Hummingbird Fly: How Jude Angelini is Writing His Own Rules

*Interview was conducted October 9th, 2017 with Matt Stewart from Simplistic Reviews and Jude Angelini via phone. All quotes have been taken from the interview*

The beat poets of the 1950s were a revolutionary idea. Intelligent writers struggling to find meaning in a world where they didn’t think they belonged. From Ginsberg to Kerouac, it sparked a literary revolution and inspired a generation of new writers to simply write about life. But where are the new crop of “beat” writers? They’ve become a relic of a bygone era. But the idea of writing about one’s life experiences lives in one “Rude” Jude Angelini with the release of his newest book, “Hummingbird,” the follow-up to his 2014 release, “Hyena.”

Many have made comparisons that Angelini is a modern day Charles Bukowski, whereas I see shades of Brett Easton Ellis with his vivid depictions of sex and drugs. However, “Rude” Jude shakes those comparison’s off and doesn’t want his voice to be put in a box.

“He (Bukowski) inspired me to write…’Notes From a Dirty Old Man’ that’s the one that get me to think about writing a bit, but I try to stay away from those two guys (Bukowski and Ellis). I’ve been listening to a lot of Elmore Leonard, and reading Larry McMurtry lately…I try to stay away from the Beat writers, because I don’t want to be compared to them, but I do consider myself a modern day Beat writer.”

From unabashed, self-deprecating, and in some cases, extremely sympathetic, Angelini writes from the heart, and it’s that attitude that has garnered him a devoted following in both the literary and radio world. But even with such a following, it’s hard to break the stereotype he finds himself in. Angelin explains.

“If you look at my trajectory…I don’t see myself as this, but, a lot of people do; I went from white trash wigger on ‘The Jenny Jones Show,’ to wigger shock jock. I didn’t want to be called that anymore…it overly simplified me. I wanted people to understand that my story wasn’t a unique story, if anything, it’s a common story, that’s under shared…”

Growing up in Pontiac, Michigan. Angelini has risen from the working poor in a factory town, becoming a recurring guest of “The Jenny Jones Show,” to hosting Shade 45’s “The All Out Show” on Sirius XM Radio. He now stands on the precipice of being a New York Times Best Selling author. However, even after the success of “Hyena” he’s still faced with an issue; being thought of as an overnight success in a literary world where many people don’t think he belongs.

“What’s popular in the arts? Is a heterosexual Caucasian popular in the arts right now? It’s so simplistic…’does he check off this box, this box, and this box.’ Diversity goes beyond who you fuck and what color you are. I got passed over by everyone. I’m not a celebrity, I’m not an author, they don’t know where to put me, they thought Hyena was a fluke. The company that I went to (Rare Bird Books) deals with fringe writers, like books by sex workers, and we’re doing quite well now.”

With the struggle to get “Hummingbird” published, Angelini recognizes that an honest day’s work isn’t going to be enough these days and your work ethic has to be extreme in order to get ahead, and at times, sacrificial.

“I like a lot of gangster rap from Detroit…they talk about ‘go get it, don’t wait,’ that’s my philosophy. It (the book) is about sacrifice. I sacrificed relationships, family, my daughter, loved ones, women, to not be broke, and be successful in my field. Nothing comes for free. That’s why one chapter is called ‘Abraham.’ You have to be willing to sacrifice to make it in this world.”

‘Abraham’ explores how Angelini wanted to “blow up” before settling in Los Angeles, where he now lives, his initial struggle, a move to New York, and a tumultuous relationship with Julie, who is a frequent topic in both “Hyena” and “Hummingbird.” It’s moments like these where you see a softer side to “Rude” Jude. Another example is the chapter entitled “Sadie Hawkins,” where he meets a young lady who has cystic fibrosis.

“What smart people see is that there is heart in each and every one of these stories. I might do grimy things, I might do things that society might deem unacceptable, but I have my own moral (compass) and value system, and it’s about being respectful and allowing people to make decisions on their own, but some people might read that and say it’s sexist…is it? To allow people to make their own decisions after being given all the information is sexist?”

It’s questions like that that give readers pause and challenge what they not only think about Angelini, but also think about themselves. We all share similar life experiences, but just don’t happen to write it down and have it published and read by the masses.

But at the heart of “Hummingbird” there is the underlying idea of acceptance. Whether it with your friends, sexual partners, or parents, the idea of acceptance is something that weighs heavily with Angelini. Even with book sales, that’s not the goal at the end of the day, it’s being accepted as an equal, on his own terms of course.

“You don’t write a book to make money. It’s about the prestige, it’s about the acceptance. You know what it would mean to me...a guy that took five years to get through high school that was in shitty English class, took a few junior college courses, to be a New York Times bestseller on some literary shit? People buying the book is a vote, I need votes...I want entrance into that part of society, the same part of society that rejects me, on my own terms.”

For more of “Rude” Jude check out his socials:

IG: @onemorejude

Twitter: @rude_jude

Snapchat: rude_jude

'The All Out Show' can be heard on Shade 45 on Sirius XM Radio from 4-7 pm EST Monday-Friday.

You can purchase “Hummingbird” via Amazon HERE

You can also pick up “Hyena” HERE

Matt Stewart was born and raised in South Florida and recently moved to Nashville, TN. Simplistic Reviews started with three buddies, Matt, DJ, and Justin, bitching about TV and Movies in July 2012 and guess what...they are still bitching and better than ever.

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What Does it Mean to "Do The Right Thing"

*The opinion of Matt does not necessarily coincide with the opinions of the rest of the crew of Simplistic Reviews. 

This year will celebrate the 28th anniversary of the Spike Lee Joint, "Do The Right Thing." But the question we always ask ourselves is, "What is the right thing?" Is there a "right" thing? And if there is a "right" thing, how does one make the decision on what the "right" thing is?

There's no doubt that "Thing" was a film that happened at the right place at the right time, and while other films have tried to emulate the race divide and a sign of the times, see also Lee's "Summer of Sam" for a look into the racial and cultural divide in 1970s New York, there still isn't a film, for my money, that captures the anger, anxiety, and zeitgeist of a city sitting on a powder keg. Of course, art often imitates life, and in recent years with police shootings, gang violence, political discourse, and attacks on immigrants, minorities, and the LGBT community on the rise, we all live in uncertain times.

Oh, there is also the fact that we have a bullying, fear-mongering, divisive, reality-show starring megalomaniac about to take the Oath of Office as the 45th President of the United States, but don't worry folks, go watch some foxes jumping in the snow (actually, that doesn't sound like a bad idea).

Back to the point, in "Thing" the climax reaches a fever pitch when the character "Radio" Raheem is murdered by NYPD officers, a fire hose is turned again an angry mob and our "hero," Mookie, played by Lee, throws a trash can through the window of local pizzeria, Sal's Famous. A lot of anger is loaded into the final 15 minutes of the film, but it brings up the question; What is the "Right" thing?

This is an argument that I've gotten into with a lot of people. Personally, I'm always interested to hear what people think is the "right" thing. The biggest point of contention is always whether Mookie should have thrown the garbage can through the window of Sal's Famous. While I understand why this might be a point to argue between people, I'm on the side of this being the "right" thing. Simply, it was rightful rage over the death of an innocent citizen by the "trusted" police force which forces another citizen to act in way that many may never understand how to act. Of course, in turn, this action also saves the lives of Sal and his sons, despite the fact that their business is destroyed by an angry mob. That's the simple way to breakdown the climax of "Thing," but there is much more leading to this choice.

Other aspects of the story certainly play a big part in Mookie's decision. The New York heat, Sal not paying Mookie before the day was up, being accused of being a dead-beat father, the constant harassment by Smiley, there are several aspects of the day that sets Mookie off, but the most reasonable is always going to be seeing "Radio" Raheem murdered in front of him by police who are tasked with upholding the law and having the CPR (Courtesy Professionalism Respect) on the side of their cruiser (the irony). It's a layered argument that can be tossed back and forth, but the reason we still reference "Thing" as the movie that still commands our attention a quarter of a century after it's release is the climate we live in currently.

Police still systematically target minorities which often ends in horrific results, and police are overworked with less officers on the ground to do the job correctly, not to mention the fact that many officers are ill-equipped to get the job done correctly. An overburdened and broken system leads to misjudgment and tragedies that will continue to happen.

Is violence the "right" thing...no....however, when you are kicked, prodded, marginalized, and made to feel that you have no rights as a citizen, what are you going to do? Throwing a TV through a window might be a start, but how about throwing your vote in a ballot box on a local level to make the immediate change that is needed to hopefully, at some point, make a bigger change.

Much was made when "Thing" was released, including comments that viewing this film would incite riots. Lee's response was whether critics believed that minorities, namely African-American's, were unable to control their impulses while viewing a work of fiction. It was a perfect response for people that just don't get it, and will never get it. Hell, if "Thing" makes you angry, IT SHOULD! While it WAS a work of fiction it was still inspired by true events, namely the beating and murder of Michael Stewart by NYPD officers, and we are still seeing the endless deaths of African-Americans around the country, sadly at the hands of law enforcement officials. We should all be upset by this, while Lee is being a politician about it, he should have said "Yes, people should get upset about this film, it's happening, this is the world we live in!"

So, what is the "right" thing? IS there a "right" thing? The "right" thing is to take tragedy and knowledge and apply it in a way that changes the course of your life, your country, and your politics. We are living in scary times, with people in charge that seem to like to "troll" the American people. We literally have an Internet troll who is poised to take the office of The President of the United States shortly. Think about that....someone who made his career firing the like of Lil John and Dennis Rodman from a fake job interview show is going to be hiring people to look after Civil Rights cases and reading the most classified of files, will be running our country for what could be up to eight years.

The "right" thing is to follow the mantra of Public Enemy and "Fight the Power." But fighting the power is more than just with your fists. Fight with your empathy, fight with your courage, fight with your knowledge, shit, fight for your right to party, because if anything you always have the "right to fight."

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Simply TV: Marvel's Daredevil Episode Three: Rabbit in a Snowstorm (Matt's Take)

Daredevil: Rabbit in a Snowstorm - Breather

After two exciting episodes, how can Marvel's Daredevil keeping upping the ante; easy, have a third episode silly. While the first two episodes seemed to concentrate on stand alone arcs and character development, episode three, entitled "Rabbit in a Snowstorm" starts to shape what we are going to see the rest of this season.

Matt and Foggy are still trying to find their groove with their law practice when their first big case falls into their lap; a murder in a bowling alley involving a man named Healy who seems to be well connected with James Wesley, a man we meet in episode one who works for a mysterious benefactor.
Matt is suspicious of Wesley and the reasoning behind hiring himself and Foggy.

Elsewhere, we meet Ben Urich, an old newspaper writer who is interested in a man in black taking on the Russian Mob. Urich, once a respected reporter, has seen the decline of the printed page and the rise of blogs, and has been relegated to writing fluff pieces instead of hard-hitting news.

As Healy's case goes to trial, Matt uses his enhanced senses to remove jurors that seem to have been tampered with, but is dismayed to learn that even with that juror gone, the case still ends with a hung jury and Healy is back on the street, but is met by Daredevil who beats a name out of him; Wilson Fisk.

This episode is treated almost like a setup and is more filler than anything else. That isn't to say it's a bad episode, quite the opposite, it's just that the previous two episodes were so good that this one "pales" in comparison. What we do get however is the introduction of Ben Urich, played by Vondie Curtis-Hall, who I'm sure is going to play into the grand scheme of things in a big way, especially since we are teased that both he and Karen Page will likely be working very closely together.

The other big reveal is of course the "rabbit" himself; Wilson Fisk, or in comic book parlance, Kingpin, played by Vincent D'onofrio. While we only catch a quick glimpse and only a few lines of dialogue, we see an icy, yet thoughtful man. As far as his look, and the complaint about his size, look people, to find someone the size of Wilson Fisk would be nearly impossible and not likely, so get off that, and listen, he's the perfect look, and another thing; it's Vincent F'ING D'onofrio.

The only real Easter egg of sorts in this episode would be a newspaper article that we in Ben's off with the byline of "Battle of NY" which is an obvious nod to the events in "The Avengers." It's still a nice little shout-out of course.

The last thing I'll bring up in this episode is the elevation of the violence this time around. We have a broken arm with a bone poking out of the skin, a head based with a bowling ball, another broken arm with the sound effect being the payoff, a stabbing with a shard of glass, and the coupe de grace; a suicide via a shard of metal through the eye.

While "Rabbit in a Snowstorm" might not be the strongest effort so far this season, in no way is it lacking; it's merely a formality where new story lines need to be opened up and characters developed.

Fun Fact: Wilson Fisk's first appearance was in The Amazing Spider Man #50 in 1967.

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Simply TV: Marvel's Daredevil Episode 1: Into the Ring (Matt's Take)

REDEMPTION

Daredevil: Into the Ring - Redemption

So, I've made the commitment to myself and to you, the audience. I will not binge "Marvel's Daredevil." In a society that demands everything be served to them right away, especially on Netflix, it's almost a crime that we have forgotten about the timeless tradition of waiting for something. Of course we live in a fast-paced world now, with everything to be found with the click of a mouse or the typing of a keyboard, but there is something special about it, and this is why HBO is still so important right now....they still make you wait week to week to see what happens.

This of course brings me to "Daredevil" Marvel's latest foray into TV, only this time without the limits of network rules. For the sake of explanation in these entries, I'll review each episode individually, one a week, for 13 weeks. It's going to take some willpower, but after just one episode I know this isn't a show I'll want to binge; this is a show I'm going to want to savor.

Episode One, entitled "Into the Ring" begins with our origin of a young Matt Murdock involved in a chemical accident, rendering him blind. Boom, origin established. As our episode unfolds we meet an older Matt, now a lawyer, and his partner-in-law, Foggy Nelson, looking for office space in New York's Hell Kitchen. Elsewhere, a young woman named Karen Page is found in her apartment crying over a dead body. The police arrive and instantly she is the suspect of the murder.

Nelson and Murdock take up the case and as things unfold we find out that Page might be a part of something much bigger involving the corrupt construction company, United Allied, and something about pension payments. By the end of the episode most of the loose ends are tied up, but we catch a glimpse of things to come, and frankly, the excitement overwhelms me a little bit.

While there isn't much bad with this first episode, I'll concentrate on all that is good. The film adaptation of "Daredevil" is fuzzy in my mind, and to be honest, I'm not going to revisit it, there isn't much to compare at this time. From top to bottom, "Daredevil" is a very meticulous attempt by Marvel to create a realistic alternative to it's film universe and it's TV brethren "Agents of SHIELD" and "Agent Carter." While DC's TV creations "Arrow" and "The Flash" have ruled many fanboys' TV for the past three years, Marvel's 'Man Without Fear,' will likely leave these two in the dust (full disclosure, I'm still a big fan of "The Flash" melodrama and all).

The casting is A+ with Charlie Cox, who you should remember as Owen Slater from "Boardwalk Empire, as Murdock, sporting a spot on American accent and the martial arts moves to match. Deborah Ann Woll, who played Jessica in "True Blood," plays the woman-in-peril Page with conviction and emotion, and Elden Henson, who you of course remember as Fulton Reed in "The Mighty Ducks" franchise, plays Foggy Nelson with a certain slimy charm.

Full disclosure, I'm not an avid Daredevil reader, but I know the basics, and this season is shaping up to be the perfect balance of back story, fan service, world building, and allusions to future Marvel-ness, namely "The Defenders." In short, you'd be blind to miss "Daredevil."  

Fun Fact: The first appearance of Daredevil is in "Daredevil #1" from April 1964.

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Slaughter Film Presents: Action Movie Time Machine - Spider-Man (1977)

SSLLOOWW

First, Reb Brown as Captain America, and now “The Amazing Spider-Man”. Don’t get your hopes up, there is no Emma Stone to be found here.

The year is 1977. A sensation known as “Star Wars” is storming the galaxy. The “Atari 2600” leaves “Pong” in the dust. The “Son of Sam” killer is captured and a young man from New York gets exposed to a radioactive spider in “The Amazing Spider-Man”.

THE SKINNY

The film begins, as you would expect, with college student and amateur photographer Peter Parker. One day while performing some experiment, a radioactive spider bites young Peter on the hand, and soon, he notices a change. He can climb walls and even has super human strength. Soon he invents himself a “web-slinger” device to, yadda yadda yadda. We all know the origin by now. Peter Parker becomes Spider-Man. Spider-Man saves some little old ladies and all of New York erupts into spider fever.

While this is happening, a Tony Robbins style guru named Edward Byron has been selecting prominent New Yorkers, bankers, lawyers and the like, from his life coach seminars to be his mind controlled puppets. Once under his control, Byron uses them to carry out bank robberies. To guarantee they don‘t lead the police back to him, he has them drive their get away car into the side of a building, killing themselves. 

Byron also uses these robberies/deaths as examples when he makes a fifty million dollar demand from the city. If his demand isn’t met, he will force ten citizens to kill themselves. How is he doing it? It’s a combination of hypnosis that takes place during his classes, making the subjects vulnerable. Later Byron transmits a radio signal that is picked up by a lapel pin receiver, given to them by Byron when they join the group.

Peter is assigned to photograph the remains of one of the car crash victims, Professor Noah Tyler. On location he meets Noah’s daughter, Judy Tyler, and a romance begins. As they get to know each other, Judy mentions to Peter that her father has been attending the classes of Byron. They even sit in during one of his classes. It isn’t overtly suspicious, but Peter still has his suspicions.

Things take a turn for Byron when Peter accidentally discovers how he has been transmitting the radio waves. Spider-Man follows the signal to it’s source, destroys the radio tower, apprehends Byron and saves the day for ten unlucky New Yorkers.

The film ends with Peter and Judy  walking off into the sunset together. The End.

THE VERDICT

Before I share my thoughts on “The Amazing Spider-Man”, I would like to cover a little Spider-Man television history.

This was the first live action Spider-Man with any substance. Before this there was an animated series in the late ‘60s and the occasional appearance on the children’s show “The Electric Company” during the early ‘70s.

This TV film was a “backdoor” pilot for the “Spider-Man” television show that lasted only thirteen episodes, stretched over two years. Critics, kids especially, complained that the show didn’t involve any established villains or storyline, and that the production values were lousy. Soon CBS thought they may soon be referred to as the “superhero station”, as it already had two successful series; “The Incredible Hulk” and “Wonder Woman”. In addition, they also aired two “Captain America” TV films, as well as a “Dr. Strange” TV film. Because of all this, CBS pulled the plug on “Spider-Man”.

While this was going on in the states, Toei, a Japanese production company, was producing a “Spider-Man” show of their own. We all know how things in Japan can get a little strange. Well, the Japanese “Spider-Man” is a motorcycle racer who gets his spider powers from a special suit that alters him genetically when he wears it. This ran for a total of forty-one episodes and came complete with giant robots and the hit song “Spider-Man Boogie”. That’s Japan for ya.

So, what do I think about “The Amazing Spider-Man”? It’s not very good. I find that my complains about the film are the same complaints fans had back in the ‘70s. There aren’t enough comic based characters and the special effects are cheap and unimpressive. Instead of Byron, the villain could easily have been The King Pin who employs some hypnotist lackey to carry out a similar plan. This could have been an easy way to shoehorn more Marvel Universe into the film.

Peter Parker never became comfortable in his spider skin. I miss the cocky, wise cracking Peter from the comics, cartoons and later films.

I understand there was no CGI in the ‘70s. Cheap special effects are something that I could otherwise overlook. Especially when they are forty years old. But, there is just SO MUCH of these effects. So much of the film is Spider-Man’s origin and him wall crawling. It makes the films drag on. “The Amazing Spider-Man” is an exorcise in patience. It has it’s charm, but it’s no wonder it was canceled after thirteen episodes.

I’m Cory Carr and this concludes another trip on the “Action Movie Time Machine”. Until next time, Semper Fi Punk!

For more from Cory, check out his website slaughterfilm.com, where he and his good friend Forest Taylor record weekly podcasts, reviewing the films that are legendary, even in Hell!

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