Blog 365

To Develop: Blog 365 Day 20 – Big Brown Shark

To Develop: Blog 365 Day 20 – Big Brown Shark

By Jiddoe S'Phatt

Warmest greetings! My name is Jiddoe S’Phatt. Welcome to day 20 of “To Develop: Blog 365”.

Inspiration to write comes from a number of places. For this blog I’ve been inspired by hip-hop artist Rick Chyme and producer David K. Manley of Man@Work Productions. Through a collaborative project titled #DailyPieces365 these two artists will release a new song every day for the next 365 consecutive days! Their impressive dedication has motivated me to write a new blog every day of 2018.

A little piece of me goes into each entry I write. I hope you enjoy this one!

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I wonder what high profile role Charlie Murphy would be cast in if he was still alive. As popular as he’d become, and as long as he’d been around, he was still basically a rising star. His comedic talents were still being discovered.

Would Charlie have a role in a major movie by now? A regular role on a larger network program? Imagine him as Chidi on The Good Place. Charlie playing opposite Kristen Bell would be gold.

Picture this: Charlie Murphy portraying X-Men character Bishop in a Deadpool sequel. Or this: He and Ryan Reynolds in a remake of Silver Streak.

I was shocked to learn he passed away. I think most outside his most personal circle were. Thanks to his turn on Chappelle’s Show he stepped out of his brother’s shadow in the eyes of casual fans. Those of us who loved him as the real Gusto in CB4, or man-of-few-words Jimmy in Harlem Nights, we could argue he cast a shadow of his own.

I thought Charlie was funny before ever seeing him on television or in movies; he, according to Eddie in Delirious, his brother pooped in the bath tub then used it as a “big brown shark” in an imaginary water war. I thought that was as hilarious as it was disgusting!

I remember on a number of occasions laughing at Charlie Murphy until it hurt. Those memories are fond ones.

Rest In Peace

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Share your thoughts with me at info@mrjoewalker.com or on Twitter @mrjoewalker.

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To Develop: Blog 365 Day 19 – Al Jarreau Was Proud of Me

To Develop: Blog 365 Day 19 – Al Jarreau Was Proud of Me

By Jiddoe S'Phatt

Warmest greetings! My name is Jiddoe S’Phatt. Welcome to day 19 of “To Develop: Blog 365”.

A little piece of me goes into each entry I write. I hope you enjoy this one!

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I watched WWE Network docuseries WWE 24 about Bill Goldberg. In it he tells his son nothing compares to the feeling he gets seeing his son look at him like a real life superhero, bringing him to events people dream about, making these loving father-son memories they’ll always remember.

What Goldberg said struck a very personal chord with me. I’ve gotten to watch my son grow up at concerts and media events. While he may not see me as a superhero, and would much rather have me dancing with him all day to his favorite cartoon themes than writing, we’ve made some special father-son memories ourselves. One of those was meeting the late great Al Jarreau.

I had the blessing of interviewing Al while I was senior writer for SoulTrain.com. We spoke by phone, and he was featured in a couple of really important and memorable articles I wrote. One of those was an all-star tribute to Soul Train creator Don Cornelius. Al told me during a phone call he was proud of me.

I got to sort-of meet Al in person at Shoreline Jazz Festival 2015. Al was tired after his performance but still took time to take pictures with a number of fans. This included my then 2-year-old son, wife, and I. I never told Al who I was because I knew it would lead to an extended conversation, and I didn’t want to keep others waiting. I also knew he wanted to finish up so he could rest.

Being in his presence was great, the photo was also great, but that’s not the biggest takeaway of the day. That honor belongs to a photo of my son standing behind the stage watching Al Jarreau rock the audience.

Rest In Peace

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Share your thoughts with me at info@mrjoewalker.com or on Twitter @mrjoewalker.

Visit MrJoeWalker.com for more great stories!

To Develop: Blog 365 Day 18 – Be a Glimmer

To Develop: Blog 365 Day 18 – Be a Glimmer

By Jiddoe S'Phatt

Warmest greetings! My name is Jiddoe S’Phatt. Welcome to day 18 of “To Develop: Blog 365”.

A little piece of me goes into each entry I write. I hope you enjoy this one!

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There’s a really good behind-the-curtain docuseries on WWE Network called WWE 24. I just watched the episode about Bill Goldberg’s return to the company, him being awarded the Universal Championship, then dropping it to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania.

What I enjoyed most is what happened after the Monday Night RAW following Mania. Once the show went off the air Goldberg came out to address the crowd. He’d loss the championship to Lesner, an outcome that brought an ovation. Having been universally cheered since his return after 13 years away from professional wrestling, the fans appeared to have turned on Goldberg once he won the title.

He said he accepted an opportunity to be a glimmer of the athlete and star he’d been in years past, a run in professional wrestling that made him an icon of the business. What was most important, Goldberg said, was impressing his wife and son who weren’t a part of his life in his heyday.

Then Goldberg addressed his son directly, noting how cool it felt to visit his son’s school, bringing the Universal title belt into his son’s classroom.

He spoke of how nothing could ever compare to the feeling he gets seeing his son look at him like a real life superhero, bringing him to events people dream about, making these loving father-son memories they’ll always remember.

That brought on tears from his wife, members of the audience, and me watching at home.

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Share your thoughts with me at info@mrjoewalker.com or on Twitter @mrjoewalker.

Visit MrJoeWalker.com for more great stories!

To Develop: Blog 365 Day 17 – Honestly

To Develop: Blog 365 Day 17 – Honestly

By Jiddoe SPhatt

Warmest greetings! My name is Jiddoe S’Phatt. Welcome to day 17 of “To Develop: Blog 365”.

A little piece of me goes into each entry I write. I hope you enjoy this one!

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Since the arrival of such persons as Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, Hideo Itami, and AJ Styles to Word Wrestling Entertainment, WWE has done an improved job of acknowledging wrestlers’ accomplishments outside their company. They’ve made it important to mention these wrestlers have been world champions in other promotions.

Yet, they never mention Ron “R-Truth” Killings, a performer who has been with their promotion for several years, is 2-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion. R-Truth’s also the only African-American to hold the prestigious title, a fact WWE continues to neglect even during their Black History Month spotlights.

I have a ton of respect for Ron as a person and pro wrestler. I also support his work as a hip-hop recording artist. On top of his talents he’s just a really cool person.

I’ve interviewed him for a few feature articles during his time with TNA and WWE, also getting his insight for other stories I put together over the years. He’s been helpful and grateful each time.

Ron loves what he does, possessing a great mind for the art professional wrestling. Maybe if he, for a moment, was taken seriously by WWE writers, given a proper run at the WWE title, maybe then they’d acknowledge his other reigns at the top.

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Share your thoughts with me at info@mrjoewalker.com or on Twitter @mrjoewalker.

Visit MrJoeWalker.com for more great stories!

To Develop: Blog 365 Day 16 – Aggressively Pursued

To Develop: Blog 365 Day 16 – Aggressively Pursued

By Jiddoe S'Phatt

Warmest greetings! My name is Jiddoe S’Phatt. Welcome to day 16 of “To Develop: Blog 365”.

A little piece of me goes into each entry I write. I hope you enjoy this one!

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I’ve been a Star Wars fan as long as I can remember.

The feud between characters Obi Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul quickly became one of my favorite things about the ongoing saga. So it made me both excited and sad to see their feud end on the “Twin Suns” episode of Star Wars Rebels.

Thought slain by a young Kenobi in movie Star Wars: Episode 1, Maul’s shocking return during the dreary Clone Wars series on Cartoon Network began a compelling story arc. Maul was a live, and he’d gone mad lusting to seek revenge on Kenobi for cutting him in half. He aggressively pursued Kenobi across the galaxy in hopes of cutting him down after first demoralizing him in whatever way possible.

The two clashed on Rebels in an emotional finale to their years-spanning rivalry. I’ve read complaints from viewers who thought they should have fought longer, as their last battle ended quickly. So even said Maul’s return tarnished his legacy. That didn’t make any sense to me.

In my opinion the final scuffle between Kenobi and Maul was fitting especially when accounting for how the characters aged and evolved. No complaints from me. This was wonderful storytelling. I’m satisfied.

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Share your thoughts with me at info@mrjoewalker.com or on Twitter @mrjoewalker.

Visit MrJoeWalker.com for more great stories!

To Develop: Blog 365 Day 15 – Breakfast Cereal Served Over Ice Cream

To Develop: Blog 365 Day 15 – Breakfast Cereal Served Over Ice Cream

By Jiddoe S'Phatt

Warmest greetings! My name is Jiddoe S’Phatt. Welcome to day 15 of “To Develop: Blog 365”.

A little piece of me goes into each entry I write. I hope you enjoy this one!

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I don’t sleep much.

If I’m not awake writing I’m thinking of things I’ve written or planning to write. I have yet to determine if this is a disorder.

In between bouts with ever changing ideas I’m visiting my refrigerator or kitchen cabinets for snacks. My hope is they’ll give me a boost of energy or ideas. A few chips here, a piece of cheese there. Maybe I’ll grab a handful of chocolate chips or a sample portion of something left over from dinner. One of my favorites is dry breakfast cereal served over ice cream.

After eating I’ll return to my notebook PC with my composition notebook resting beside me. I’ll open it to peruse ideas. Too often thoughts that sounded cool initially don’t make as much since to me when revisited later. Next I take my pen in my hand to start crossing out the ideas I don’t care to indulge anymore before beginning to write new ones. This goes on for an hour or so, most times I’ll stop because I begin to crave a snack again.

Back to the kitchen I go. Maybe I’ll grab a handful of chocolate chips or a sample portion of something left over from dinner. Perhaps another helping of dry breakfast cereal served over ice cream. That’s when I really good idea will hit me!

After eating I’ll return to my notebook PC and begin to write, only to interrupt myself because I forgot to write the idea down first. Once that’s done I continue writing. This goes on for an hour or so, most times I’ll stop because I again begin to crave a snack.

I have yet to determine if this is a disorder. I don’t sleep much.

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Share your thoughts with me at info@mrjoewalker.com or on Twitter @mrjoewalker.

Visit MrJoeWalker.com for more great stories!

To Develop: Blog 365 Day 14 - Years from Now

To Develop: Blog 365 Day 14 - Years from Now

By Jiddoe S'Phatt

Warmest greetings! My name is Jiddoe S’Phatt. Welcome to day 14 of “To Develop: Blog 365”.

A little piece of me goes into each entry I write. I hope you enjoy this one!

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If I listened and took to the heart the rants of all displeased wrestling fans on the internet, then I’d feel WrestleMania 33 was an unenjoyable failure. But I don’t. I’m going to remember it years from now.

First off, anyone who thought Bill Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship was going to be a lackluster match was just naysaying for the sake of naysaying. It was awesome.

Yes, these two giants clashed at WrestleMania XX 13 years ago, and it was not a great match by any means. They were both leaving the company following that match and didn’t care. It showed. But both their lives, personalities, careers, and motivations changed since then.

These two icons got a chance at a redo. They had an opportunity to give fans the match they’d dreamed about all along. And they delivered. Goldberg vs Brock was fast, hard-hitting, and just fun to watch.

The undercard was exciting too. AJ Styles and Shane McMahon tore it up to start the show. Before their clash people were too busy questioning why faced off in a Mania bout to begin with, pointing out all the reasons they shouldn’t be opponents. While doing so they neglected to consider what these two creative, risk-taking vets were capable of all along.

I’m going to remember their match years from now.