Bray in The Grey. Picture accompanies interview on ShockYa.

Recently, I was able to interview stunt coordinator and actor Ben Bray, who plays Hernandez in The Grey. In the interview, he talks about how he got started in acting through his boxing career, working with Liam Neeson, and the weather in Smithers, Canada, the place where The Grey was shot. Here’s a snippet of the interview.

In “The Grey,” Bray plays Hernandez, a character that has an interesting dichotomy. “I think what’s interesting about the Hernandez character is that he’s a bad guy with a good heart,” he said, saying that Hernandez is essentially a good guy who was tainted by being around the wrong people, leading him to make bad decisions. “He’s got a soft heart. A soft side, I should say,” he said.

Working with Liam Neeson was a great experience for Bray, even though his nerves got in the way at first. “It was nervewracking in the beginning,” he said. “It was like being in the ring with one of the great fighters, like Muhammad Ali. Liam is the total opposite from the ‘alpha male’. He’s very generous as an actor, very generous as a human being.”

Check out the full interview at ShockYa.com!

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I don’t know about this…Credit: ABC

There’s a lot more news than I actually have the time to report on. However, I do like keeping the site up-to-date as much as I can, so here’s a run-down of what’s been going on:

• Erica Keppler on how ABC can save Work It: There’s been a bit of an outcry about the new ABC show (that actually hasn’t aired yet) about two guys who, in the vein of Tootsie, dress as women for whatever job they want/are trying to get. This plot seemed to work for Dustin Hoffman, but it’s not working for this show. BTW, I’m going to review this show (I don’t know about blogging it), so you’ll be able to see my opinions once the show airs January 8.
• Teen girls engaging in more same-sex contact, number of teen pregnancies down: A new survey is showing that more girls are engaging in more same-sex contact, which seems to be related to the number of teen pregnancies dropping. I don’t know what context “contact” is being used, but it would seem that “contact” ranges from friendships to more-than-friendships.
• OUT Magazine runs down movies with women who play men: In anticipation of the new Glenn Close film Albert Nobbs, in which she plays a woman in Victorian England who goes through life as a manservant, OUT Magazine has created a list of some of the biggest films in which women played men in order to get ahead in life.

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Hi, everyone! I just thought I’d post that due to Thanksgiving, I won’t be posting anything this Thursday. Hopefully you all have a very safe Thanksgiving week, make sure to stay especially safe on Black Friday, since people tend to go a bit loopy.

P.S.–Starting Black Friday, I’ll be bringing back my seasonal segment, “Black Friday,” where I give you gift ideas for the entertainment lover in your life. The segment will continue until the week before Christmas.

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I’ve been trying to keep my site as updated as possible, but I’ve been engaged full-time in my job outside of Moniqueblog as well as other things going on, least of which involves me making stuff for my “Pan Am” costume but also involves sending off queries and the like in order to grow my freelance writing business. So, while I have a lot of stuff I want to write about–and I will write about them soon!–I may be taking a small hiatus from the site in order to get organized. Stay tuned!

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Screencap of an Indian commercial for a skin lightening product. Credit: FunnyBiz (Creative Commons Flickr)

You might be wondering why I’m talking about skin lightening procedures with the show Outsourced didn’t address this epidemic that plagues not just India, but other countries as well, including America. But, in one review/analysis I wrote about “Gupta’s Hit and Manmeet’s Missus”, I brought up how prevalent skin lightening creams and such are in India, and how it’s a product of colonialism, colorism, and prejudicial thought.

Well, thanks to a facebook group, I found this lovely video of a guy going by the name of “Mr. Lekamge” about how he feels about the whole skin lightening thing. Take a listen:

My sentiments exactly, Mr. Lekamge. What he said also ties into something I wrote promoting the film Dark Girls, which is that people should take pride in their skin, no matter what color it is. No one has the right to define you by your skin tone. Once again, I must invoke Alek Wek.

She’s a supermodel!

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Somalia. Credit: Microsoft Word 

There are many countries that need help maintaining a constant food supply, one such country is Somalia, which has been in the news lately because of their record-breaking drought. Here are a few ways you can help.

Save The Children

According to the site’s about page, Save The Children helps needy children in suffering countries with their overall wellbeing:

Save the Children is the leading independent organization creating lasting change in the lives of children in need in the United States and around the world. Recognized for our commitment to accountability, innovation and collaboration, our work takes us into the heart of communities, where we help children and families help themselves. We work with other organizations, governments, non-profits and a variety of local partners while maintaining our own independence without political agenda or religious orientation.

When disaster strikes around the world, Save the Children is there to save lives with food, medical care and education and remains to help communities rebuild through long-term recovery programs. As quickly and as effectively as Save the Children responds to tsunamis and civil conflict, it works to resolve the ongoing struggles children face every day — poverty, hunger, illiteracy and disease — and replaces them with hope for the future.

You can sponsor a child, donate, and much more. Click here to find out more.

World Vision

World Vision is a site where you can donate to help the people of Somalia. According to the site:

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. We serve in nearly 100 countries around the world. World Vision has been working in the Horn of Africa for decades, including during the massive famine there in the mid-1980s. In addition to responding to immediate needs, World Vision remains in communities for long-term development of essentials like clean water, sustainable agriculture, basic healthcare, educational opportunities, and microloans to build healthy communities.

You can also learn more about the famine from the site.

World Food Programme

World Food Programme does exactly what the title says–it’s an organization that provides food to needy countries. According to the about page:

 WFP is the food aid arm of the United Nations system. Food aid is one of the many instruments that can help to promote food security, which is defined as access of all people at all times to the food needed for an active and healthy life. ¹ The policies governing the use of World Food Programme food aid must be oriented towards the objective of eradicating hunger and poverty. The ultimate objective of food aid should be the elimination of the need for food aid.

Targeted interventions are needed to help to improve the lives of the poorest people – people who, either permanently or during crisis periods, are unable to produce enough food or do not have the resources to otherwise obtain the food that they and their households require for active and healthy lives.

There are many ways you can help the organization, but one of the easiest ways of helping other people is playing Freerice (Freerice.com), which is linked to the organization’s site. Freerice is a vocabulary game where you match a word to its definition. There are 60 levels, and for each correct answer, you donate rice. I played, and I donated about 2950 grains of rice. Also, to keep track of your rice levels, you can either create an account or login using your Facebook or Twitter accounts. I’m going to have a banner that links to Freerice on my site, so if you have trouble finding it, just click the ad on my site.

Hopefully you find one or both of these options helpful in your quest to make the Somalia famine disappear!

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London riots, Croydon. Credit: George Rex (Flickr Creative Commons)

I’ve been keeping tabs on the scary predicament over in England (the riots have spread from London to other cities such as Manchester, Birmingham, Leicester, Liverpool and Nottingham. Tottenham is where the riots began due to the killing of a black man, Mark Duggan, by the police). Thanks to the Sherlock livejournal group SherlockBBC, there’s a comprehensive list of sites you can visit to keep up with the news coming out of England, and, if you’re an English citizen, how to help catch the criminals at the heart of the rioting take part in neighborhood clean up campaigns. I believe the page I linked to will be updated regularly, so check there for other links and information on how to help.

I hope everyone who is in England stays safe during these turbulent times.

EDIT: Here are some links I’ve found that are of interest:

http://birminghamriots2011.tumblr.com/

http://www.racialicious.com/2011/08/10/an-american-in-birmingham-my-perspective-on-the-london-riots/

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• #the90sareallthat is awesome! #

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Florida Sunset by babasteve, Flickr via Creative Commons

A few weeks ago, I said that I was going on vacation. Well, that trip got cancelled, but now a new trip to Florida is back on again! I may or may not update this during my vacation time, and if there aren’t any updates, then you know the reason why.

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• I'm about to do 30 min. of Zumba. Here's the link if you want to sweat like a maniac too…. http://fb.me/15CyQNjom #
• I finished the Zumba class. Wow. what a workout. #
• RIP Amy Winehouse. I wish things had turned out differently for her. #

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