The Voice With Balls Is Back!

 LA-based Tom Leykis went off the radio three years ago when the station that paid his wages, KLSX, changed formats.  Tom's absence left a big hole in the country's radio market, a market biased entirely towards another kind of hole, and entirely against males (and what being male means) The Oprah-centric American media, which pushes a line that all women are victims of or will be victims of  male "abuse", and all men are would-be rapists, provides virtually no voice for males who are happy being who they are and proud of it.

The pussification of all media has created an environment where men's issues (in the media) are minimized and poorly regarded, and men (as singles, fathers, and husbands) are expected to toe the line of a powerful and influential strata of once-freedom-loving women-now-turned-bitter-middle-agers.

Well, the fighting voice of voice of male reason has returned. Despite the fact that so-called "experts" said it couldn't be done, Leykis, now out of contract, has returned to his seat of influence, and that seat is on-line. Eschewing traditional radio offers, and pioneering a new radio paradigm, he has drawn much criticism for his decision to take his brand to the worldwide web. Also drawing criticism has been his decision to make his show both ad- and subscriber-supported, in addition to the self-support he has given it.

 Just fifteen days in to this bold "experiment", the figures are pretty amazing. In the first week, Leykis had 401,000 listeners. In fifteen days, he has 700 paid subscribers who get additional content. His old terrestrial radio show, which occupied a regular slot on KLSX for 12 years, averaged 330,000 listeners. To put all this into perspective, consider that this 401,000 figure is much higher than LA's highly promoted terrestrial station KABC. In fact, as Leykis himself pointed out on his show this week, there are 14 other LA/Orange Country radio station that don't have 410,000 listens between them (!).

If you're male and you've never listened to Tom, do yourself a favor and go to:

http://blowmeuptom.com

Nobody but nobody in the world does what Tom is doing.

The general media and the family courts have been demonizing men for decades. Surely, you say, there's hope somewhere?

Yes, there is.

If you're male and you give a shit about "adult living" (as Tom calls it), Leykis is relevant to every aspect of your life.

If you're a young male, get out from under your girlfriend's pussy and grow a fuckin pair. Whether it's info on getting the job you want, dealing with women, maintaining your independence, or taking control of your future , Leykis is essential listening.

If you're a woman and you want to truly understand men, give Oprah and her mamby-pamby bullshit the old heave-ho, and confront the truth about men.

Leykis, the Voice With Balls, is back!

The Scariest Film of the Year

The trailer for Precious, a drama about a fat, black schoolgirl, pregnant for the second time, living in Hell with her braindead mother, sells the film short. I had to drag myself to see it because the trailer turned me right off. It was so well-meaning and self-important and Oscar-baiting that I wanted to burn the theater down.

Check out the full title: Precious - Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. Get the fuck out of here, right?! That was my first thought. Why that title? Why not go further and include a synopsis as part of the title, too? Or better, add complimentary adjectives about the flick.

Try this: The Amazing Precious - The Heart-Rending Motion Picture About the Mountainous, Knocked-Up Black Chick Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, the Black Chick Herself.

Does that do it for ya?

I'm sure you'll understand why I was driving around theaters to avoid this in its first week. Then, because I'm curious and because Paula Patton is hot, I decided to take the plunge.

It didn't help matters that Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry's names were on the credit roll. I've seen two Perry films and I never want to see another Perry flick again. As for Oprah, I didn't figure her for a producer of anything but warmed-over cinematic milk. Then again, that view is unfair to Winfrey because she did produce Jonathan Demme's powerful, dark, and confronting Beloved in '98. I guess we're so saturated with Winfrey's talkshow image that anything contrary fails to penetrate the prejudice.

Perhaps I should have been thinking of Beloved instead of The Color Purple when the Precious trailer was doing its rounds; Bastard Out of Carolina wouldn't have been far off the mark, either.

What I wasn't prepared for was a drama that has more in common with Buddy Giovinazzo than a talkshow host turned producer. I kid you not. This is one damn fine drama with a dark, dark heart and a consistency of vision. It's depiction of a black family of degenerates is uncompromising, and some of its grittier revelations floored me.

Gabby Sidibe (who is amazing) plays the illiterate teenager Precious. Though she takes some getting used to when she first appears on-screen, her spot-on portrayal of the character quickly fleshes her out (pardon the unintended pun). We learn that Precious has been impregnated by her stepfather for the second time. Her mother Mary, played by the combustible Mo'Ninique, is cool with the pregnancy, and is unsympathetic to the rape Precious endured. Abandoned by her partner, Mary spends most of her time beating Precious and destroying her self esteem with words and fists.

Suspecting foul play at home, Precious's teacher (Paula Patton) takes an interest in her well-being and encourages her to transfer to a school for socially disadvantaged slow learners. Despite her mother's protests, Precious begins a frightening journey that ends up ripping her world and the world of her mother apart.

In synopsis, I know it sounds like typical Oprah material, but, in execution, the events of this film are as graphic as any Buddy Giovinazzo film -- or an early Hughes Bros. flick like Menace II Society.

Details of Precious's abuse at the hands of her stepfather are surprising for a mainstream release. When questioned about sexual abuse by a social worker played with grim determination by Mariah Carey (who is virtually unrecognizable)...

... Mary recounts how when she would have sex with her lover, he would drag the baby Precious into bed with them and fondle her as an appetizer. She also describes how the same man would steal the milk from her nipples after Precious was born, depriving the child of sustenance. A flashback of the underaged Precious being raped is intense and disturbing, and reminded me (visually) of the dog scenes in Spike Lee's Summer of Sam (my favorite film of his). Mo'Nique's portrayal of Precious's mother is incredible and ranks right up there with great screen debuts such as Angela Bassett's bombastic bitch mother in Boys 'N' The Hood.

Director Lee Daniels sticks to the meat of the plot, keeping things visually and aurally interesting without overstylizing the details. Precious's penchant for daydreaming while being threatened or beaten is skilfully realized with a series of dream-like sequences.

Does the film finally collapse into cliche? No. I loved the ending. It's not what you expect at all.

Precious is being sold as something far less than what it is. Reviews have been positive, though, so perhaps it'll get seen.

Screw the horror remakes. This is the scariest film of the year.

A reader below (Mike Smith) has pointed out that Winfrey and Perry only came aboard the film after it was finished in support and distribution capacities respectively.