Who Owns the Future?
by Jaron Lanier
Book Review by Kam Williams
Simon & Schuster
Hardcover, $28.00
416 pages, Illustrated
ISBN: 978-1-4516-5496-7
“The rise of digital networks led our economy into recession and decimated the middle class. Now, as technology flattens more and more industries—from media to medicine to manufacturing—we are facing even greater challenges to employment and personal wealth.
But there is an alternative to allowing technology to own our future. In this ambitious and deeply humane book, [Jaron] Lanier charts the path toward a new information economy that will stabilize the middle class and allow it to grow.”
Excerpted from the inside dust jacket
How do you explain the nagging, unusually-high unemployment rate in the United States? Is it merely that millions of manufacturing and white-collar positions have been outsourced overseas, or might there be another explanation? According to author Jaron Lanier, automation is a big part of the problem.
He points out, for example that Kodak, which once employed 145,000 people, went bankrupt and has ostensibly been replaced by Instagram, a billion-dollar company with an operating staff of just 13. He argues that “technology is making jobs obsolete—but not replacing them,” a trend which does not bode well for humanity’s prospects.
We would do well to heed the words of this sage visionary, a Renaissance Man in the truest sense of the term. For besides being a philosopher, he’s a musician, composer and, perhaps most notably for these purposes, the computer scientist credited with coining the term “Virtual Reality” back in the Eighties.
As an architect of the internet, Lanier co-created start-ups now better known as Oracle, Adobe and Google, accomplishments for which he was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by Time Magazine in 2010.
But like a latter-day Dr. Frankenstein, he has come to regret how the fruits of his and fellow innovators’ labors have been appropriated by corporate America in a way which is making most of us extinct.
In this groundbreaking book, Lanier describes in detail how digital networks like Google and Facebook are destroying the middle class while simultaneously concentrating wealth and power in the hands of a few. Furthermore, he lays out a viable blueprint for reversing that frightening trend, a solution revolving around the novel notion that everyone deserves to be compensated with royalties for sharing their personal information online.
After all, “the value of companies like Instagram and Facebook comes… from the millions of unpaid users who contribute their… creativity to them.” Food for thought, for the next time you tune in to the latest Youtube sensation generating millions of hits for nothing more than 15 minutes of fame.
To order a copy of Who Owns the Future?, visit: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1451654960/ref%3dnosim/thslfofire-20
Michael B. Jordan
The “Fruitvale Station” Interview
with Kam Williams
Emerging Actor Discusses His Breakout Role as the Late Oscar Grant
Born in Santa Ana on February 9, 1987, Michael B. Jordan is one of Hollywood's brightest young actors. In 2012, he starred in 20th Century Fox’s box office hit CHRONICLE, a supernatural thriller that follows three Portland teens as they develop incredible powers after exposure to a mysterious substance. He also had a supporting role in George Lucas’ film RED TAILS, a World War II saga recounting the story of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen.
Michael recently completed shooting ARE WE OFFICIALLY DATING?
opposite Zac Efron, Imogen Poots and Miles Teller. Before embarking on his film career, he was best known for his work in two of the most significant television dramas of the past decade.
First, he received critical acclaim for his portrayal of the hard-shelled, soft-hearted, young urbanite Wallace in the HBO hit dramatic series THE WIRE. He then went on to star as quarterback Vince Howard on the NBC’s Emmy-winning FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS.
He also portrayed recovering alcoholic Alex on the third season of the NBC series PARENTHOOD. Blessed with the opportunity to begin a professional acting career early in his life, Michael caught the eye of Bill Cosby and was
cast in the recurring role of Michael on the series COSBY in 1999. Almost simultaneously, he appeared on the HBO series THE SOPRANOS opposite the late James Gandolfini.
In 2001, he was selected from hundreds of hopefuls to play Jamal in the feature film HARDBALL starring Keanu Reeves. A couple years later, he became the youngest African-American actor contracted with ABC’s daytime drama series ALL MY CHILDREN where he played Reggie, Susan Lucci’s character’s adopted son.
Michael later moved to Los Angeles where he soon landed a lead in the independent film BLACKOUT, co-starring Melvin Van Peebles, Jeffrey Wright, and Zoe Saldana. In the fall of 2007, he was cast in the faith-based feature film PASTOR BROWN.
He has enjoyed guest appearances on CSI, COLD CASE, LIE TO ME, WITHOUT A TRACE, and LAW & ORDER, and garnered NAACP Image Award Nominations for Outstanding Male Actor in a Television Daytime Drama Series in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Here, he talks about starring as the late Oscar Grant in FRUITVALE STATION, a critically-acclaimed picture which has wowed audiences at both the Cannes and Sundance Film Festivals earlier this year. The movie recounts the shooting of the 22 year-old Grant in the back by a police officer on a train station platform on New Year’s Day 2009.
Kam Williams: Hi Michael, thanks for the interview.
Michael B. Jordan: What’s up, buddy? Thank you for taking the time.
KW: That’s quite a powerful performance you delivered as Oscar.
MBJ: Thank so much, Kam.
KW: Congratulations on this picture’s winning at Sundance in January and then again at Cannes in June. Did you attend both film festivals?
MBJ: Yes sir, I did.
KW: Where did it get the longer standing ovation?
MBJ: At Cannes. It went on for about 7 or 8 minutes. It was overwhelming. I got chills all over. It was very intense.
KW: What interested you in Fruitvale Station?
MBJ: Honestly, I remember hearing about the incident when it happened, and feeling very angry, upset and frustrated about not being able to do anything about it. I felt very helpless. I was coming off a project at the time, and I really wanted to do an independent film that was more of an intimate, character-driven piece. And it just so happened that what I wanted to do, Ryan’s vision [director Ryan Coogler] and the timing of his project worked out in my favor, man. All of the pieces seemed to fall right into place.
KW: Did you feel any pressure to deliver a great performance given that it’s the biopic of a person who has passed away and who left behind family, including a young daughter who barely got to know him?
MBJ: Of course, and I put a lot of that pressure on myself. I knew that Oscar’s daughter was going to see this film someday, and that was the only pressure I needed to do her father justice. But I felt a huge responsibility not only to his family, but to the whole Bay community, since the story is so important to them, too.
KW: Did you meet with his mother or any of Oscar’s friends and family members in preparing for this role?
MBJ: Yes, I spent time with his mother, his daughter, his girlfriend, Sophina, and his best friends. So, I got a chance to get to know Oscar a little bit better and to understand each of their relationships with him. It was very beneficial to the film.
KW: Is there anything the family wanted people to know about Oscar?
MBJ: That he was a person, a flawed human being who made some mistakes just like anybody else. That was about it. They really trusted Ryan’s vision and what he wanted to do.
KW: Did you identify with this character at all, given how often young black males are subjected to profile stops and police brutality?
MBJ: Yeah, I’m from Newark, New Jersey, so I’ve been in that sort of situation before. I could relate, since I used to catch the train back and forth between Newark and Manhattan all the time. You’d see transit cops interacting with intoxicated passengers during the holiday season in response to distress calls. It could just as easily have been me, or somebody else with a group of friends going to the city who might have gotten a little rowdy. Oscar was a product of his community. The problem is that people from outside of that community can be quick to judge us based on the way we look, talk and dress.
KW: How was it being directed by Ryan Coogler?
MBJ: He’s an incredible director, extremely talented and a natural born leader. And he was the ideal coach for me, because we’re so close in age. We speak the same language, being from the same generation. The story meant a lot to him because he’s from the Bay area. He’s very close to this project. Everything worked out. It was a perfect storm.
KW: What was it like acting opposite an Oscar-winner in Octavia Spencer?
MBJ: That ain’t bad, either. Not too shabby. I learned a lot from her. She’s one of the most giving actresses I know in terms of getting you there. Whatever you need, she’s very selfless, no ego, and I think it shows.
KW: Is it weird that the cast has actors named Michael Jordan and Kevin Durand? Are you worried that people might mistake the picture for a movie about basketball?
MBJ: Oh man, that was the crazy thing.
KW: What message do you think people will take away from the film?
MBJ: I hope people feel angry, upset, or something that sparks a conversation about how we can be better people. A better father… a better brother… a better mom… a better sister… We have to start with the individual. So, I want people to leave the theater and think, “How can I be a better person?” That’s the only way things are going to improve. It may not happen in my lifetime, but if I can play a part in moving things along, then I feel I’ve done a good job.
KW: The Teri Emerson question: When was the last time you had a good laugh?
MBJ: Scaring my little brother who is deathly afraid of birds. It’s ridiculous because he’s 6’ 7” and weighs 290 pounds. But he hates birds. If you really want to have a good laugh, all you have to do is send him pictures of geese, ducks and stuff like that randomly. His responses are pretty funny and make me laugh out loud.
KW: What are your favorite dishes to cook?
MBJ: My grilled lamb chops and homemade mashed potatoes. And my barbequed salmon, that’s pretty good, too. I love cooking! The first dish I ever learned to make was rainbow trout with couscous and raisins. It’s pretty incredible. I can cook that with my eyes closed now.
KW: What is your guiltiest pleasure?
MBJ: My Japanese animation.
KW: Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?
MBJ: [LOL] You’ve got some great questions, dude… No.
KW: The bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read?
MBJ: Snow Crash.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553380958/ref=nosim/thslfofire-20
KW: The music maven Heather Covington question: What was the last song you listened to?
MBJ: Memories Back Then by T.I.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00CFK7W54/ref=nosim/thslfofire-20
KW: The Sanaa Lathan question: What excites you?
MBJ: Being around like-minded creative people. Watching a really good movie excites me, because it makes we want to get up off the couch and go shoot something and act in a scene. And music excites me because it puts me in a mind state, whatever that may be.
KW: When you look in the mirror, what do you see?
MBJ: A man trying to figure it all out.
KW: The Mike Pittman question: What was your best career decision?
MBJ: Doing the movie Chronicle.
KW: If you could have one wish instantly granted, what would that be for?
MBJ: For more wishes.
KW: The Ling-Ju Yen question: What is your earliest childhood memory?
MBJ: I been waiting for that question. That’s one nobody has ever asked me. It was one day when my dad was outside washing the car. My older sister tricked me into sitting in the bucket. I remember getting stuck in the bucket, soggy diaper and all, and not being able to get out. That’s my earliest childhood memory.
KW: Thanks again for the time, Michael, and I look forward to speaking with you again in January when you get that Oscar nomination.
MBJ: I appreciate that, Kam [Chuckles] But don’t jinx me, dude.
To see a trailer for Fruitvale Station, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxUJwJfcQaQ
A Band Called Death
Film Review by Kam Williams
Reverential Rockumentary Amounts to a Very Good Movie about a Very Bad Band
After hearing some heavy metal in the early Seventies, Dannis, Bobby and David Hackney decided to make a big change in the type of music they were performing. Up until then, the African-American siblings from Detroit had been playing a blend of R&B and rock as the Rock Fire Funk Express.
Then, the guys came up with a new name, Death, and a new sound perhaps best described as an atonal precursor of punk, although the genre hadn’t yet come into existence as of yet. They signed a record deal with a prominent local promoter (not Motown), but the album was deep-sixed before it ever got pressed into vinyl. No surprise to this listener, judging by the demos.
Searching for a viable alternative career path in music, the trio eventually moved to Vermont where they did get to release a couple of gospel albums as The 4th Movement. But when that dream of superstardom failed to materialize, David moved back home, while Dannis and Bobby remade themselves as a reggae group, Lambsbread, with Bobbie Duncan replacing their brother on guitar.
Lambsbread failed to capture the fans’ imagination, too. In 2000, chain-smoker David passed away of lung cancer, and that might’ve been the end of the story, given that Hackneys had barely registered a bleep on Rock & Roll’s radar.
However, Death is now belatedly being put on the map with the help of such rock icons as Henry Rollins, Alice Cooper, Kid Rock, Questlove along with actor Elijah Wood. Are you a big fan of punk? Neither am I. Nor was I during my formative years when the atonal genre came of age.
Listen, the personal anecdotes in A Band Called Death are extremely entertaining, and often touching, especially when Dannis and Bobby express their irrepressible fondness for their dearly departed sibling. I suppose music is in the ear of the behearer, but as for the suggestion that this average garage band were somehow visionaries ahead of their time, I just don’t think so.
Very Good (3 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 98 minutes
Distributor: Drafthouse Films
To see a trailer for A Band Called Death, visit:
How to Make Money Selling Drugs
Film Review by Kam Williams
Tongue-in-Cheek Documentary Offers Tips on Dope Dealing
“Are you unemployed or stuck in a dead-end job? Don’t worry, we have an answer!” That is the dubious proposition made by How to Make Money Selling Drugs, a tongue-in-cheek (I pray) documentary about the art of dope dealing. The film arrives accompanied by proven provenance, as it features appearances by celebs with street cred like 50 Cent, Eminem, Rick Ross and Russell Simmons.
This fairly thorough training guide focuses on marijuana and cocaine, although its advice undoubtedly could be applied to heroin, ecstasy and numerous other narcotics as well. However, we learn that pot is probably the easiest way to get started, given that it’s a weed that all you need is water, lamps and electricity to grow. In fact, it is now the most profitable farm product in the U.S., easily outstripping tobacco, cotton and even corn as the country’s top cash crop.
According to one former kingpin, the possibility of jail time is actually worth the risk, provided you’re Caucasian, since 90% of the million Americans arrested annually for drugs are black or Latino. So, this illicit profession isn’t highly recommended for minorities, since the authorities not only target their communities, but employ tactics like profile stops which make apprehension all the more likely.
As hip-hop mogul Simmons explains it, “If you’re a blonde fashion model, you’re not going to jail. But if you’re a black kid from the ‘hood, you’ll go away for twenty years.” He is a big advocate of an overhaul of the laws implemented as part of the War on Drugs which has really been waged in the ghetto while lily-white suburbia has benefitted from a pass, by and large.
If you do decide to traffic in narcotics, and land behind bars, the picture has a chapter on “How to Beat an Arrest.” But, permit me in closing to urge any viewers of How to Make Money Selling Drugs to resist the temptation to attempt anything illegal you see here and to watch the flick strictly for entertainment purposes.
A step-by-step instruction video I fear might inadvertently influence some impressionable young minds to try an ill-advised line of work that will only land them in a lot of trouble.
Very Good (3 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 94 minutes
Distributor: TriBeCa Film
To see a trailer for How to Make Money Selling Drugs, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxRVhgbVN9o
World War Z
Film Review by Kam Williams
Harrowing Horror Flick Pits Pitt vs. Zombies in Dire Planetary Scenario
After a career spent risking his life on location in international hotspots like Bosnia and Liberia, Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) recently resigned from a dangerous post at the United Nations to devote himself to his family. As the story unfolds, we find him assuring his wife (Mireille Enos) and young daughters (Sterling Jerins and Abigail Hargrove) that he quit his job to spend more quality time with them as a stay-at-home husband and father.
Meanwhile, that same morning on TV, network news anchors are busily downplaying rumors of a rapidly-spreading rabies outbreak overseas. Eventually, all hell starts to breaks loose in the U.S., too, where the president perishes and the vice president goes missing.
By the time the Emergency Broadcast System finally takes over the airwaves, the escalating zombie scourge can no longer be covered-up or contained. And the pandemic which started in Taiwan has already overrun a dozen countries and counting.
Given the utterly desperate state of affairs, Gerry has no choice but to answer the call when he is begged by U.N. Deputy Secretary General Thierry Umutoni (Fana Mokoena) to come out of retirement. He agrees to join a crack team of researchers whose mission is to find Patient Zero and develop a vaccine.
But first, he secures berths for his family aboard a quarantined Navy ship sitting safely in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Our intrepid protagonist then boards a plane headed for parts unknown, and what ensues is a harrowing, high body-count adventure making “Pitt”-stops in South Korea, Jerusalem and Wales.
At each exotic port of call, Gerry and company encounter wave after wave of voracious zombies, which in accordance with age-old cinematic lore, can only be destroyed by burning or headshots. Of course, they ultimately figure out how to turn the tide, though the resolution conveniently leaves a loophole setting up the sequel in a planned trilogy.
Directed by Marc Forster (Monster’s Ball), World War Z is a bona fide summer blockbuster any way you slice it. From hordes of man-eating creatures, to mob scenes of panicked citizens, to tension-maximizing editing, to captivating special f/x, to breathtaking panoramas of the collapse of civilization, to a buff matinee idol as the hero, the film features all the fixin’s to assure any audience its money’s worth of viewing pleasure and excitement.
Excellent (4 stars)
Rated PG-13 for disturbing images and pervasive horror violence
Running time: 115 minutes
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
To see a trailer for World War Z, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md6Dvxdr0AQ