Peter Gunn: The Show For Deep Mancini

I've got a habit of watching Peter Gunn in the middle of the night on a cool vintage TV station here in Chicago, METV. Anyway, I love the detective series, Peter Gunn. Having had a few film courses in college, I'm into its film noir style, which is the black and white genre the show's creator, Blake "Pink Panther" Edwards, made it in.

But, of course, what really makes Peter Gunn such an excellent 1950s TV series is its killer music by Henry Mancini. Everyone who's familiar with the show loves the legendary Peter Gunn theme song, but the rest of the music in each episode is bananas beyond belief. I mean it is too sexy and powerful and moody-cool.

I may wind up leaving some deep Mancini in the sidebar here for a while. Really, what better music could you hear when you arrive at the Original CyberLounge? So put on your Ray-Bans and rock it, baby!

Hot Links:
Vast Henry Mancini's music collection at Artist Direct
About Peter Gunn
Film Noir movie poster collection



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Dr. Donda West... Unbelieveable and Getting Worse

The moment I realized that Dr. Jan Adams (see Fox News video) was the Oprah-endorsed cosmetic surgeon who performed the tummy tuck and breast reduction on Dr. Donda West, I wondered how long it would be before Oprah Winfrey would somehow be questioned about possibly having recommended him to Kanye's precious mom.

I'd seen Kanye West on The Oprah Show, with an extremely proud Donda West chiming in about her super star son. It didn't require a quantum leap to wonder if one Chicago lady now in Los Angeles had placed a call to another Chicago lady who influences thought of every ilk, seeking her advice about which cosmetic surgeon to use.

Not even five minutes lapsed before I saw the fresh link to msnbc.com, blaring this headline: Oprah denies recommending doctor to West.

I've moved on to a new whirl of questions surrounding the shocking death of dear Dr. West:

-- Will Oprah Winfrey completely sever ties to people of color, with this on the heels of the scandal at her South Africa girls academy? She'll most certainly need massive quantities of Head On: Apply Directly To the Forehead.

-- When will Kanye's people announce the malpractice lawsuit? And could other mega lawsuits result from this as well?

-- Did Kanye, who is said to have been in London when his mother underwent plastic surgery, even know she had scheduled this?

-- How much Stronger can one rap music icon staring down the barrel of life truly become? If "President Bush doesn't care about black people," then what on Earth will Kanye say when he gets near a mic on the heels of this travesty?

Chicago State University, where Dr. West chaired the English department, is planning a memorial service honoring her this Friday. Kanye, you're so in our prayers.

Hot Links Here

Jay-Z moment of silence in concert

Huffington Post laundry list of Dr. Jan Adams' DUIs and malpractice issues

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Kanye West and LeBron James on Saturday Night Live

Oh hell naw! Kanye West managed to upstage LeBron James on Saturday Night Live -- and Lebron was wonderful as guest host of the season's opening show.

But who can out-drama the original Chicago rap drama king? Only Kanye can upstage himself, as he proved over and over in this brilliant sketch with Maya Rudolph (aka daughter of Minnie Ripperton) and Keenan Thompson:



As awesome as Kanye was playing Kanye, he brilliantly further upstaged himself, freestyle rapping this true and telling rhyme at the end of his song, "Everything I Am":

Hey mama can u see me
Hey daddy can you see me
I'm rockin' on the TV
Y'all thought they'd never let me back in NBC

Ain't that the truth! You could pop some Cris to that powerful notion, a bold reference to his infamous comment about President Bush during NBC's Hurricane Katrina telethon.



How about that all women string section? Simply smokin', Mr. West!

And LeBron, LeBron, LeBron. Really, LeBron James plays more characters in the same spot than Eddie Murphy. Now that's talent, on and off the court.



Links:
Kanye's UniverseCity official site
Maya Rudolph
Forbes-themed rap collabo for Jay-Z, 50 Cent and Diddy
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