Dr. Blackwell's BLOG

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Broadway’s Tony-Award Winning Musical MEMPHIS Closing

Filed under: Performing Arts — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 23:59

Some horribly sad news was announced today as the producers of the amazing Broadway musical MEMPHIS confirmed the show will be closing on August 5th. The musical won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Musical and has been seen by hundreds of thousands of people, owing partly to the theatrical release of a filmed version of the show that also was released on DVD in February. MEMPHIS tells the true 1940’s story of a white radio DJ who was largely responsible for mainstreaming what was traditionally seen as black music and what morphed into rock ‘n roll through radio. In the process, he also fell in-love with an African American woman and pushed the boundaries of society’s traditional more of interracial relationships. The role of DJ Huey Calhoun was originated by Tony Nominee Chad Kimball (who was replaced in October of 2011 by Adam Pascal due to nerve injury) and the role of Felicia Ferrall was originated by Tony Nominee Montego Glover. The show originated at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego in 2008 before transferring to Broadway. Scroll below to read my review of MEMPHIS. It’s sad this show didn’t have a longer life…

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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Kylie Drops a “Timebomb” on UK’s The Voice

Filed under: Popular Music — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 23:18

Kylie Minogue gave a really fun performance of her new single “Timebomb” on UK’s version of The Voice yesterday. Take a look below:

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Monday, May 28, 2012

Kylie Minogue Releases Awesome Video for Awesome New Song

Filed under: Popular Music — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 01:41

Kylie Minogue is celebrating her 25th year in the music biz with the release of a fun and awesome video for her new single “Time Bomb.” The video pushes the sexual limits for Minogue and shows the fun side we all love from Kylie. Take a look at the video below:

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Russian Kids Climb Ridiculously Tall Bridge Without Safety Harness

Filed under: Popular Culture — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 01:28

This video has to be watched to be believed! This video was made by a small group of teenagers who scaled the Russky Island Bridge in Vladivostak. Russian authorities didn’t find the stunt to be particularly entertaining. All three of the teens were fined 300 rubles and charged with trespassing. Take a look at the absolutely terrifying video below:

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Thursday, May 3, 2012

Demi Lovato Gives Special Performance for Fans

Filed under: Popular Music — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 00:59

Emerging pop super star Demi Lovato gave a pretty cool present to her fans prior to her concert at Cobb Energy Center in Atlanta, Georgia a couple of months back. Filmed as part of VEVO’s Go Show Series, Lovato performed her new single “Give Your Heart A Break.” Take a look at her pretty awesome live performance below:

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Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark Snags 2 Tony Award Noms and 1 Drama Desk Award Nom

Filed under: Performing Arts — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 00:44

Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark has been nominated for 2 Tony Awards. The award nominations were announced yesterday by Jim Parsons and Kristen Chenoweth. And while Once (see review below) received an impressive 11 Tony nominations, being crowned as receiving the most, Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark has received nominations for Best Costume Design (Eiko Ishioka) and Best Scenic Design (George Tsypin). In addition, earlier in the week the Drama Desk Award nominees were announced. Patrick Page, who plays scientist and madman Norman Osborne turned The Green Goblin, was nominated for Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical. The Tony Awards will be broadcast on CBS on June 10th while the Drama Desk Awards will be given out at Town Hall on June 3rd. For a complete list of Tony Nominees, head on over to Playbill at: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/165460-2012-Tony-Awards-Nominations-Announced-Once-Earns-11-Nominations. The Drama Desk Award Nominations can be found at: http://www.dramadeskawards.com/2012-nominees.html. Good luck to Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark!!!

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Wednesday, April 11, 2012

New Study Links Conservative Political Ideology to Low-Effort Thinking

Filed under: Politics — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 00:04

A research study published today in the academic journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin links low-effort thinking with conservative political ideology. The article was written by author Scott Eidelman and colleagues from the Department of Psychology at the University of Arkansas. The researchers were able to simulate low-effort thinking in various ways and discovered an emergence of conservatism in the thought patterns and expressions of the study participants. Prior studies have shown a significant relationship between lower levels of education and conservative political ideology. But, this is perhaps the first study showing the actual relationship between lack of critically and higher intellectual thinking and conservative political ideology. The entire article can be found here: http://psp.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/03/16/0146167212439213.full.pdf+html

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Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Madonna’s MDNA Debuts at #1!

Filed under: Popular Music — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 23:51

Debuting at #1 on the Billboard Chart with close to 400,000 copies sold just in the first week alone, Madonna has retained her title “Queen of Pop” yet again with the release of her new album MDNA. Madonna’s 12th studio album is incredible and consists primarily of techno-pop tunes with a couple of ballads (including “Masterpiece”–the Golden Globe winning song from Madonna’s directorial debut W.E.). MDNA is now available through iTunes and other music retailers nationwide from Live Nation. Scroll down the BLOGBOARD to watch Madonna’s new single “Girl Gone Wild” from MDNA.

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Thursday, March 22, 2012

Madonna Releases HOTT Video for New Single

Filed under: Popular Music — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 01:40

Perhaps proving that she has become even more sexier with age, Madonna has released the video for her new song “Girl Gone Wild” from her forthcoming album MDNA which streets Tuesday from LiveNation. Take a look at the incredible video for the fantastically poppy, catchy, and fun song below:

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Friday, March 16, 2012

Documentary “The Road We’ve Traveled” Highlighting President Obama’s First-Term Accomplishments

Filed under: Politics — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 00:33

Tom Hanks narrates Academy Award winning director Davis Guggenheim’s mini-documentary The Road We’ve Traveled. The doc highlights the insurmountable and historic challenges faced by President Obama during his first term and the progress he made. It is definitely worth a view and is chuck full of facts that should quickly silence any critics of Obama’s Presidency. Take a look at the film below:

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