Everyone remembers the The Jacksons Victory Tour. The Don King-promoted tour was the last tour by The Jackson brothers. But why don't we hear much about the Victory album? There were several reasons why the album didn't do as well as it should have. Here, I'll dive into the music itself and why the album was not the smash people expected. Well, here is the primary reason. Yep, the man singing to himself in the mirror in the picture below.
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But the lack of Michael is not entirely a bad thing . Ever wonder how talented the other brothers were on their own? This is what makes the album very revealing.

Jackie is probably the most passionate songwriter in the group right under Michael and it shows on how strong his songs are. He co-wrote Torture and composed the song Wait, both of which are strong album openers.

Randy's solo contribution to the album is One More Chance, which is a very memorable ballad full of pretty synths and background vocals. Little sister Janet later covered the song.

We Can Change The World is Tito's chance to shine. It's a tough song, but very much of its time.

The Hurt is a good song piloted by Randy, but he was the wrong brother to sing it. It should have been sang by Michael, or at least Jermaine or Jackie. Hell, I almost think their father Joseph could have sang it better. I understand that Randy wanted to maintain that ethereal, whispery Jackson sound, but he can't pull off a good falsetto cry like Michael. This was a missed opportunity.

Body is the Marlon Jackson version of Wanna Be Startin Somethin. It's a decent enough song, but it's great to see him try. He doesn't necessarily disappoint, but when you're on the same album as your brother Michael, you're automatically gonna get compared. This makes Marlon's effort dead on arrival.

The videos are quite strange. Torture is the best, despite the absence of Jermaine and Michael. The song actually told a decent, sinister story despite the lead singers of the song being absent.

The video for Body? Eh, the less said about it, the better.

​State Of Shock was the album's biggest hit, but it was never performed on the tour and there was not a video filmed. Michael was only going through the motions here to get his family off his back. Soon after the tour wrapped in December 1984, Michael co-wrote We Are The World with Lionel Richie, then got to work on Captain Eo for Disney.

​The Victory album has become almost a footnote in the Jacksons legacy, but the album is not terrible.​

Falsetto is a very popular tool, especially in soul music. Legends from Marvin Gaye to Prince to Michael Jackson have among the most recognizable falsetto voices in music history. 

Every man has the ability to pull off a falsetto, which is a manipulation of the vocal cords to expand your vocal range. 

But in this era, it is not considered "masculine" to use this part of the human voice. This is a real shame, because some of the best male singers in history (Freddie Mercury, Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, etc) were known for their high soaring vocals.

In 2002, there were four major questions before Justin Timberlake dropped his first solo album, Justified.

1. Could he make it without his N'Sync buddies?
2. Could he succeed in his attempts to create true R&B grooves?
3. Could he nail almost an entire album using the airy falsetto sound, a technique he rarely attempted with N'Sync?

     4. Was he still crying over Britney? 

That last one is a half joke, but was a real concern to some people at the time, believe it or not. Ahh, good ole' 2002. 

I'll briefly review my favorite Justified tracks, but I will first go on record as saying that I've always had a soft spot for this album.

The reason? It sounds like the 2002 version of Michael Jackson's classic Off The Wall album. A 21 year-old Michael Jackson released Off The Wall in August 1979 and it generated several hits including “Don't Stop Til You Get Enough,” “Rock With You,” “Off The Wall” “Girlfriend” and “She's Out Of My Life.”


Just as Justin was taking big risks with Justified, Michael was doing the same thing when he recorded Off The Wall. He was experimenting with his songwriting and attempting to create his own sound, one that was different from the sound he had with his brothers, The Jacksons. All of the Michael Jackson trademarks we eventually came to know and love (the hiccups, the falsetto, the growling) all came to the forefront on this album.

​With Quincy Jones producing the project and songs written by Michael, Rod Temperton, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder and Tom Bahler, Off The Wall had no chance of losing.

Despite this, Off The Wall was Michael's first adult solo album and his teenage solo albums at Motown didn't do well. A lot was on the line here. Looking back at it now, I can't see Off The Wall being a failure. But back then, it looked like somewhat of a possibility, especially considering Michael's one attempt at becoming a movie star failing with The Wiz just two years prior.

The influence of Michael's sound is all over Justin's album. The lush grooves and melodies of the songs strongly recall the sound of the Off The Wall album, and, just as Michael did, Justin developed a habit of sliding his voice into a crying falsetto over the instrumentation.

As I alluded to earlier, falsetto is considered a real crack in masculinity. But the good news is that a lot of women are attracted to that form of vulnerability, which is why Smokey Robinson and Prince could seduce basically any woman they wanted. A  good falsetto vocal could express a wail of hurt that a baritone never could. It's amazing how such a soft and quiet voice generates real power with women and record sales. 

Michael used the falsetto sometimes throughout his career, (Don't Stop Til You Get Enough, Butterflies) but Justin took this one part of Michael's sound and expanded on it, using it twice as much as his moonwalking idol.

Michael used to layer his background vocals, which resulted in him sounding like a small choir of twin brothers, some with higher and lower voices. Throughout the album, Justin delicately stacks his background harmonies the same way.

Quincy used his "Killer Q Posse" to record Off The Wall. The Killer Q' Posse consisted of John "JR" Robinson on drums, Louis Johnson on Bass, Greg Phillinganes on keyboards, Bruce Swedien as the engineer and Rod Temperton as the head songwriter. The Neptunes used the digital technology available to them to record the Justified songs, but they still played real instruments enough to give the songs an authentic funk feel that I'll elaborate more on later.

Justin and the Neptunes had been listening to Off The Wall and Thriller very carefully. They understood the Michael Jackson sound of those albums.

I also have to point out that the Neptunes originally wrote some of these songs with Michael Jackson in mind, but his then-manager rejected them, so the songs instead were recorded by Justin and Usher.

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​Senorita:

A brilliant hybrid of latin and funk soul, punctuated by Pharell Williams' live drumming and the use of a live trombone. The melodic melody to the bridge of the song (“When I look into your eyes, I see something that money can't buy...) is a real play out of the Rod Temperton songbook. The falsetto harmonies during that part strongly recall Michael Jackson. 

Like I Love You:

The album's lead single. It's a standard catchy pop tune. Again, Pharrell adds some real funk to the track by playing live drums, and the song is driven by guitar. The grooves of the song may stay with you when it's over. But again, it's those Michael Jackson influences that make it stand out. Justin explodes into his “Michael Jackson” voice during the bridge. “I JUST WANNA LOVE YA, BABEH!!" Justin also incorporated Jackson-esque harmonies as his background vocals.


Last Night:


While Justin showed the Jackson influences in spurts on the previous songs I mentioned, he went all-out on this one. I could so easily hear Michael singing this song. “Remember girl when I was your maaan.”  The Michael-Meter is exploding here. There's nothing bad I can say about this track. It's one of my favorites.


Cry Me A River:

The Neptunes produced the majority of the tracks on the album, but it was Timbaland who was behind the boards for Justified's biggest hit, “Cry Me A River.” It's a dark track, haunted by Timbaland's thumping beat and beat-boxing. Legend has it that this song was written about a certain lady named Britney Spears. Certainly, this song was a hint of what was to come on Justin's future albums, as he and Timbland would collaborate almost frequently and this overall sound became more of a focus.


Rock Your Body

This was one of the Neptunes-penned songs that was supposed to go to Michael Jackson for his “Invincible” album but instead wound up here. It's another song that strongly mimics the post-disco sound and melodies of an Off The Wall era song. I initially liked it, but it got overplayed. However, here is a great recording of Pharrell teaching Justin the bridge of the song.

 
Disclaimer: No, I did NOT get my ass beat while reporting! This pitiful picture was just a way to reel you in. It worked. You're here!!  LOL. 

Ahem. OK. Now on to the blog.


"How you doing? I'm A.J. Dugger, lead writer for High Ground News.”

Source stares at me hard. “Are you a real reporter?”

This conversation has unfortunately happened before. There are people who initially don't believe that there's a young black man with dreadlocks working as a professional journalist ready to interview them.

To quickly move past their skepticism, I whip out my phone and play brief clips of my TV appearances as a crime analyst on the crime series, “For My Man.” Then I show him/her the High Ground News website and also my personal website which features information on the books I've written, my celebrity interviews, awards, etc. After about a minute of showing these impressive credentials, the source is generally sold and we at last have our interview. Now they're suddenly DELIGHTED to talk to me.

While witnessing white reporters in action, I've rarely seen them have to "prove" themselves as real journalists. Hmmmm........

Since graduating from college 10 years ago, I've come a long, long way in journalism, and I've accomplished many of my goals. From the outside looking in, people are like, "DAMN, AJ! You getting famous on us! Don't forget the little people!"

But what people DON'T see is the hard, hard work that goes into it, and the horrible people and prejudices that attempt to get in your way. People don't see the blatant racism, stereotyping and almost countless setbacks I've had to endure over the years. There's a lot of ugly I won't discuss here, but I'm willing to share a few stories and give you some insight on being an African American journalist. However, these are MY experiences. I can't speak for other black journalists.

Being a reporter is a tough enough job. First off, it's hard to GET a journalism job with the decline of newspapers, ads, etc. Then, there are those who don't like the press, and there are also those that don't like black people.  How do I overcome this every day?

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​Personality is everything. I always aim to be professional, but I can't help but be myself. And who am I? Friendly, cocky and fun!! And the producers of the TV-One Crime Series For My Man LOVE that about me!

I've already written about how I got the job as a crime analyst on that show. For My Man is a crime series, and in most of the stories, (but not all) someone is brutally murdered. To be honest, they're horror stories because they're real crimes.

However, I during my first time on the show, I made an impact. I stayed on the fine line between being a pro and being a clown. I cracked jokes, I winked, and I surprised everyone by doing my “Mufasa Voice.” They loved it so much that they left in some of my antics. They told me that my presence lightened the tone of the episode. They told me they'd call me back for future episodes. A few months after my episode aired, I got the call. They called me back for TWO more episodes! Yeeeeeeeeeaaaaahhhhh!!!!
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With the exception of Thriller, Michael Jackson's biggest visual masterpiece was Moonwalker, a music video anthology with a loose plot about Jackson saving the world (and three homeless children) from a drug dealing maniac played by a screeching Joe Pesci.
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Moonwalker was my favorite movie as a kid and to this day I never get tired of watching it. It isn't meant to be taken seriously as a movie; just another vehicle to showcase the talent and magic of Michael Jackson during his prime. So, come “rock with me” as we enjoy the bumpy thrill-ride that is Moonwalker.

The movie begins with blaring synthesizers and the movie logo shown over an endless crowd of Jackson fanatics as he begins performing one of his biggest hits, Man In The Mirror. This footage was taken from performances during his BAD world tour from 1987-89, and Michael was certainly in his prime here. What I don't like about watching Michael Jackson performances during this time were the constant fan reaction shots. With every spin, every grunt, every crotch grab, etc, the camera zooms right in on fan reactions. People were passing out left and right. Not just young teenage girls, but grown men, too. Michael had that kind of power over people in his time. During their time, Elvis Presley and The Beatles had the girls swooning too, but this was something else. And in lots of different countries.
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The movie then transitions into animations and brief music video snippets of Jackson's long career up to that time. There's Jackson 5 footage, leading up to Jackson's more recent successes with Off The Wall and Thriller. But when we finally get around to the BAD video, we see the video being re-enacted by children, led by a snarling Brandon Adams as Michael, and R&B singing group “The Boyz” playing the "menacing" Wesley Jones gang from the original video. This was all in good fun, and Adams certainly had the moves down.

After the performance is over, MJ and his guards are walking in the basement of the subway and MJ scoffs when his bodyguard says that his pet monkey, Bubbles, is wearing a PRINCE t-shirt. I am honestly surprised that there is a Prince reference in this film. MJ and Prince were musical rivals at the time, but rarely mentioned each other in public.

Emerging through a random fog outside, MJ and his posse have returned to their normal adult selves. Michael was sporting his black, leather-clad and buckled outfit from the BAD video.

I have to point out that by this time, MJ no longer resembled the same guy we saw in the “Thriller” video a few years prior. Sure enough he had the same whispery voice and mannerisms, but there was also new self-confidence, a new nose, a noticeably brighter skin shade (around this time, his skin disease was beginning to reveal itself) and his jheri curl had grown into a long, wavy mullet shag. But the fans on a nearby tour bus (much like his real life fanatics) didn't give a damn. It wasn't long before the King of Pop was spotted. “MICHAEL JACKSONNNNNNNN!!!!” a young boy shouts out. Those two words ignited a frenzy and everyone on the bus ran out to chase our giggling star.

The chase leads to Michael hiding in a costume store and picking out (of all things) a BUNNY WABBIT costume?!!? The same guy who transformed into a bloodthirsty “werecat” creature and dancing zombie in Thriller decided to bypass the scary costumes and went for the bunny wabbit? You'd think he'd try to scare his stalkers. Sometimes I can't figure Michael out..

Anyway, he casually strolls out of the costume store and the authorities fall for the disguise, one even saying, “It's just a stupid rabbit!”

Before leaving, Michael gets their attention with a whistle and then taunts them by doing some of his signature dance steps before hopping on a bicycle and speeding off. (I still can't figure Michael out. He must have enjoyed the thrill of a chase. This would have been his chance to get away peacefully and quietly).​

The chase continues as his bicycle instantly transforms into a motorcycle and we segue into a music video for the underrated Michael Jackson song Speed Demon, which fits in with the narrative. Not long after a brief cameo by Pee-Wee Herman (who was also at the height of his fame at the time) Michael gets his obsessive fans arrested by a giant police officer for speeding.
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Afterward, Michael arrives at a concluded area near a cliff and attempts to abandon his bunny wabbit suit there, only for it to spring to life and challenge Michael to a dance-off. This was a fun exchange, with the bunny (Spike) matching Michael move for move until Michael does a spin effect that makes Spike's eyes bulge in surprise. But Michael can't celebrate his victory for long because he is harassed by a cop who points to a sign that says this.

Michael whimpers something about dancing with Spike, who has now vanished, leaving it to look as if Michael was just crazy and dancing by himself in a secluded area. Instead of demanding a ticket, the cop demands an autograph instead. When the cop leaves, Spike's big head emerges from the nearby mountain, getting a big warm smile from Michael.

Now the actual “movie” part of the movie rolls in. Three homeless children, Sean (Sean Lennon, real life son of John and Yoko Ono) Katie (Kelley Parker) and Zeke (Brandon Adams, who appeared in the BAD remake earlier) are spying on Michael from the rooftops as he emerges from his town house. I honestly don't know the purpose of this part, as Michael kind of poses around doing his best to look pretty. Vanity moment, perhaps?​

A shooting star then whizzes by (a concept we'll see throughout the film) and Jackson's spidey sense is tingling. The look on his face resembles 2Pac flashbacks as he is apparently gunned down by a group of foot soldiers led by Joe Pesci, known as “Mr. Big” in the film.

But before Mr. Big can brag, he realizes that there is no bloody corpse laying on the ground full of pancake makeup...only the shot-up remains of Michael's fancy cashmere coat. The thing was covered in bullet holes. These guys REALLY wanted Michael dead for some reason. Next thing you know, we witness Jackson's shadow sprinting in the distance and see him running for his life, his face full of fright and pretty.​

We have a flashback to a recent time when Michael was playing with the three kids and their goofy dog, Skipper. Suddenly, Skipper grabs their soccer ball and takes off into the deep woods somewhere. Michael, being braver than I'd imagine, was curious about what was in the area so he and Katie decided to explore and look for their pup. At one point they come across a hidden door with a huge tarantula doorbell. Katie tries to pull away, but MJ gently forces her to come inside with him. Without mentioning names, I will say that someone was too afraid to go in there on his own, I see.

Once inside the spider-infested lair, we discover Mr. Big screeching about how he wants to take over the world and get children everywhere high on drugs so he can make a fortune. He has an obsession with spiders, so maybe he was going to use them as his enforcers? The plot didn't explore this. Anyway, a tarantula crawls on Katie, she screams and gives away their hiding spot, and Mr. Big points and yells “DEAD!!! DEAD!!! DEAD!!!” MJ and poor Katie are marked for dead, obviously.

This brings us back to the present where Michael is again being chased. The visuals of MJ sprinting in the shadows throughout the smoke and buildings is actually pretty cool, especially with the foot soldiers shining their bright flashlights everywhere. However, Mr. Big's high pitched screeching voice is constantly barking orders at his crew. And with Katie constantly screaming “MICHAEL!!” at him from the rooftops, I am seriously surprised that she didn't give away his location to the bad guys.

After MJ was somehow able to outrun slobbering, booty-munching Dobermann Pinschers, he found himself backed into an alley with no escape. That shooting star whizzes by again. Although he makes a face as if he needs to have the explosive bowel movement of a lifetime, Michael instead squats and transforms into a car. (Yes, you read that right).

"Turbo Michael" as I call him in car form, easily out-speeds his pursuers. In the meantime, Katie has reunited with Zeke and Sean at a haunted, abandoned jazz club called Club '30s.

The trio hide outside the club when they hear a car pull up. Katie goes into a trance when she sees the shadow of the car transform into Michael. Michael enters the club and everyone stops and stares. Evidently, Michael has gone back into time. The men are decked out in zoot suits, while the women are also dressed according to the 1930s. One person slowly grabs a gun (Why does everyone want to shoot Michael in this movie?) Another person whispers “Watch him.” The room is quiet and everyone keeps staring at our hero. Is this because Michael is a black man in a club in the racist 1930s? Well, I guess not considering there are other black people there, as well as an Asian woman who appears to run the place and subtly stalks Michael throughout the segment. (Seriously, she's always somewhere following and watching in the distance). Michael threatened a dance move (He didn't learn his lesson after almost getting arrested earlier) and then flips a coin into the juke box, which starts his new single at the time, the sinister, bass-driven Smooth Criminal.
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Throughout this segment, Michael escapes an ass-whooping after blowing pool-ball dust in an on-looker's face, and blows another man away with a gun upstairs. The dance routines just get better and better, only momentarily interrupted by a random orgy with no sex. I guess they were attempting to resurrect Annie? I don't know, but I do know I don't wanna spend too much time talking about it.

The party is interrupted when Mr. Big's soldiers arrive with their guns. Mr. Big kidnaps Katie, and MJ for some reason shoots up the club with a machine gun. Of course he is immediately ejected from the building for attempted murder, only to run into a frantic Zeke and Sean. The camera zooms in on Michael's face as he boldly says, "We'll see what I can do....we'll see." His eyeliner, makeup, frail body and small voice betrays any hope of Michael portraying a tough guy, but I like that he gave it his best shot. It's still damn funny, though.

A trap door separates Michael from his young friends and he is soon cornered by Mr. Big's cronies. Mr. Big arrives holding on to Katie and tries to inject her with drugs. Michael again tries his damnest to be a tough guy. But he is swiftly beaten up by one of the foot soldiers. 

Michael summons up all of his vocal strength and yells out, "LEAVE HER ALONE!!" in a man-child cry so strong that it shatters glass lights and gets everyone to slowly back off, including those booty-munching dogs from earlier in the movie.

The sky now begins to resemble the one in a Ghostbusters movie, but as Michael sits up he begins to undergo another Thriller-esque transformation.

He slowly transforms into a robot and blasts away all of Mr. Big's warriors. Mr. Big, being the only somewhat clever evil character here, escapes into some big control room hidden in the mountains. As he makes his escape, "RoboMJ" transforms into a futuristic airplane of some sort. The airplane has a brief battle with Mr. Big and then blows him to smithereens. 

Long story short, Michael disappears from earth for a while but is "summoned" by Katie's lucky star she found on the ground. Michael returns to the children giving hugs and love, and then takes them backstage to a concert where he'll be performing. There, the foursome are reunited with that damn dog Skipper (who NEVER returned their soccer ball, mind you) and Michael goes on stage to perform his dazzling rendition of The Beatles' hit song, Come Together, full of epic crotch shots and pelvic thrusts. 

From there we get to the ending credits, which is another personal highlight for me. Ladysmith Black Mambazo have to be the hippest, most soulful old men on the planet. They don't even need music to make you dance. I used to beg my granddaddies to join these guys but they sadly never did. Anyway, leave it to Michael to leave you entertained during the end credits.

​Michael Jackson will always be one of my heroes. I will not speak on whatever personal problems he had, but the man was a creative genius. The songwriting, the dancing, the singing, the flash, the style, the clothes, everything. He was what a true superstar should be. And during this time, how the hell could you NOT be a Michael Jackson fan?

Having said that, this isn't a movie to take seriously. I don't think he was going for an Oscar or anything. This was just a chance for us to see him doing the things that he did best. And this was also one of the last times we saw a fun, almost carefree version of Michael. His later appearance on The Simpsons was probably the the last time he ever mocked himself and showed his "fun" side. After 1993, things went downhill fast, but one look at Moonwalker shows how amazing this man was.

9 out of 11 of the BAD songs are featured throughout Moonwalker. BAD was released when I was almost two years old, so it (and Dangerous) were the albums I grew up with. Moowalker and the music from the BAD album are nostalgic for me. This was the Michael Jackson I constantly mimicked when I was a kid.

And hey, it's still a fun movie to watch and highly entertaining all of these decades later. Could Beyonce, Kayne West or Chris Brown put together something as fun as this? You tell me...

"Everything the light touches is our kingdom." Those legendary words from Mufasa's booming baritone were spoken yet again in 2019, but this time with a more gentle, soft spoken touch. That is one of the new things to expect in the new Lion King live-action remake.

I'll keep this short and sweet. My wife and I saw it a few hours ago and enjoyed it. But here are a few things to expect...

Predictably, with Beyonce and Childish Gambino playing the adult Nala and Simba, you already knew the singing was going to be twice as soulful as the original 1994 version. Beyonce began riffing with her first note. They didn't over-sing as much as you'd think, but you can't help but notice the ad-libs. 

Modern slang is added to the dialog, including phrases like, "I got this."

A new scene is added to the story.

As I hinted at earlier, James Earl Jones' voice has certainly grown weaker as he aged. Mufasa's voice is still deep, to be sure, but lacks the BOOM and presence of 1994. As a result, Mufasa's character seems a bit more passive and less authoritative this time. James Earl Jones is 88 years old now, and is (to my knowledge) the only person from the original cast present in the reboot. 

Lead Hyena Shenzi is given more screen-time this time around and shows much more menace. You could argue that she's even more dangerous than Scar, and she's far less submissive to him than in the original. She's a horrible villain in her own right. (Whoopi Goldberg played Shenzi originally. This time the character is voiced by Florence Kasumba).

While Shenzi's role was elevated this time, Rafiki''s role was reduced noticeably. 

The CGI was actually pretty decent in my opinion. People have complained about the "lack of emotion" from the CGI animals. Of course lions can't smile or anything, so this was to be expected. At times their expressions were blank, but in key emotional scenes, their faces had great reactions. 

Overall I enjoyed it, and aside from the few things I mentioned here, there isn't much to say. Of course nothing will top the original. The Lion King is like The Wizard of Oz of my generation. No reboots, sequels or add-ons will come close to capturing the magic of that 1994 Disney Masterpiece. The story flowed pretty well, and even the small amount of people who may see this one first before the original will be able to understand the story easily. In this writer's opinion, it's definitely worth checking out.

​“Cocky.” “Upbeat.” “Enthusiastic.” Those are words that perfectly describe A.J. Dugger at age 18 back in 2004. I was starting college and itching to enjoy my first taste of freedom and independence from my family. I left Memphis and lived in a dorm at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN. My hair was freshly braided, I had swag, (oh yes, I did) and I was fearless. If I saw a woman I liked, I wasn't afraid to wink at her, or strut right up to her and use my charm to catch her attention. Like many teenagers on their own for the first time, I was bold and absolutely full of myself.

​But by the time I turned 33, being an adult had worn on me. You go through several hardships in life that can leave you jaded and discouraged. Making things worse was that the career I was so used to (journalism) has been dying a slow and painful death.

Oh, for no real reason, watch me dance!!! 
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2007. Oh, the good ole' days when my dreads were babies.

Anyway, anyone can start their own blog or website and hire people to write for them as “reporters.” There are bloggers who don't know a thing about journalism but write online pieces regularly. This, and the decline of newspapers and ads, have hurt journalists a great deal. Each time I applied for a new journalism job, I got the same result: “We love your resume. It's real strong. We'd love to have you on our team. Unfortunately we can only pay per article and it's $25 a story.”

Some places pay $50, and occasionally I'd hear $75. But that isn't enough to pay the bills, obviously. All of the writing, researching and interviewing journalists do....for only $25 an article? That is beyond ridiculous. If you're in the later stages of college or just getting your feet wet as a journalist, then these freelance gigs will cushion your resume and prove useful. After all, it is experience. But for someone like me, who has written books and done so much in this field, that chump change will never do. Nope, nope.

So I had to work other jobs full-time, and spent some years working at social work jobs for people with physical and mental disabilities. I also worked in education as a preschool teacher. I had a lot of fun doing this but it's not my calling. For several years I was just coasting through life, punching the clock and stressing out over bills like every other miserable adult. I had my highlights – I got married in 2017, and wound up being featured on an episode of the popular crime show “For My Man” on TV-One. Although it was great exposure and I was a natural, it didn't excite me the way it would have if I were younger. I basically considered myself retired from journalism.

One day a few weeks ago, my mother texted me a letter I wrote to my parents when I was 18, very early into my first semester at APSU.  

NOTE: I was dating a girl named Monica at the time, hence her reference in the letter.

​Let's face it. I was corny as hell. But at the same time, I was cool as hell, and at that particular time, I let nothing hold me back or stop me from reaching my goals. In the end, I accomplished everything I set out to do...I graduated from APSU in 2009, got a journalism job, and got married. But you know how life is...there are bumps along the way that pop up unexpectedly and disrupt your joy. 10 years later, the 28 year-old me was still fun, but not as outgoing. That evolved into the 33 year-old me, which was pessimistic and always expecting the worse.

But reading that letter woke me up. The 18 year-old me would despise the uninspired 33 year-old version of me. That cocky 18 year-old would be greatly disappointed. He would be ashamed of becoming a man just coasting through life with no real goal or purpose. I decided that I wouldn't let that 18 year-old down, and decided to become “that guy” again.

That very night, I decided to re-publish my old journalism page on Facebook. I started sharing things online again; not just my old journalism articles and interviews but also asking for opinions on other random topics. I was starting good conversations, and within days my followers began to increase. I already had a pretty big audience. (Years ago whenever I'd interview a celebrity, his or her audience would in turn become my audience. “Oh, this AJ dude is pretty funny. And he talks about cool stuff. I'll follow him, too.”) But as the days went by, my numbers began to go up much higher. The same happened on Twitter, a website I had virtually abandoned.

I had some posts that damn near went viral, particularly when I shared my appearance on the TV-One show, For My Man. It was shared by a lot of people, and soon (about a day or two later) I got a Facebook message from one of the producers asking me to make another appearance.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It gets better. A day before I got there, they told me to bring a change of clothes because I'd be appearing on TWO episodes and they were DOUBLING my pay.

I'll say it again...

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But wait. There's more. My wife and I went to Knoxville last weekend to celebrate not just my TV spots and our two-year wedding anniversary, but my new job. In the midst of my social media blitz (That rhymes!) I was hired by a Memphis online newspaper called Higher Ground News. I've been selected to cover community news – local businesses, human interest stories, events, etc) so I won't be covering crime, politics or anything like that. (I got burned out on that stuff in my other journalism work). I'm also only doing 5 articles a week so I can work from home primarily (aside from going out for interviews and media coverage).

And we'll be moving back to the MEMPHIS area! It'll be nice to be near our families again. I of course give thanks to The Man Upstairs, but I also wish I could go back in time to thank the 18 year-old A.J. Dugger from 2004. I owe him big-time. He and he alone inspired my recent success.

So, A.J., The Duggerman from 2004 dancing around at Austin Peay, I thank you.

Sincerely,

Your future 33 year-old self. “Mr. TV-One.”

“Alerts From The Grave” --- A porn star receives text messages and emails from her dead husband. 

“The Dark Road.” --- A sibling rivalry is put to an end when two sisters endure a night of pure terror in the woods. 

“The Magician And The Beast.”--- A unique animal is the attraction for a sinister traveling magician. 

“Giggling in the dark.” --- A young couple hears weird laughter and noises coming from their basement.. 

“The Power Of The Punch.” --- A struggling female boxer is given breast implants that give her the strength of three men. But everything has a price... 

“Last Thoughts.” --- A womanizing politician is killed by his wife over and over in an endless loop; each death more brutal than the last. 

“7 pm.” --- After almost dying in a street fight, a young drug dealer struggles to get his life and family back on track. But can he? 

“Dirty Underwear.” --- A necrophiliac mortician gets a taste of her own medicine... 

“Mail-Order Bride.”  – A lonely old man finds a beautiful bride online, but he soon regrets his choice. 

“The Intruder.” --- A family is fighting for their lives against an intruder who may be a bigger threat than they think. 

"The Special Child." --- A youth counselor is concerned about a foreign child who has gotten everyone sick. 

“The Scarecrow.” – A young reporter's first news assignment is to write an article about a scarecrow that walks at night. ​

Two weeks ago I started my new role as Associate Editor of The Franklin Home Page Media Group in Middle Tennessee. It keeps me busy but I'm having a blast! There's nothing better than making a living doing what you love to do. I get to meet and interact with new people all the time and tell their stories, and keep people informed on what is happening in the community.

Things happened really fast. One day I was an unhappy teacher's assistant at an organization for at-risk children, and the next, my fiance and I were packing up and moving four hours away to a new home with new jobs. God listened to my prayers.

So far things have been great! People in Franklin are pretty nice and are really open and helpful to whatever I need. They even put me on the radio at the end of my first week. Here is a clip!

I cover the city of Franklin and the school system. So I'm everywhere! BOMA meetings, school board meetings, press conferences, grand openings, concerts, retirement parties, school functions, city hall meetings, etc. You name it. 

I'm slowly writing fiction stories for my next book. At the moment it's shaping up to be a sequel to SoUtHeRn TeRrOr, but don't quote me on that. It could wind up being another project altogether, but sometimes I sit and write and let my mind takes me where it chooses to go.

I'm getting married in July as well. With life changes and my busy schedule,  don't expect my next book too soon. But I'm very happy with life right now. All of the journalism jobs I've worked in the past have led to this one, and I couldn't be happier. I've been waiting on a job like this for eight long years.

I'm finishing my BeHiNd SoUtHeRn TeRrOr blog series. Thanks for supporting and buying the book! In case you're unaware, SoUtHeRn TeRrOr is my most recent book. It's a horror anthology, quite similar to shows like Tales From The Crypt and The Twilight Zone. To help promote the book, I've been doing an episodic blog series - each episode focuses on an individual story in the book and goes in-depth on the characters, the story, and my creative process while writing it. I've already completed six or seven episodes, all of which are available on this website if you look around the blog.

To keep up with my new content with Franklin Home Page, follow me on Twitter and Facebook. Generally I post my new articles on the Franklin Home Page social media pages, and then retweet them from my own social media sites. I still freelance on the side sometimes, so if you have any tips on news or need me to ghostwrite, edit, or write something for you, contact me.

To entertain you a bit, check out an old music video of me dancing over the years.

I enjoyed this one a lot and still play it often. You play as Jodie, who has a connection to a supernatural entity named Aiden. The player gets to play as both characters, and as Aiden you get to scare the poop out of people, possess them, etc. You can also make Jodie's life a living hell. It's a lot of fun.

This game was similar in a lot of ways to Heavy Rain. There are just two things that somewhat bother me - one is that too much is jammed into one story. At different points, Jodie is kicking ass for the FBI, then she's homeless, then she's living with isolated Mexicans haunted by demons, then there's another flashback to her being a child, etc. These were all great ideas - they just feel forced. It kinda makes the story feel all over the place. Even worse is that you can't play the game in chronological order either. Maybe they knew a sequel wasn't possible so they decided to jam all of their storylines into one game.

The other thing I didn't really like is that unlike other RPGs like Heavy Rain, The Walking Dead, etc, your choices in Beyond Two Souls do not matter as much as you hope. Some choices do matter as you'll find out later in the game, but overall many of the choices you make only create minor differences in the story at the time you make them. However, I was surprised when I played it a second and third time that I got different scenes and outcomes when I made different decisions than the previous times I played it. Your choices do matter; but only a limited amount of them are crucial to the story in big ways.
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During my early teen years I was a huge WWE fan. If you're familiar with wrestling, you'll know that the WWE Attitude era was one of the best times to be a fan. The soap-opera storylines had me hooked, and the wrestlers were real characters you had to watch each week. This game is a throwback to that very period, which is the exact reason why I bought it. There's a story mode where you play the first three years of the Attitude era. There are chapters that focus on the period's biggest stars - Stone Cold, The Undertaker and Kane, Mankind, The Rock, DX, etc. You can relive plenty of iconic moments, like Kane appearing for the first time and attacking his brother The Undertaker, Stone Cold's first WWE title win (with help from MIKE TYSON), The Rock's transition from The Nation of Domination into The Corporate Champ, the Montreal Screwjob, the beginnings of D-Generation X, etc. Awesome stuff!

​Val Venis, Mike Tyson, Gangrel, Rikishi and others are available as DLC. But where is Chyna? It bothers me to not see her aiding Triple H during the story mode. She played a big part in Triple H's rise, but was written out of existence in this game. And as a result, the Triple H storylines aren't the same.

Chyna's not the only one missing in action. Where is Owen Hart? D'lo Brown? The Hardy Boyz? Several key wrestlers are missing and their absence is noticed. This doesn't hurt the gameplay or anything - there are I Quit Matches, Last Man Standing matches,  Empty Arena matches, etc. Even Hell In The Cell, Elimination Chamber and Inferno matches are here! So it's hard to get bored with this one. Just know that downloading CAWs isn't going to happen if you bought the game after 2K Sports took over the servers.
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When I was a kid, I wanted to grow up and be a Ghostbuster! Well, instead I grew up to become a journalist. But this game gave me a chance to live the "ghostbusting" experience. You play as an unnamed rookie joining the team. (Seriously, his name is never mentioned once). I must say that this was a really fun game. The story is excellent. It takes place a few years after Ghostbusters II ended, and most of the original cast lent their voices to the game. The only voices missing are those of Rick Moranis (who retired from acting) and Sigourney Weaver. Sigourney's absence, however, results in a new love interest for Peter Venkman.

This story is good enough to be a second sequel to the original franchise. We never got a film, but this comes really close. I like how the music score is recycled from the original film, and you get the chance to use all of the famous Ecto gadgets like the PKE Meter, Slime Blower, Proton Pack, etc. The other Ghostbusters really make you feel like part of the team. Well, sometimes. Watch out for Venkman.
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This is going to be an unpopular ranking, but I feel that this game is highly overrated. Don't get me wrong. It was not a bad game. The story is gripping, the drama is real, the characters are full of depth and there's more than enough action.

The problem is all of the hype for the game. "AJ! Dude! This is the best video game of all time!"

I'm sorry. I just can't agree there. It is a good game, better than average. There's not much negative I can say, only other than it could be real difficult at times. Some of the situations could be real intense. I'm also getting kind of tired of the apocalyptic "monsters taking over the world" theme in games these days. I dunno. If this one wasn't so overhyped I would probably like it better.
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I'm a fan of Telltale games. I knew virtually nothing about this game or the plot. Looking for a new adventure, I bought it one day and before I knew it, my wife and I were absolutely hooked. It's basically a story about fairytale characters living in the real world. You play as Sheriff Bigby, the "big bad wolf" from the story about the Three Little Pigs. Naturally other characters are a bit distrusting because of your past, but the beauty of the game (just like all recent Telltale games) is that you can play the character however you chose and play your own adventure. The story is intriguing - characters are being murdered and all other kinds of chaos is taking place. As the sheriff, it's up to you how you handle things.
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This game was better than I anticipated. You play as Max, a high school photographer who has the power to rewind time and alter the future. Things start out cute enough, but as the five-part episode series progresses, the story gets deeper and darker.

The story and characters will keep you interested in this one, as well as the ability to alter time and change your future.

In the beginning of the game, Max's concerns are typical high school problems - popularity, boys, bullies, fitting in, etc. But she gradually finds real​ concerns and dangers  to worry about as the episodes move forward. This game begins cute but gets really dark by the end. I'm talking darker than a Tim Burton film. I was shocked that a game that began one way could end up in such a dark place.

​I highly suggest playing this one. You don't know where it's going to go, and it's a fun ride while you figure things out along the way. I'm looking forward to the sequel.
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The Batman Arkham series as a whole is awesome. I've also played Arkham Asylum and I haven't finished Arkham Knight yet, but so far Arkham City is the best. The reason? The Villains!! They're all there, though some are just there for brief cameos and others are supporting cast. The Penguin, The Joker, Clayface, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Ra's al Ghul, Two-Face, etc.

Plus the DLC lets you play other storylines & adventures as Catwoman and Robin. These stories are separate adventures that are still connected to the main story.

​This is just one heck of a game. Great, great story. Cool gadgets, too. You really become The Dark Knight. Swinging from the rooftops and gliding through the night sky is great fun. This is also something of a stealth game at times. It's also worth noting that the battle with Mr. Freeze is one of the most original boss fights of any game I've ever played. The one minus is that there's no Batmobile here, but Arkham Knight more than makes up for that.
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This is easily one of the best games I've ever played. There's so many things I like about it that I don't know where to begin. You play as four different characters, each on a quest to track down the horrible, stinky Origami Killer. That, to me, is one of the charms of the game. Each character has their own perspective and agenda, plus the story differs greatly depending on the choices you make. Also, if a character dies, the story moves right along. The Origami Killer is a villain who kidnaps pre-teen boys and slowly drowns them, but leaves origami clues for their parents to find them before they die. What a bastard.

​There's mystery, there's suspense, there's action, there's sex, there's drama. It's all in the story, and you find yourself caring about these people deeply. I wish there were more games like this one.
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Being a longtime boxing fan, this is one of the games I play the most. Most of my favorites are here - Lennox Lewis, Joe Frazier, Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Evander Holyfield, Sonny Liston, etc. Some legends have to be downloaded in a DLC pack. (Jack Dempsey, Rocky Marciano, Joe Louis, Jack Johnson and Floyd Patterson).

​This is a great game. Every fighter's style is represented pretty accurately for the most part. Examples being Mike Tyson coming out full of aggression in the opening rounds but slowing later, or Muhammad Ali skipping around the ring on his toes tossing out his jab and taunting you.

If you're new to the game, I suggest playing as Joe Louis. He has fierce knockout power in both hands, fast hand speed, a solid chin and can go the distance. With Louis you could fight a defensive fight by counter-punching or fight aggressive. Plus, at 6'2 he's not too big or small for any opponent on the game. Rocky Marciano is another tough fighter who can take lots of punishment but keeps coming. Like Louis, he can end the fight at any time with a punch from either hand.

Also worth noting is the beautiful story mode. The Andre Bishop tale is amazing. It's more than worthy of being a Hollywood feature and is easily the best boxing film to never make it to the big screen. Also, some have said that the story's antagonist Isaac Frost is the hardest video game boss fight of all time. I can't argue with that. He's a big, powerful 6'8 mountain of a man and the game forces you to fight him different ways at different times during the fight.

Because I love boxing and I love a great story, I will never get sick of this game. Perfect.  
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I've already done a full length blog article on the first game, so I'll keep this one short and sweet. This game to me is perfect and is what got me into playing video games again as an adult. You play as Lee Everett, who finds himself being a father figure to 8 year-old Clementine. The characters in this game will definitely get passionate reactions from you. They will warm their way into your heart, or make you despise them. Also, the game's story is created by the decisions you make, and there will be plenty of tough decisions!

​Like The Walking Dead TV series and graphic novels, the story here is not really about the flesh-eating zombies, but about the people and their desperation for survival. It's a brilliant game, easily my favorite of all time. The second season was nearly just as good as the first, and the recent third season wasn't awful but not in the league of the first two. If I had to recommend just one game from this list, it would be this one. The Walking Dead is a game you must play!

That's my top ten list folks! But I have two honorable mentions, and here they are.

This one grabbed my attention immediately, from the smooth jazz ensemble menu music to the Michael Jackson Smooth Criminal attire everyone wore. Speaking of which, some criminals could be smooth here, but it depends on how you play the game.

The highlight of the game for me and other gamers are the interrogation scenes. You have to judge whether or not a suspect is lying or withholding information from you. If you have information that proves them to be liars, you can get a lot more information out of them. L.A. Noire makes you feel more like a real cop than a gamer. 

In addition to the role-playing aspect of the interrogation sequences, you also get lots of action scenes including car chases, shoot-outs, etc. You investigate all kinds of crimes, and you're partnered up with different people throughout your journey. Some of your allies are great; others are crooked cops. You get the whole police experience. I also enjoyed how you work 21 or so different cases instead of working one long endless case. Each case is different and that's part of what kept things from getting boring.

The story and gameplay are pretty smooth until the ridiculous ending. Other than that, this was a fun ride. Far from the best video game of all time, but original and innovative enough to be included here. 
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​This game really surprised me. I was never a huge Spiderman fan, but I decided to pick the game up because I needed some type of adventure after I'd beaten most of my other games.

What I liked about this one was that it closely resembled the Batman Arkham games. This gave it a brighter but familiar feel to me. The story was great and overall I had a great time playing as Spidey.