WilliamBruceWest.com He's Forgotten More About Pop Culture Than You'll Ever Know…

Dirty Pokemon, Black Snake Eyes, New Knight Rider, and Tribute To Ike Turner

"I thought you made love like an ugly woman. So present, so grateful."

Dear TNT,
There are other shows in the world than Charmed and Law & Order. I appreciate what you're trying to do. You're going for a whole theme thing. But, really? There's a whole world of syndicated shows out there, just waiting to be mined. I don't think anyone's airing The Fall Guy right now. Or how about that old show, The Wizard, with the midget who made toys that helped him "MacGuyver" out of bad situations? Just a thought...

So, I've been losing my mind lately, as Toys "R" Us is now open until midnight for the whole holiday rush. For those of you new to these parts, I work evenings and weekends at Toys "R"Us, or as I like to call it, "my student loan job". Staying open til midnight can be trying considering that's just the time at which we start turning away customers. Actually leaving the store is a whole different matter. This past Wednesday, we didn't get out until 2 AM. Keep in mind that the employees are high school students, mothers, and people with other jobs. It makes no sense to me, seeing as how we have a capable night crew, staffed with baby mama's and ex convicts. Can't they clean the store?! But I digress...

During this season, our minds start to wander, and the subject matter of our conversations isn't exactly suited for our environment. For example, a few weeks back, one of my coworkers remarked that he's both vulgar and nice. I told him that his Pokemon name would be "Vulgice". Then, his evolutions would either be Vul-Va or VulGina. Yeah...

Recently, though, we've been having a lot of discussions/arguments regarding the upcoming G.I. Joe movie. The guys were remarking that, regardless of how Hollywood decides to fuck it up, the movie won't be complete without Snake Eyes. Now, this is when one of the guys decided to say that there was a time when everyone thought Snake Eyes was Black, and how disappointed he was when he turned out to be some White guy. Now, first of all, this is a common Black thing to say, as we're always trying to claim someone in the media. Mariah Carey? She's ours. The Rock? Yeah, he's ours, too. O.J.? He's ours as long as he's acquitted. Anyway, it was weird to hear this, though, as the assertion was now coming from a White guy.

So, I had to search long and hard and think if there was ever any indication that Snake Eyes was a Black guy. As far as G.I. Joe goes, all Black members have to carry a big ass gun. And rhyme. See: Roadblock; Cross-reference: Heavy Duty. Snake Eyes didn't rhyme and he carried swords. Not a compelling case.

Then, there's the fact that Snake Eyes dates Scarlett. Sure, in the cartoon, she was with Duke, but in every other form of media, he's knockin' those redheaded boots. Now, have you ever seen a Black guy with a redhead? Have you? For real? If you have, can you find out his secret for me?

Next, there's the fact that he's a ninja. I'll admit that I was surprised he was just a blond cornhusker, myself, as he was a master ninja...who'd fought in Vietnam. This is the real clincher, as I realized there could never be a black ninja. Sure, a ninja might wear Black, but he could never be Black? Why? Because ninjas have to be quiet. There, I said it. You know you were thinking it, too!

A Black ninja would be flossin' and shit, and would never pull off the element of surprise:
"I'm a ninja, son! Look at this big-ass sword, woadie! I'm 'bout to cut you, fool! You betta check yo self 'cause I'm 'bout to ninja. yo. ass!"

But, knowing Hollywood, if they want to be hip and edgy, movie Snake Eyes will probably be Black. And played by Chris Tucker. Thanks, assholes.

Speaking of Hollywood ruining cool, black concepts, I leave you with this: The other day, I was stalking a friend on facebook, and one of his friends is a page at NBC/Universal. Her status mentioned that she was watching the new K.I.T.T. models roll of the truck. For the uninformed, NBC's filming a new Knight Rider movie which, if successful, will lead to a new series focusing on Michael Knight's son. Well, when I saw this message, I almost wet myself. I wanted to send her a message. After all, this woman was like an angel to me; my link to my savior: a talking, condescending car. Just looking at my site, you've *got* to see the Knight Rider influence. Anyway, I held off, and decided to find more info on the project myself. And here's what shattered my childhood memories:

HOW THE HELL CAN YOU CALL THIS K.I.T.T.?!!

I swear, every night when I say my prayers, I pray that someone would bring back Team Knight Rider. Or at least release it on DVD. On the bright side, at least these producers got The Hoff to agree to come back, which is something TKR never pulled off.

This post is dedicated to the late, great Ike Turner. I believe there are two sides to every story, and poor Ike never got his fair shake. So, I hope he's in Heaven, slapping and beating up angels...