The Men We Love And A Couple We Have Lost...

"...Mind over matter and soul before flesh. Angels for the pain keep a record in time, which is passin' and runnin' like a caravan freighter..." Fear Not of Man - Mos Def

Condolences to the Levert family on the loss of their beloved Sean Levert. R.I.P. Sean.

Today would have been the 69th birthday of the brilliant and most talented Marvin Gaye.

I was sitting here the other day with my trusty MacBook in hand doing some research and milling around. After awhile, I started reminiscing about a certain time in my childhood. When I was younger, my brother and I would end up at our cousin's every other week for a weekend throw down. I remember walking into my cousin's room one Saturday, to realize that she had plastered her room with pictures wall to wall. And these were not just any pictures or posters for that matter, they were covers of old Ebony, Jet and Essence magazines representing the cream of the crop. When I think about it now, my cousin's wall basically represented the who's who of black culture at the time. Peaches & Herb, Shalamar, Diana Ross etc Musicians, actors, leaders et al. If you can name them, they all had a special place on her wall. During my turn back in time, a certain actor came to mind and I had to ask myself the proverbial question - Where is he? The actor who had me in such a pensive state is the epitome of cool, Mr. Slick himself:

Billy Dee Williams was the 'ISH and you can ask any 40 to 50 something year old woman and she will let you know just how F-I-N-E this brother was. Sauve, debonaire and sophisticated are a few words used to describe the artist and actor. I honestly think that it was Lady Sings The Blues and Mahogany that had women nearly loosing their minds over this man. Either way, Mr. Williams has done well for himself in his illustrious career. Being featured in popular shows such as Scrubs and Lost recently, I am sure do not hurt either. I think the only tainted information on Mr. Williams' employment folio is of him being arrested for domestic battery and that is more of a personal rather than employable manner. It is a damn shame though that this comes from the person who was always casted as the do right man . Although for some insane reason, I am sure his commercials with Colt 45 will bear more weight as being "unfavorable" in some people's eyes. Nonetheless, Billy Dee Williams is not just a thespian at heart. Before his acting career, he actually made a name for himself as an artist. In fact, he had turned to acting to help pay for art supplies. His paintings sell quite well and he continues to dabble in his love for the arts. His beautiful pieces can be found at many prestigious galleries and you can search for his work online as well. I did find a website that had quite a few pics of his artwork - you can check out www.bdwworldart.com

Oh and by the way, George Micheal's Twenty Five came out today. I told you I would not be able to keep my promise! : )

Flashback of the day - I already had something in mind, but it is only fitting to celebrate Marvin's life. I did not want to add just any song, since Marvin has a long list of incredible hits. However, this song is timeless and the lyrics still resonate in everyone's mind today, as much as they did yesterday.

See y'all soon...

Tha Connoisseur