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My grandma was the best cook I’ve ever known, and a lot of people would agree with me. She used to fix meals for church and family functions from picnics to massive dinners. I don’t think there was anything she couldn’t fix, and everything she made was done with love and care. A few months ago, someone brought up regional foods on BlueSky, and I thought about her and something she excelled at: Yock. Yock is a regional noodle dish from my part of the world that has Chinese and Black culinary roots, and to be honest, I haven’t had a good bowl of it yock in ages. I just knew my grandma made it better than anyone I’ve ever known or ever will know.  Here’s a brief history about yock. Yock, sometimes called yock-a-mein (a box of noodles), originated with Chinese immigrants who came to the Tidewater region of Virginia back in the early part of the 20th century. The locals largely call the southeast portion of Virginia "Hampton Roads" nowadays, though there are some who still call i...

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would have turned 97 on January 15 this year. On this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day... and yes, that's the official name of the federal observation of the third Monday of January is despite what the current administration wants to tell you... there is a weird erasure of what this brave man accomplished for civil rights in this country. It feels low-key and intentionally so this year. Events celebrating Dr. King are being cancelled nationwide, and the current administration has been hellbent on erasing his name and accomplishments in achieving civility, peace, equity, and brotherhood in this country and throughout the world. Dr. King actually won his Nobel Peace Prize. It wasn't given to him like a Best Dad mug a couple of weeks after Father's Day.  The media tends to downplay the holiday as a whole for the most part, often shortening it to MLK Day, which I'm sure our current administration will misread and use to chug raw unpasteurized whole mi...

  “I’ve always felt that the cool thing about being a writer is that all you need is paper to do the job. The best thing to further what you do is write and read all you can. Read both stuff you like to see why its good and read bad to see how to fix. Doing that will help you see and solve problems in your own writing.  “But I think the biggest advice I can offer is don’t just pick one story and stop, write as much as you can, as many stories as you can. The best thing about being a writer is, a writer’s craft is nearly perfect because a writer can go anywhere and do his craft.” Dwayne McDuffie, writer, creator of worlds, legend. A creator. A genius. A dreamer.  An icon. An ideal. An inspiration. A collaborator. A colleague. An intellect. A friend. A son. A brother. A husband. The Maestro. Dwayne. I think of the many writers who inspired me to create my own stories, Mr. McDuffie remains the keystone to the creator I grew up to be. His works resonated with me when I first ...

On February 8, 1974, days after she said goodbye to her loudmouthed employer Maude Finley, Florida Evans and Esther Rolle said hello to a new series, Good Times . This venerable series was a very popular spinoff of another popular spinoff, a rarity in television.  But was it? No, I'm not asking if Good Times was popular, because it was. The series has been a television staple for over 50 years. I'm not even saying it wasn't a spinoff platform for Esther Rolle's Florida Evans character. It truly was. I'm just saying that Good Times isn't really a direct spinoff of Maude . It's kind of like saying Harley Quinn is a direct spinoff of Batman: The Animated Series . Yes, both shows feature a character named Harley Quinn, but these are not the same character, nor do the shows share the same continuity.  Not buying it? Okay, let's go even deeper.  Harley Quinn is not a spinoff of Batman: The Brave and the Bold . Both shows feature a character named Batman/Br...

Here's Part Four, which celebrates Warner Bros' Black history from 1994 to 2003.This was one of the most groundbreaking years for Black talent and characters across the company. Powerful stories, memorable characters, and great entertainment that still endures today. As with my previous three rewinds, I had to add a few titles I missed from last year's initial social media posts.  With that out of the way, on with the show. Natasha Irons (Steel), DC Comics, 1994 "We don't discriminate. We'll use a hammer or a particle beam, whatever gets the job done." John's niece Natasha Irons has become just as much as a hero as her uncle, even donning the Steel name herself as well as making her mark as one of DC Comics' LGBT heroines.   The Wayans Bros , 1995 The Parent ‘Hood , 1995 On January 11, 1995, The WB Television Network launched, and the very first series to air on the young network was The Wayans Bros , a sitcom about a pair of brothers played by Sha...

  Here's Part Three, which celebrates Warner Bros' Black history from 1984 to 1993.As you'll see, plenty of Black stories featuring Black talent truly emerged in this decade. Purple Rain , 1984 Krush Groove, 1985 The Oscar-winning Purple Rain (1984) and cult classic Krush Groove (1985) are two films with all-star talent that embodied the growing impact of the Black experience in music in the 1980s. Funk, R&B, rap, and hip-hop are all still part of our collective souls today. The Color Purple (Warner Bros/Amblin, 1985) "I'm poor, Black, I might even be ugly, but dear God, I'm here. I'm here." 1985's The Color Purple was a critically-acclaimed drama from Steven Spielberg based on Alice Walker's novel. The legacy of this timeless film remains strong today. Should have won tons of Oscars. Amanda Waller (DC Comics, 1986) "Good guys. Bad guys. Whatever they are, they are all just one thing to me: assets." DC Comics' Amanda Waller ...