in me had me brain washed into believing that I didn’t like sci-fy….Double U…Tee..H.

I had watched 4400, read Olivia E Butler’s Kindred, and stalked Twilight on On-Demand like there was no tomorrow. I am a nerd in disguise. I had to be real with myself. Alphas reminded me that I really am a sci-fy junkie in denial. And episode 1 had been my rehab…go figure….lol.

Take 2 in 5, 4, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2……#Alphas

I had a competition to win on Monday ( did I mention that I won?) and so my DVR was set for Basketball Wives and Single Ladies. I must admit that I even forgot that Alphas was coming on. But… great old Hulu flashed across my computer screen while I was at work and the curious Georgia in me clicked on it to watch. Glad I did.

Now, as I write this review, this is my second time writing it so I am sure there are things I did not catch the first time through…..which will make it all the more fun.

So it starts off with Cameron Hicks (Warren Christie) gets a call on the cell phone while stocking items in a grocery store. After that it just becomes a better version of Legion, almost like how the old lady said “the baby’s going to die” out of nowhere.  BAM! I didn’t even notice the “ghost” guy buying groceries the first time around. ….clever.  But I couldn’t help myself from laughing at the Jamaican man on the street who tells him to “pull the trigger”. It just reminded me of Dormtainment’s Leaning Leon….bullet! hahahaha . But something appears to be wrong. Cameron almost appears to be in a haze or under a spell…yet knows where to get on this rooftop and shoot a high-powered weapon. AWESOME START!!!!

So Dr. Rosen (David Strathairn) is swimming in his pull when some guy, named Don, shows up. Who is Don, anyway?  Dr. Rosen says that the plant “Asian pennywort” increases blood flow and oxygen to the brain. I wonder if that is true… I might go around sucking on grass…lol.

I want to be like Nina when I grow up!!!  Nina Theroux (Laura Mennell) obviously has some kind of “ mind control” ability (hyper induction) because she just got this police officer to eat her ticket…and the carbon copy…CLASSIC GENIUS! Hahahahaha. I love this show already and I am only 5 minutes in on my second viewing.  And thanks to the motorcycle cop… I know that this is somewhere in New Jersey.

*Mouth falls open, tongue on the floor* Malik Yoba without his shirt just turned me into Homer Simpson in front of Dunkin Donuts…..*drools then wipes mouth* I am trying to remain lady-like….but he can get it. Lol. Oh yeh, the character.  Bill Harken (Malik Yoba) has an amazing wife who seems to help him remember a ton of things…lol. I wonder if she knows that he has “abilities”.  And he must be in the FBI because his wife is wearing an FBI shirt. Is she an FBI agent too? So apparently there is a hearing and he has been off the job for a while but will get back on it. But the way that he just he used his enhanced strength to move this truck from blocking his driveway is HILARIOUS!!!

Rachel Pirzad (Azita Ghanizada) apparently lives with her parents and they own a cleaners. So apparently her parents know her condition, Synesthesia. She has the ability to make one of her senses more powerful than the others…but it cam render her defenseless at times.

Gary Bell (Ryan Cartwright) is one of my favorite characters, which is weird because I actually like them all and this is only the first episode. A strong statement and I mean it. #teamGary. Gary is a transducer and can pick up on any signal and wavelength known to man. If it is electronic…he can sense it. Cool! He’s quirky and even though I feel guilty laughing he is a comic relief at times, especially his obsession with wanting to drive…lol.  Like… how did I miss the whole “whatever, Bill” and “I have a bad attitude” scene the first time through? I think I missed a bunch. Guess I will be watching this a third time…lol.

So, now that we have all of the characters in check… the plot. Apparently some dude that they are calling “The Ghost” , an OCD rogue Alpha, is able to touch people with his creepy hand and convince people to do anything that he wants them to do. He touched Cameron and made him kill some dude via the assault riffle by shooting off the roof and managing to do so through an air vent a few miles away. The guy was shot in the forehead in an interrogation room. RANDOM!!! You mean to tell me that we can’t duck from an Alpha miles away! SCARY!!! Well, the Alphas check it out, hunt Cameron down and make him aware of his Alpha abilities. In the meantime The Ghost gets another puppet who winds up killing himself by drinking bleach at the instruction of The Ghost’s powers.

The Ghost figures out that he is being discovered, then stalks the Alphas and plans to kill Dr. Rosen because of his interference in the Red Flag’s activities.  Who/what is Red Flag? I wonder if it was The Ghost or this second “puppet” that was hired who took pictures of them on the roof as they solved the mystery to how the guy was shot in the interrogation room. The funniest like of ALL TIMES was when Bill Harken said, “You forgot the part about the bird that farted in New Jersey” when Rachel is describing the results of her sensory investigation. Hahahahaha. They said she can read a New York Times from 10 miles away. Niiiiice.

The Ghost manages to trick the Alphas by switching outfits with the bell hop and he manages to touch Bill Harken and convinced him that he will be the one killing Dr. Rosen since he can get the closest.  But in the middle of the assassination plot Nina jumps in and kisses Bill Harken to break his line of vision to Dr. Rosen…can we say JEALOUS! Dr. Rosen then runs over and stabs him with an injection needle which. Breaks him of The Ghost’s spell.  In the meantime, Cameron is in the parking lot trying to save Rachel who has been kidnapped by The Ghost. With a stroke of fate and an Alpha ability, Cameron shoots a nearby sign and the bullet ricocheted and hits The Ghost in the back, thus saving Rachel. But before dying, The Ghost informs Cameron that he is on the wrong side of “this”. I’m guess he means his working with the Alphas is going against the Red Flag’s agenda. And if you were wondering where Gary was during all of this….he was safely in the car (without keys) practicing his 10 and 2 o’clock. Classic.

I simply LOVED this show. I guess the only question that I had was… how long have they been working together. I ask because the scene with Gary putting his lunch in the fridge where he spoke as if this was his first time doing so. Also, Rachel acted as if this was her first time putting up with Bill’s messy and inconsiderate behavior. Oh, and how Nina offered to give Rachel some shoes. Other than that…. I didn’t have a problem with the show. I WILL be watching this on Monday. This is better than anything else that I have to blog about.

B. Talented~Mic Check Group 2 aka I WON!

Days 1&2: So You Think You Can Spit

Day 3: Dodging a Bullet

Day 4: Mic Check Group 1 

Day 5: The Midst of the Storm

Monday, 11 July 11,

I got to B. Smith’s early……as usual. And habit has had me sit at the bar and have the bartender, Tobin, suggest another delicious menu item and grab a drink before I attend either a meeting or watch the competition. But nooooo not today. I got there and went straight to the restroom and got prepared to perform.

I went into the back secluded rooms where we would be held before performing and I literally sat there and prayed over and over again. I needed that energy. I needed to have God surrounding me as this was a new piece and I usually work without music but I was ready for the challenge. I was ready to put my best foot forward and see what the world thought of my effort.

Shortly after I finished praying, my partner and bass guitarist, TJ Turqman, showed up and I was even more nervous, but he helped to calm me down. We walked outside of Union Station and on to the patio to rehearse. I don’t know about you, but have you ever rehearsed with an unplugegd bass guitar? hahahah Comical! But I learned where I could get caught up and I learned where I need to focus. After several, and I mean several, runs we were set. We walked back in and I continued to say the poem over and over and over again in my head. I even made Maurice stand in front of me and listen to the poem….lol. Let me tell you, it is amazing to have a partner who is of the same faith as you because they can say things that calm you down and you understand what they said and where it came from and I thank TJ for that. I even introduced him to the “touch and agree” movement…lol.

While I waited I also helped my videographer and photographer friends, Michael Avon ( of Michael Avon Photography) and Maurice Grey (photographer/videographer), find their way. They were coming to assist me document the experience. I am SOOOOO thankful for them being there. Everyone who I wanted to be there couldn’t be there and so, like most of my life, I would not have anyone in the audience. But having the two of them there just for me meant the WORLD to me. They filmed EVERYTHING from different angles and I cant wait to see the footage. They even did a little closing interview of TJ and I after the show. Again, I am grateful for them.

So, as I waited.. I learned that one of the groups dropped and we would only have 3 teams competing and that I would be going first. WHY ME!!!!? lol. I found this out 10 minutes before I was supposed to go. Even Andres mentioned that he would have expected that I would be the last person to be nervous. WRONG! That made me almost break into a sweat! I wanted to be last. I wanted to have time to hear what the judges thought… but nooooo. I had to go out there and work the dang thing.

Time to perform. I was shaking….. and I mean shaking! We walked out there, set up our two microphones and TJ and I nodded to one another. His intro cords soothed me and really set the move. Then he went into the groove and I knew it was now or never. I had practiced the second line of the poem several times because in rehearsal I had always gotten caught up…but this was not the time to get caught up. I breezed past it with ease and said an internal prayer. The breaks in our music accented the message, like how I said ” a white boy can’t play from his soul” and TJ did a rift…comedy! I also asked the question of ” when are we going to attack the fact that blacks can issue [racism] back” and TJ does another rift, paused, then says, “Just saying”. COMEDY YET AGAIN, PEOPLE! lol. I loved the Latin rhythm he played during the car chase, and the jazz groove he switched over to during the “darker the berry” part. But my FAV was when he did the “truth is, I could love me some of her” part. There was soooo much that we both loved about the piece and I think it showed in its creation and in the delivery of the piece. At the conclusion….we were satisfied. And apparently, so were the judges. We did not get a single negative remark!!!

The judges mentioned that they could tell that we rehearsed ( and we had). They noticed that we were professionals at what we do and they even remarked about our interaction and about TJ, as the musician, actually had lines in the poem. lol. It felt AMAZING!!! It felt amazing because they addressed EVERYTHING that he and I had worked on.

TJ and I had come to the first round of performances and we had both taken notes….this would come in handy. We noticed how people looked kind of hodge-podge (sp) with their partners. We noticed that the music didn’t always compliment the poetry, and other things. I also saw this as a perfect opportunity to step outside of the box and let my musician speak. Now, if you know TJ then you will know he is all about his music but he stepped outside of the box with me and agreed. I knew that no one else would think to do that. But I thought it was a great idea for him to have a say in the issue of racism. We were granted the lovely opportunity to be a white male and a black female and given the topic of racism and it would be foolish of us to squander it away on a stereotypical performance. I’m not saying we gave the best performance in the world, but we worked our butts off for this one. Everyone would expect me to do a typical “I’m 2Deep and this is my thought on racism” poem so I had to run in the opposite direction. TJ has an opinon too, he has a voice as well, and who am I to keep him from having his say? Either way…we worked together well.

Jeannie Jones (MEOW), first of all, looked fabulous in her black and gold looking like a kitty hornet. I am so accustomed to seeing her in her turquoise but she still looked fabulous so I didn’t mind. lol. Besides, the day that Jeannie doesn’t look fabulous is the day that I’ll go play in traffic on 495 South during rush hour. Just saying. Now, Jeannie mentioned that she loved the poem. She even asked if TJ plays regular gigs, which he does at a place called Jo-Jo’s I think every Tuesday. I informed TJ backstage that Jeannie has her own guitar skills thing going on so she must have been impressed! I think they should have a jam session, but that is just my opinion. She even asked if I was a “tongue ring kitty”….lol. COMEDY! It was fun being interviewed by Jeannie. [ For more info on Ms. Meow Media herself… check out her webpage at JeannieJones.com .]

We walked back to the holding area and tried to hear everyone else who was performing. It was hard for us to hear because the speakers weren’t pointed in our direction but that didn’t stop us from trying. At least we got to send out love and support in their direction. One group went up with props of sunglasses and a book, the other had the musician play the keyboard, record it, then walk away and play the violin as the keyboard played on its own. THEY WERE AWESOME! I couldn’t hear what the judges said but the other contestants told us that the news varied.

We sat back there waiting for the news of who had won to arrive. We walked up to the mic in the order that we had presented our performances and the room went silent. Andres thanked everyone for their participation and then Jeannie stepped up to the mic to announce the winners. And the winners are…. 2Deep and TJ Turqman!!!!!!!!!! “We want to thank everyone for coming out….” Wait….no one else won? I’m confused-ed. In this moment of joy I was more stunned that two teams didn’t move on. But rumor has it that because one team was unable to perform…they were only moving one team forward. OUCH! I didn’t know how to truly celebrate that moment. I honestly felt guilty for being the only winning team. Does that sound stupid? I stepped to the mic and I thanked TJ and he thanked me….and scene.

We hugged everyone, thanked everyone….got wonderful feedback and then we hugged each other. lol. TJ’s mother even came over to tell us how well she thought we did and that she had heard us rehearsing in her house at 9am on Sunday morning…lol.

We walked around to the front of Union Station and did a brief interview for my video/photographers and then we hugged goodbye. TJ and I had made it into the semi-finals and we now could rest for 2 weeks. GREAT! it was worth all of the hard work. TJ and I had used every electronic invention we could muster during last week. We used cell phones, PCs and Macs to record our parts and email it to the other person when we couldn’t meet. And with his living in McLean, Virginia and my living in Prince George’s County, Maryland ( YES, TWO DIFFERENT STATES!)….we PHYSICALLY met up once on Saturday and again on Sunday. The rest of the time we met via the world-wide web…..it had to work and it did. I didn’t go to bed until midnight on Saturday because I was working on this piece. TJ went to sleep late as well and woke up 15 minutes before our Sunday rehearsal….lol. We still had our regular lives to attend. TJ still had to teach his guitar lessons until late in the evening while I had work and my poetry slam team meetings to attend. I even had a poetry slam to host from 11pm to 1am on Friday. Talk about dedication! I loved it and I loved working with him. So…..on to semi-finals. I cant wait to see what the next round of topics will be.

Now, I’m not saying that I will win this whole thing (even though I am definitely praying for it)…. but I do pray that I will be in finals and have a great shot at taking home the grand prize with my partner. The competition is strong and only the best will be in semis so…..root for us and show up to B. Smith’s restaurant in Union Station N.E. D.C. and support TJ and myself. I will let you know when semi-finals is! Love ya!

P.S. Did I mention that TJ and I won? ahhahahahahahaha Feels great to say it.

B. Smith's B. Talented contestants & judges w/ Ms. B. Smith

Sincerely,

~*My Mother’s Daughter*~

Basketball Wives S:3~ Roaming around Rome

Follow @_2deep_

Episode 1: Jump-offs Return, Season 3

Episode 2: Telephone Game

Episode 3: And Fight

Episode 4: Surprise….MORE MESS!

Episode 5: Family Matters

Episode 6: Roaming around Rome

Episode 7:

Episode 8:

Okay, I am trying to be on time with these but I had to prepare for my B. Smith’s competition…..and I WON! So, now I am happy and now I have time to sit down and write this at 6:30am just for you! lol. If someone would pay me to be a full time blogger…then I could get this on time…just saying.

Take 2 in 5, 4, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, #BasketballBenchBitches

I am watching the intro to the show and I am noticing that the ONLY person’s pose that I like is Shaunie’s. Man… I REALLY want these peacock earrings that Jennifer has on. Are peacock earrings her thing? Okay, why in the hell would Meeka tell Jen that the Eric from her blind date thought she was a freak. Hell, you keep stuff like that to yourself. You dont know what that boy may want her to know. Ugh..I cant stand this bitch.

Okay, these butterfly earrings that Evelyn has on are cute….but they look HORRIBLE with this dress and for her to just be chilling around the house. And I agree with Evelyn, Meeka does try too hard just to be down because she really doesnt know Jen well enough to put her on a blind date.

Okay, I’m confused-ed. I thought that Meeka didnt like Royce. Yet, Suzie and Meeka brought her out to buy cars. Con someone PLEASE tell me why is Meeka up in Royce’s business?!!! Also, why does Royce look like she is an around the way girl up in this Rolls Royce dealership? Sometimes I just want her to dress appropriate for where she is going.

EWWWWWW! Did you see the flat butt in the red bikini during the beach montague?

Jen wants to have a divorce party? hahahahah. But she’s not divorced yet….lol. There is a place called Pleasure Emporium? And she knew it y name…lol. I feel like such a prude right now. But to each his own.

Brian is handsome. I honestly do think that it is okay for everyone to be concerned with his relationship with Royce, but I also think that everyone should let their relationship take their own course. The ONLY person who i think should have the right to speak directly to Brian about their concerns should be Royce’s father. Why in the HELL would Suzie ask what does he do, does he sell drugs, has he been in jail and why does he want to be with Royce. Wait… did she ask if he has a big one..bwahahaha. And she said that he was looking at Royce’s vagina the entire time so he must be thirsty. And like Royce said… Suzie use to like Dwayne ( her ex) and he turned out to be bad, so now her opinion doesnt matter. Besides… when was the last time that we’ve seen Suzie with a man.

Bwahahahah They are really walking around in Pleasure Emporium. And WHY is Evelyn acting as if she is an employee?!!! She looks like she helped invent most of these sex toys. HA!Jen said that Evelyn has graduated magna cum-laude of sex toys university….lol.  And they are getting male and female strippers. LOVE IT! I think that all female parties should have both. You can be straight and have both.

WOW! So they are deciding to go to Italy but Evelyn doesnt want Royce to go but they are inviting Meeka?!!!!!! Can someone PLEASE tell me whythis makes sense?I would go without both of them before i took Meeka.

Awww Brian and Royce are going put-put golfing. I havent done that in such a long while. It is cute. I understand that it is not Royce’s cup of tea…but miniture golfing was Brian’s idea that he wanted to do to spend time with her. THIS is when I get upset with black women. Honey….whether you like it or not, he thought of it and prepared for it. So you need to show your appreciation. He is spending time with you. I better move on because I could scream about this for HOURS! But….at least she told him that she wants to date other men. Although, I dont think that he responded the way that he did because he is confident that she will be back… i think she just gave him permission to see other women without having to say it…lol.

Noe reminds meof Lisa Raye’s cousin….cant remember his name…but he tells the truth just like him. OUCH! So Evelyn’s friend had an interview in Cleveland on the radio about her opinion about Evelyn and Ochobeing engaged.  But she didnt say it to Evelyn. Wow! The”friend” said that Ocho is a media whore, and that he does so much shadyshit,and she is hearing all of these stories. Wait… they said that it was Jennifer….meaning the Jennifer on theshow who did the interview? I hope not.

Question. Is Shaunie PAYING for everyone to go to Italy? Shit….can I go too? SNAP!!! Yes, it is THIS Jennifer who had the interview about Ocho. And she didnt even congratulate Evelyn when she got engaged. What I dont agree with is that they are waiting until Italy to discuss it. No, you should speak up about your issues first.  But……at least Tammi is attempting to stand up for Royce. And leave it up to Suzie to tell Royce that she isnt invited to Rome.  I just hate how Suzie said that Evelyn and Tammi are friends again. NO, boo boo…. they discussed the t-shirt issue and came to a compromise but that doesnt mean that they are close again.

I LOVE HOW THEY PLAYED Miguel’s Pay Me as the transition music to them being in Rome. I LOVE thatsong.

Now….I findit funny how they dressed up Miamistyle to go to dinner in Rome. HILARIOUS!!!! It is a vacation. Relax!i think that the clothes theywore to travel were stylish and fashionable and would have been appropriate to attend dinner in Rome. They didnt get to the bottom of shit while they had this discussion. Meeka….I cant stand this trick! Point blank period!

Next Show:  Okay, so Evelyn gets her hands on the Ocho interview that Jennifer did in Cleveland. Ummm….cant wait…….shame.

Sincerely, 

~*My Mother’s Daughter*~