Can anyone except a Progressive disagree with my title? Can anyone catch a single example of Progressives embracing anything NOT Progressive in nature? Yet all we hear fabricate them is about the lack of bipartisanship, as if Conservative non-acquiescence is gumming up the works.
Progressives scream they desire bipartisan solutions, yet they outright reject every non-Progressive proposal out of hand. Seemingly any Conservative counter proposal is immediately characterized as hateful and not in the greater respectable of the nation, but instead is nothing but Conservative enrichment and aggrandizement. Poppycock folks!
But no one should really be surprised by any of this. When Conservatives are in power the Progressives scream how unfair it all is. They scheme and front, promising the world to the undeserving, all to score elected. Then they position out to govern in the most partisan of manners and scream if we do not go along, we are obstructionist.
Progressives forward that any lack of bipartisanship is because non-Progressives refuse to go along with them. Maybe in order to enlighten them I need to define bipartisanship for them, ya know, cause they clearly seem confused.
Here is the Wikipedia explanation:
In a two-party system, bipartisan refers to any bill, act, resolution, or any other action of a political body in which both of the major political parties are in agreement. Often, compromises are called bipartisan if they reconcile the desires of both parties from an unusual version of legislation or other proposal. Failure to conclude bipartisan wait on in such a system can easily lead to gridlock, often angering each other and their constituencies.
Bipartisanship can also be between two or more opposite groups (e.g. liberal and conservative) to agree and choose a notion of action on an urgent matter that is of great importance to their voters. This interpretation brings bipartisanship closer to the more applied notion of postpartisan decision-making; a solution-focused approach that creates a governance model with third-party arbiters used to detect bias. End quote.
The last section of the second paragraph explains the pickle at present – “a solution-focused approach that creates a governance model with third-party arbiters used to detect bias.”
Obama was elected to be post-partisan, yet his governance has been nothing at all like the Wiki definition. Did the reader catch the “third-party arbiters used to detect bias? ” Did ya catch that most salient point? We have a nation of “third-party arbiters” screaming NO.
If only Conservatives were against all this, that would not be “third-party,” but as upwards of 85% of Independents are objecting to Obama nonsense, that is CLEARLY “third-party,” no? But when the same Independents that voted for Obama now disagree and leap from the Obama Crazy Declare, they and we are called racist and obstructionist.
Bipartisanship requires both parties to agree on a solution, and the “third-party arbiters” are the judges. Yet as the spacious percentage of Independents scream NO, the Progressive screams hate and vitriolic things at all who refuse to go along. So the facts seem rather clear that nothing the Progressives are up to is bipartisan.
They are trying to gain veil for their dirty little deeds. Why does one judge the health reforms Obama is so desperately trying to shove down our throats MUST be done today, but will NOT TAKE EFFECT until 2013? Put on your thinking caps folks and divine me an answer.
Maybe because 2013 is AFTER his reanointment? If one isn’t smart enough to connect these two dots, one needs to close up shop, pull the covers over their head and just silently slip away.
Remember how Clinton co-opted Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow” as their campaign theme in ’92? Seems this bunch of Progressives have co-opted AC/DC’s “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” as theirs.
Yeah, that sounds about right.
SOURCES: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipartisanship
Filed under Automobile Insurance Wiki by on Mar 14th, 2011. Comment. 
There has never been a time when it has been easier for the regular person on the street to own a sports car but most people are put off by the maintenance and policy costs. Sports car insurance is a highly specialized place of automobile insurance specifically dealing with high performance exotic or sports cars. A comprehensive sports car protection will cover the car against many events such as property damage, medical costs, legal expenses and liability.
When it comes to calculating the cost of sports car protection for a certain driver, there are many factors involved as the risks differ from individual to individual. For example, every automobile has an insurance ranking which is mainly based around 2 areas:
- its power to weight proportion
- the sign of replacing parts.
Here are other elements an insurance company considers when trying to decide a sports car protection cover premium:
- The driver’s age and sex
- The driver’s history
- The driver’s driving experience
- The type of profession
- The number of times the person has claimed on their insurance policy in the past.
- The cars ability to withstand collisions
- How effective it is against theft
- The area the driver resides
- The driver’s credit ranking
All of these can make a difference to the annual cost. It can affect the annual sports car protection cover premium.
It is only normal that sports car insurance cover companies charge sports car drivers more than a family car driver. They don’t drive in the same manner and many accidents take place with cars traveling at high speeds. Regrettably, insurance facts show that it is the luxury, high performance sports car sector that has the steepest risk of accident damage. These cars also have high probability of being involved in car insurance fraud. There’s a lot of those cases nowadays and it’s increasing.
Armed with these facts, a driver wishing to accept a genuine sports car protection cover premium must first examine into the subject and search for a respectable specialist insurer. The truest long-term method of reducing money spent on your sports car protection is to be a ample driver and not develop any policy claims. Another diagram used by many sports car protection cover companies is to status a limit on how many miles you can drive the car in a year. Alternatively, you can set a figure yourself providing it doesn’t conflict with theirs, which should help lower your yearly insurance expenses. If the car is of high value, the insurance provider may even specify that you fit an engine immobilizer and possibly even a car location system. If you are buying your sports car from either a specialist or main dealer, you may find they have made arrangements to provide their own sports car insurance camouflage. But be warned, they may refuse if you have a poor driving history.
If you are fortunate, your search may lead you to a sports car insurance cover broker who will be able to find the best rate for you. Ideally the broker also has insurance policy claims and legal experience for when things go substandard. Sports car insurance policy supplies sports cars with standard insurance protection so it does not cover the car in case of changes to the body or its engine. So don’t go messing about there. And if you do any car modifications before application, they may reject you altogether. With sports car insurance cover, it is in your best interest to find a good broker who can deal with helping the customer choose a suitable policy, paperwork, negotiations with the companies, and later with possible insurance claims.
Filed under Automobile Insurance Company Ratings by on Feb 27th, 2011. Comment.
Since the station boasts some of the best series – and ratings – on all of television these days, I know I am not the only person who has fallen in worship with some of CBS’ exciting prime time shows like CSI, or its two spin-offs, CSI: Miami or CSI: Unusual York.
Heck, that trio alone has garnered the station some immense drawing power all by themselves.
However, CBS also boasts some other expedient shows that I also watch on a regular basis, like NUMB3RS, Criminal Minds, Close To Home and The Unit.
Without delving too much into my television viewing habits, I thought it would be interesting to take a quick peek at the acting careers of some of the incredibly talented African-American actors who have reached the pinnacle of the acting profession and are now lighting up the “small screen” in millions of homes across the United States on a weekly basis.
I’m determined you’ll find some of the biographical information on each actor quite animated – because I certainly did, especially after doing the research. At any rate, here is my feature on fall television’s prime time African-American actors on CBS.
Khandi Alexander: CSI Miami
Way before Alexander ever made her first appearance as coroner Alexx Woods on CSI: Miami, she appeared on Broadway and choreographed international recording star, Whitney Houston’s international tours from 1989 to 1992.
Born in Novel York City on September 4, 1957 Alexander is also a obsolete dancer in addition to her success as a choreographer and film and television star and was educated at Queensborough Community College.
She was first introduced to television viewers on a weekly basis with her portrayal of Catherine Duke, on NBC’s “NewsRadio” and had a seven-year recurring role as Jackie, the sister to actor, Eriq La Salle’s Dr. Peter Benton, on the hit television show, “ER” that helped to solidify her stature as an in-demand actor.
However, it was her highly acclaimed portrayal of Fran Boyd, the manipulative, loving and sympathetic junkie on HBO’s “The Corner” which garnered Alexander a “Best Mini- Series” Emmy nod.
Alexander has been described as a no-nonsense performer who has developed quite a reputation for consistently delivering knockout performances.
Alexander’s film credits include “ There’s Something About Mary”, “No Easy Way”, “Sugar Hill”, the Chris Rock rap music spoof “CB4” and the Tina Turner Bio-pic, “What’s Love Got To Do With It.”
Theatrically, Alexander has also performed in “The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun”, “Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie”, “ Legacy”, “Period of Adjustment”, and “Color of Blue”, in addition to the previously mentioned, Bob Fosse’s “Dancin.’”
Alexander continues to explore the limits of her talent as a performer and actor and I must add that I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see her popularity continue to rise well into the next decade.
Hill Harper: CSI Unusual York
I really luxuriate in Harper in his role on CSI: New York as Dr. Sheldon Hawkes, a reclusive coroner who walked away from a promising surgical career after the traumatic loss of two patients.
However, the thing I like most about Harper, who was born Frank Hill Harper on May 17, 1966 in Iowa City, Iowa, doesn’t take place in front of any cameras.
Off camera, Harper’s accomplishments are probably more overwhelming than anything he’s done in front of one.
Heck, Harper is almost a darned genius who could have been a huge success in any field. He graduated magna cum laude from Brown University (A.B. 1988) and also graduated with a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a Master of Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
This coming February, Harper will star in the HBO movie, Lackawanna Blues, which is based on the critically acclaimed stage play by Ruben Santiago-Hudson. Recently, People magazine selected Harper as one of their “Sexiest Men Alive” (2004).
Prior to CSI: NY, Harper co-starred as an ambitious undercover FBI operative on the CBS series, The Handler, alongside Emmy Award nominee Joe Pantoliano. The role earned him a 2004 Golden Satellite Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. He has also been recognized by the NAACP Image Awards with a nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the CBS series, City of Angels.
His new film roles include the lead in the independent film, Love, Sex and Eating the Bones, which was popular into the Toronto International, Palm Springs, and Pan African film festivals.
Harper’s other screen credits include: Loving Jezebel, The Nephew (with Pierce Brosnan), The Skulls (with Joshua Jackson), In Too Deep (with Omar Epps, L.L. Frosty J and Nia Long), Beloved, Hav’ Plenty, He Got Game (with Denzel Washington), and Get on the Bus. Other films include Zooman (with Louis Gossett Jr., Charles S. Dutton and CCH Pounder), Full Court Press (with Ellen Burstyn and Taye Diggs) and One Red Rose, which he also co-wrote, for Showtime.
Harper is also a member of Boston’s Murky Folk’s Theater Company and is dating actress Gabrielle Union for good measure.
Kimberly Elise: Close to Home
When I recently began watching Close To Home, I was genuinely – and pleasantly – surprised to see veteran actress, Kimberly Elise who is undoubtedly one of the best African-American female actors in the entire acting industry today.
From her famous roles in major films like “Set It Off,” “Diary of a Mad Shaded Woman” and “Beloved,” not to mention, “The Manchurian Candidate,” “Woman Thou Art Loosed,” “John Q,” and “Bait,” Elise has inspired viewers to express the entire gamut of their emotions with her notable performances.
Born Kimberly Elise Trammel on April 17, 1967, Elise’s first movie was Status It Off (1996), in which she played one of four women who resort to robbing a bank for money. Following that she played a role in Beloved, alongside Oprah Winfreyand Danny Glover.
In 2004, she appeared in Woman Thou Art Loosed portraying Michelle, an abused young woman who finally got the help she needed behind bars. This role won her a Black Reel award for best actress. She has since appeared in The Manchurian Candidate and Diary of a Mad Gloomy Woman (for which she has won a NAACP Image Award)
Her television movie credits include “Bojangles,” “The Loretta Claiborne Story” and “The Ditchdigger’s Daughters.” She has also appeared in the series “Soul Food” and “Girlfriends.” Elise was born in Minneapolis and lives in Los Angeles. Her birth date is April 17.
Elise was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Marvin Trammel, who owned an executive search firm, and Erna Jean Johnson; she has three siblings and studied film and acting at the University of Minnesota and received a BA in Mass Communication.She was married to Maurice Oldham from 1989 until 2005 and has two children named Ajableu and Butterfly.
Elise currently stars on Stop to Home, playing Marion County prosecutor Maureen Scotfield, the superior of the show’s main character, fellow prosecutor Annabeth Stagger (Jennifer Finnigan).
Cress Williams: Close To Home
Close To Home actually shocked me twice when I watched my first episode, by not having one, but two veteran African-American actors on the cast.
Anyone who has been watching television prime time over the past 15 years, knows Cress Williams from his many television credits, which include recurring roles in “Nash Bridges,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “The West Hover,” “Veronica Mars,” “Providence,” “ER,” “Living Single” and “Beverly Hills 90201.”
Williams also guest starred on numerous television series including “Becker,” “Touched by an Angel” and “JAG,” which were also all on CBS. Williams’ feature film credits include “The Dogwalker,” “Two Days in the Valley,” “Fallen,” “Never Been Kissed” and “Little Shadowy Book.” Williams was born in Heidelberg, Germany. His birth date is July 27.
Gary Dourdan: CSI
You know what I found incredible? As much as my wife and I both watch television, neither of us could advance up with the name of the African-American actor who plays on the original CSI – and also appeared, as my wife repeatedly pointed out, on one of her favorite shows of all-time, “A Different World.”
Okay, now that I’ve got that fact in this column, specifically at my wife’s insistence, let me say that, after doing some research, I will never forget the name of Gary Dourdan.
Born on December 11, 1966 in my hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dourdan and his family moved to Willingboro, New Jersey when he was in his youth.
At this time his interests included acting, music and martial arts. Later Dourdan moved to New York City and worked as a doorman at a rehearsal studio where he met some of Manhattan’s promising young artists.
He got his first break when Debbie Allen cast him as Shazza Zulu on A Different World based on a tape of him in an avant-garde play. He continued to work sporadically until he nabbed the part of Warrick Brown on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
He was also the host of a BET Spoken Word demonstrate entitled the Lyric Café and was briefly married to Roshumba Williams.
Dourdan also has a daughter, Nyla and a son, Lyric from prior relationships and recently joined DMC on stage at Live 8 at Park Place in Barrie, Ontario, and also co-sang the lyrics to the theme song of The Jeffersons at the 2005 Emmy Awards.
Dourdan also starred in the movie Alien: Resurrection and is currently set to play Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, in a biographical film.
Shemar Moore: Criminal Minds
I’m really not very fond of Moore for reasons I really won’t get into, but I must admit that his performances on Criminal Minds has been better than I expected.
Born, Shemar Franklin Moore on April, 20 1970 in Oakland, California, Moore is an actor and former male fashion model with Irene Marie Models.
Moore was born to a Caucasian mother of Irish/French-Canadian descent and an African-American father. He is best known for his role as Malcolm Winters on The Young and the Restless, which he originally played from 1994 to 2002.
He was also the host of the syndicated version of the series Soul Disclose from 1999 until 2003 (although no one will ever be able to truly replace the legendary Don Cornelius), and appeared in the 2000 feature film The Brothers.
In November 2004, he returned to The Young and the Restless as Malcolm Winters, after a few months he dropped back to recurring status and left in September 2005. He also portrayed Det. Jesse Reese in the television expose Birds of Prey (TV Series) from 2002 to 2003.
In his role on Criminal Minds, Moore portrays FBI Special Agent Derek Morgan, the team’s resident “tough guy.” Moore also had an excellent supporting role in the film Diary of a Furious Black Woman and has won legions of fans for his high-profile modeling, often shirtless, and his status as daytime’s first black soap hunk. Moore is a graduate of Santa Clara University, where he majored in Communications.
Lennie James: Jehrico
Lennie James is a British actor that I admittedly, know almost nothing about although he has appeared in nearly twenty films, including the Guy Ritchie crime caper Snatch (2000), 24 Hour Party People (2002), and Sahara (2005). James attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 1988 and currently plays Robert Hawkins in the CBS post-apocalyptic television drama series Jehrico.
Alimi Ballard: Numbers
NUMB3RS is undeniably one of my well-liked shows on television these days and actor, Alimi Ballard, whose name I wasn’t really familiar with, has been a huge part of getting me to tune in on a weekly basis.
Ballard is another actor I had seen in various roles, but really didn’t know great about until I began my research for this article.
Born and raised in Bronx, Novel York, Ballard began his acting career while in high school. Because of his godfather’s urging, Ballard joined MindBuilders, a local Recent York community center dedicated to the empowerment of youth, and was cast in a play called “No Laughing Matter.”
Weeks later, he found himself touring New York’s inner-city libraries, community centers and elementary and high schools. He later joined the Manhattan Theater Club and the National Black Theater, where he starred in “Holiday Heart” and “Endangered Species.”
Ballard’s first television role came on ABC’s daytime drama, “Loving,” where he starred as the troubled youth, Frankie Hubbard. Ballard landed his first primetime role on “New York Undercover” and in 1996, Ballard moved to Los Angeles, and shortly thereafter landed a role on ABC’s “Arsenio.”
Ballard’s film credits include “Deep Impact,” “Men of Honor,” “Malcolm X,” and “Three Days of Rain.” His many television credits include “Dark Angel,” “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” “New York Undercover,” “American Dreams,” “Arsenio,” and guest spots on “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “Nash Bridges,” “NYPD Blue,” “Boomtown,” “Philly,” “She Spies,” “Malcolm and Eddie,” “The Division,” “For the People” and the movie “The Little Richard Story” in addition to his current role as FBI agent David Sinclair on NUMB3RS.
Ballard currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Dawn, and daughter, Naya. His birth date is Oct. 17.
Dennis Haysbert: The Unit
I’ll admit that I don’t watch The Unit nearly as remarkable as I do some of the other CBS shows, but I have always been fond of veteran actor, Dennis Haysbert and have come to view the show more often than I previously did because of the presence of three African-American actors on the show’s cast. However, this section is all about Haysbert.
Born Dennis Dexter Haysbert in San Mateo, California, on June 2, 1954, Haysbert is best known for portraying the role of David Palmer from the American television show 24.
After graduating high school, measuring 6’4” tall, Haysbert was offered various sports scholarships, but instead chose to study acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Haysbert is the divorced father of two.
Haysbert has been acting in film and television since 1979, starting with a guest role in The White Shadow. His television guest starring roles include Lou Grant, Laverne & Shirley, The A-Team, Magnum, P.I., Buck Rogers and Duckman.
On film, Haysbert has appeared in Absolute Power, Random Hearts and Far From Heaven among others.
In 1989, Haysbert portrayed Pedro Cerrano, a voodoo-practicing baseball player in the movie Major League, in which he uttered the memorable line: “It is very bad to steal Jobu’s rum. Very bad”.
In 1992, Haysbert co-starred with Michelle Pfeiffer in Appreciate Field, a film about the assassination and funeral of President John F. Kennedy. In 1999, Haysbert starred with Eric Close in Now and Again, which was cancelled after its first season.
In 2001, Haysbert became better known when he was cast in 24 playing the African-American Senator (later President) David Palmer.
He maintained his status as a cast member through seasons two and three. As a guest star, he appeared in the last six episodes of season 4 and the first episode of season 5.
In addition to television and film acting, Haysbert has also done voice work for various video games, most notably as Irving Lambert in Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell series and narrator of Call of Duty: Finest Hour.
Haysbert is also the official spokesman for the Allstate Insurance Company and he also voices the Military Channel’s commercials with their official slogan: “The Military Channel – Go Behind the Lines.”
Haysbert portrays Jonas Blane, on the Unit.
Regina Taylor: The Unit
Born, August 22, 1960, in Dallas, Texas and raised in Oklahoma, Taylor’s earliest professional acting roles were two made-for-television films while she was studying at Southern Methodist University: 1980’s Nurses and 1981’s Crisis at Central High, where she was praised by critic John O’Connor of The Original York Times for her portrayal of Minnijean Brown, a member of the Small Rock Nine.
Her first role to pick up her widespread attention nationally, was that of Mrs. Carter, the drug-addicted mother of a promising young female student, in the 1989 film Lean on Me.
Taylor however, is best known for her role as Lilly Harper on the early 1990s TV series I’ll Fly Away. This role won her a Golden Globe award for Best Actress in a Television Drama and also an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series.
Since then Taylor has had some significant success for various supporting roles in films, such as the Spike Lee film Clockers, Courage Under Fire, A Family Thing, The Negotiator, and for the telefilms Losing Isaiah and Weird Justice — a Showtime new film — and as the lead in the PBS telefilm Cora Unashamed, based on a Langston Hughes short story.
Taylor is currently plays the role of Molly Blaine on the The Unit. The tough-minded housewife holds the women of ‘the Unit’ together when their men are on covert assignments.
Taylor is also an accomplished stage actress, and was the first black woman to play Juliet in Romeo and Juliet on Broadway. Her other Broadway credits include Macbeth and As You Like It.
A prolific playwright, Taylor is a Distinguished Artistic Associate of Chicago’s Goodman Theater. Among her many accomplishments, she has collaborated on and appeared in the play Millennium Mambo; has written A Night in Tunisia, which premiered during the 2000 Alabama Shakespeare Festival; has won a best new play award from the American Critics’ Association for Oo-Bla-Dee (a work about 1940s female jazz musicians); has written and directed the award-winning Crowns, which was first produced at the McCarter Theatre and at Second Stage in Novel York.
Taylor is currently the writer-in-residence at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, where she is working on the fresh play Magnolia, set during the beginning of desegregation in Atlanta in 1961.
Demore Barnes: The Unit
Barnes is a Canadian film and television actor, co-staring in the hit CBS drama, The Unit. Originally from Toronto, Barnes began his carrer with an appearance on the sketch comedy show Squawk Box on YTV and from there he joined the cast of Street Cents.
Barnes was a shy student at Sir Oliver Mowat High School in Toronto when some friends cajoled him into hosting the school’s Christmas assembly. The performance was a hit, giving Barnes the confidence to try out for Squawk Box, a sketch comedy reveal on YTV that is the equivalent of Canada’s version of Nickelodeon.
Although he was just eighteen years old, and it was his first professional audition, Barnes got the job – and the beginning of a career in acting was launched. The show lasted one season, by which time Barnes knew he wanted to pursue acting as a career. He applied to Ryerson University’s theatre program, but a successful audition for the CBC kids show,” Street Cents”, sidetracked his academic aspirations.
He spent the next three seasons on the note doing sketch comedy. “Street Cents” allowed him to hone his comedic talents, but he felt the need to expand his range and challenge himself.
For a while, that something else was a series of roles in television and movies and cable shows, including a turn as the tribal warrior, Mudo on the nationally syndicated Tia Carrere display,” Relic Hunter.”
In less than a year, Barnes was cast as Benjamin Hardaway on “The Associates”, and thrust into a media maelstrom. For that role, Demore was nominated for two consecutive years for the Gemini award (Canada’s equivalent of Emmy) as Best Lead Actor in a drama series.
“The Associates” lasted two seasons, after which Demore felt he was ready for a tall change – spellbinding to Los Angeles.
Barnes arrived in Los Angeles in January 2003. He fully expected to step off the plane and start working; after all, that was always the case. However, this was not the case. What did fall into his lap, however, was an opportunity to work with acting coach, Larry Moss.
Once again, he was in the right place at the right time. One phone call and he was in. Barnes had no notion how extraordinarily difficult it was to be approved into a class with the man for whom there was always a one year waiting list.
For the first time in his life, Barnes had an opportunity to notice acting. He studied and waited and believed in himself. As a Canadian with no working papers he had to wait for the right project and the right role.
And along came The Unit.
After Barnes’ first audition for David Mamet, Mamet looked up at him and said, what you just did there is what they call demanding the part. You just demanded that part”. Demore’s response was understated to say thre least. “Well, I do want the part, David”. And the rest as they say, was history.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste: Without A Trace
I have always enjoyed the performances of veteran actor, Marianne Jean-Baptiste and I must admit that I am particularly fond of the character she plays on the hit CBS series, Without A Trace. However, I have to admit once again, that I didn’t know much about Jean-Baptiste before I began writing this article.
Born, Marianne Raigipcien Jean-Baptiste on 26 April 1967 in London, England, Jean-Baptiste became a star overnight following the international success of the social drama Secrets & Lies in 1996, becoming the very first black English actress nominated for an Oscar. She also received a Golden Globe nomination for this performance.
Jean-Baptiste is also known for her collaboration with director Mike Leigh on stage in It’s a Great Substantial Shame (1993). She is also a writer/composer and has recorded an album of blues songs and serene the musical score for Leigh’s 1997 film Career Girls.
Jean-Baptiste was classically trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and performed at the Royal National Theatre. However, Jean-Baptiste claimed racism after being excluded from the actor group promoting British talent at the Cannes Film Festival.
She currently stars as FBI agent “Vivian Johnson” on the hit CBS drama, Without a Trace. Her character has a serious heart disease and a young son to raise while still doing her demanding law enforcement work. In true life, she is married to British ballet dancer Evan Williams and has one daughter.
Filed under Allstate by on Feb 24th, 2011. Comment.
By now you’ve seen those famous neanderthals. The surly-looking bunch with protruding brows and mangy hairstyles combed into space with rocks. Authentically Pleistocene from the neck up, their clothes and lifestyles project a more modern and hip sensibility.
They’re the Geico Cavemen. Typical urban thirty-somethings. Indistinguishable from their modern peers were it not for those brows, that hair and, of course, the beef they have with the insurance company that made them eminent.
Actor Ben Wilson was in the second Caveman commercial. He played a cromagnon who indignantly stands and asks his roommates if they heard the Geico pitchman’s latest insult.
I caught up with Wilson at Miyagi’s on Sunset for a brief chat.
“You don’t actually look much like a caveman.” I say as we get settled in.
Wilson has a short, dirty blonde haircut and a prominent jawline, but to report him as a neanderthal is definitely a stretch.
He flashes an appreciative grin, revealing quiet, white teeth.
“Thanks, but I smell flattery.” he says. “I’m quite caveman-ish. People say I have a flat face. Which is true. My forehead is so thick that it has corners at the top.”
“Is something like that an advantage at auditions? “
Wilson laughs, a little self-conciously. “Well, fortunately nobody really notices.” he says. “But I’ve got a lot of hair, too. A Forty-Niner beard. Not like Jerry Rice, like the California gold diggers with the mules who turn up on Scooby Doo…”
“I get the picture.”
“My beard engulfs the bottom two-thirds of my face pretty quickly if I don’t continually cut it off at the base.”
“Kind of like kudzu.”
Wilson laughs. “Yeah, and my face is Atlanta.”
Wilson played a pirate in the original “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie, which mentioning his beard reminds him.
“My beard is so impossibly wooly that on the set of Pirates, one amazed makeup lady told me it was the best fake beard she’d ever seen. My hair is brown, but my beard is red so I can see why she idea that. I didn’t tell her it wasn’t a fake, though.”
Wilson and I order the buffet and some tea. Wilson seems to have a thing for buffets. It gives him a chance to stack his plate with various tempuras and gyozas.
“So, how did you land this caveman gig? ” I ask.
“I auditioned at Ross Lacey Casting and I was one of the five cavemen they cast. I don’t know how many other people auditioned. They don’t content you that kind of thing. For all I know I was the fifth caveman selected from five auditionees.”
“Was there a casting couch? “
“Y’know, now that you mention it, there was. All the creative people and the product people were sitting on it. It was a big brown low number. It might’ve wrapped around. I don’t remember. I do remember that on the table in front of the casting couch, there was a Roman-Feast-sized pile of food. It was so high that they had to have TV monitors so they could watch my audition even though I was only seven feet away from them.”
“Did they make you wear the caveman makeup on the casting couch? “
“Though everyone was very righteous, I was never invited to join them on the couch. Maybe I should have worn cologne…or bathed sometime the week before that call back.”
“Who were some of the other cavemen you worked with? “
“Great guys, all of them. Ben, John, Jeff and Joe. Two Bens including myself and three guys whose names begin with J.”
We both take a second to marvel at this coincidence as a waitress delivers a bottle of sake to our table. Wilson tells her “arigato”. She bows and leaves.
“How did you prepare for the role? ” I ask.
“”They made them contemporary cavemen. I didn’t have to transform myself into an exact caveman by say… going into the wilderness to spear a occupy. My hat goes off to the inventors of the spot for not making me have to do that. Geniuses.”
“What was it like to wear the makeup? “
“Awesome! I kept asking myself where were these guys when I was getting ready for Prom. It was orderly fun and like wearing nothing at all. The only thing they had to do was apply a little facial prosthetic.”
“What did they add? “
“Fairly minor stuff. You know, just a completely new face and head structure including forehead, nose, cheekbones, jaw, stuff like that…”
He takes a sip of his sake.
“Fake teeth…” he continues. “A wig, a groundless beard. I gotta say, seriously, the makeup and special prosthetics guys are also geniuses. Tony and Vance and all those guys. They’re “amazers”…they will literally amaze you.”
“So it was a relatively painless procedure? “
“They had to spread glue all over my arms and legs and feet and hands and chest with limited butter knife things, like I was a big tranquil untoasted English muffin, then they stuck lots and lots of hair to the glue. It wasn’t painful, but it was amazingly itchy. I looked awesome, so it was worth it.”
“How long did it take to put on? “
“Not too long. The make up guys are shapely nice and the time just flies and the next thing you know, “ZOW!” you’re a caveman.”
The Geico Cavemen are noted for their urban-coolness, attending swank parties in condos overlooking West Hollywood, ordering roast duck with mango salsa, scheduling therapy sessions while music by Royksopp soundtracks their day-to-day coming and going. So it’s no surprise that Wilson carries himself in the same way.
“The jacket and shirt are thrift store.” Wilson says.
Of course the thrift stores in Los Angeles are filled with a few more buried treasures than those in other parts of the country. The shirt is a nice dress shirt with unfastened French cuffs and the jacket is tailored with blue pin stripes. I survey his shoes, which are a pair of white crocs.
“Is this the kind of ensemble your character would wear? ” I ask.
“I actually got to wear these Zodiac brand three-tone top-sider-boat-shoes which I could never have afforded when I was in high school when they were really cool. You remember those? “
I nod.
“Yeah, so that was like another kind of perk. I took a petite moment while they were setting up a different shot, to fantasize that I was back in high school strolling down the hall in those Zodiacs with all this manly hair everywhere and totally turning the heads of all the ladies. Students, teachers, student teachers. Everyone. Mothers, secretaries, the kitchen cooks. All these ladies drop everything to acquire a glimpse… and nod approvingly.”
“ABC just said they’re going to bewitch up the Caveman sitcom.” I say.
Wilson nods. “I’ve heard that it’s out there, but I’m not in it. Everybody’s been calling, asking if I’m in it. And they’re all excited and I have to shoot down their hopes. It’s tough, but tough is a main part of tough love.”
“Are the Geico Cavemen ready for Prime Time? “
“I sure hope so…” Wilson says with a smile. “And I hope that they can have a cousin in some of the shows and that cousin can be played by me. It’s a brilliant concept and it’s struck a nerve. Thinking succor I can’t believe I got into it at all. I couldn’t be luckier.”
A brief side label. It would appear that none of the fresh commercial actors were called upon for the sitcom. As so much of the appeal of the Geico Cavemen is in the charisma of the original performers, one has to wonder about the wisdom of the show’s producers to recast. We shall see…
Filed under Cheap Automobile Insurance by on Feb 22nd, 2011. Comment.
Today, people are making sure that everything is safe and secured. That is why they are getting health insurance, to ensure that their health is taken care of. However, finding one is not easy. There are many business minded people who take advantage of these needs. Sometime we don’t know where to start on finding health insurance quotes that would be beneficial for us. That’s why we often get the first thing that comes ahead.
We all know that our health is very vital to us as well as our money which we work hard for. That is why it is best to invest it on the upright insurance. Especially now that we have to do it on our own because many of the companies now are not giving support to their employees health insurance. The self-employed persons have to do it on their fill also. However, when they think of the hassles of getting quotes for health insurance, they usually choose to live without it.
However, it is not something that we can take for granted. We need it as well as do our loved ones. So, here are the places where you can fetch the quotations for health insurance in easier ways.
The first easy step is to look in your phone book’s directory for companies that provide health insurance in your area and ask for quotes that absorb the particular situations of your family, the deductibles and the kind of insurance they are offering.
Once you have it, don’t be excited to accept any offers that very moment. You should then do the second step which is talking to your friends and family. Ask your friends about the health insurance company they are paying for. Fine out if they are satisfied and if they are paying a reasonable price. If you find something good, find the name of the company and other important information and talk to your family members if they would agree on the health insurance company you are considering.
You can also ask your fellow workmates about their insurance policies. The more people you ask, the more choices you have and much better chances on finding the right health insurance quotes you need.
Another thing you can do to find it in easy ways is through the internet. Use your computer and search for it. Once you have the lists of the companies in your hand, do not stop there. Since you are already using the internet, go to their particular sites to know more about their company. You can compare all the quotes that you have.
The good thing about the internet is that everything seems to be accessible. You do not have to go out to bag something you are looking for. With just one click, you’ll find it. You are saving yourself quite a bit of time, effort and energy and you near up with a better result.
These steps are very easy to do. It doesn’t cost you anything to get the quotes for health insurance. Do not base your decision on the hassles it will bring you because our health is the most important thing in our life. So we better insure ourselves so that we have no worries in times of emergencies.
Once you take the time and a diminutive disaster, you will have your quotes, compare them and decide on the health insurance that will give you the benefits you want and will cost you less.
Filed under Automobile Insurance Quotes by on Feb 20th, 2011. Comment.
