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2013-05-14 16:09:19 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 6 +1s)

The Michael J. Fox Show

Coming this fall, to NBC. It's soooo good, kids. And an NYC show (take that, LA!)

Watch and love.

2013-04-14 14:32:35 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)

Sunday Brunch

Show me a better dog GIF if I am wrong. Happy munching, friends - a new week begins in < 24 hours ;)

2013-04-05 15:15:19 (3 comments, 2 reshares, 5 +1s)

Most of us don't want to talk about death as we're too busy living. But well worth reading Roger Ebert on life & death http://virg.in/rel

2013-04-05 15:12:00 (3 comments, 4 reshares, 8 +1s)

Michael Caine Does Michael Caine

Simply the greatest. Happy Friday, my Plussers.

2013-03-06 15:18:30 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

The Me Bird

A free interpretation of the homonym poem by Pablo Neruda.
By multimedia outfit 18bis, Brasil. 

I am the Pablo Bird,
bird of a single feather,
a flier in the clear shadow
and obscure clarity,
my wings are unseen,
my ears resound
when I walk among the trees
or beneath the tombstones
like an unlucky umbrella
or a naked sword,
stretched like a bow
or round like a grape,
I fly on and on not knowing,
wounded in the dark night,
who is waiting for me,
who does not want my song,
who desires my death,
who will not know I'm arriving
and will not come to subdue me,
to bleed me, to twist me,
or to kiss my clothes,
torn by the shrieking wind.
That's why I come and go,
fly and don't fly but sing:
I am the furious bird 
of the calms... more »

2013-02-11 20:26:57 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

The Door 
by Ava DuVernay 

Watch this fashion-film collaboration between the most amazing black women working on screen today.

Behind-the-Scenes footage here: THE DOOR BY AVA DuVERNAY - BEHIND THE SCENES

2013-02-06 18:00:09 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Greetings Plussers!

It's been a while, so you deserve an Extra Special Serving of Uku™. I will read you books! This one's for lovers of the Jazz Age - if you like Fitzgerald, tell me what else you want to hear and I just may... 
 
https://soundcloud.com/frances-uku/tender-is-the-night-audiobook

2012-12-07 21:06:11 (11 comments, 1 reshares, 12 +1s)

Redemption
by Frances Uku

Been a while G+, I know. missUku's been working to expand her empire in real life. Here's my first published piece of fiction, on Paris-based 3:AM Magazine.

Hope ya dig it.

[Always more @ http://francesuku.com]

2012-10-08 16:56:00 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)

Big Bird Drops By Saturday Night Live

A behind-the-scenes look at the machine that is Lorne Michaels' SNL. Great read for actors, New Yorkers, and lovers of both.

2012-10-04 19:10:47 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

When Zadie Smith Came To Brooklyn

Check that Frances Uku byline! My very first piece for +Vol. 1 Brooklyn - I hope you enjoy xo 
http://www.vol1brooklyn.com/2012/10/02/when-zadie-smith-came-to-brooklyn/

2012-09-28 17:45:36 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

Recommended Reading

Wrote this as a favour to a friend, but perhaps it'll be of use to my virtual besties as well. I talk books all day on twitter, where many of the writers/actors below live - drop @missuku a line anytime, or leave a comment here xoxo

3 NONFICTION titles:

> Londoners by Craig Taylor
http://www.thebookseller.com/profile/craig-taylor.html

> Looking for Transwonderland by Noo Saro-Wiwa (Nigeria travel/memoir) 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jan/29/looking-transwonderland-saro-wiwa-review

> Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeannette Winterson 
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/2012/mar/21/jeanette-winterson-why-be-happy-when-you-could-be-normal/

2 FICTION ones:

> NW by Zadie Smith - much coverage of her in all the papers, but this one's a must: ... more »

2012-09-19 19:13:11 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

From My Zadie to Me

Substitute "acting" for "writing" or "writing" for "acting". I'm super-keen on points 3., 6., and 1. Any of the rules resonate with you?

[via +Maria Popova's Brain Pickings]

2012-09-14 16:23:56 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

The Week In Review

Trying to ramp up them entries on imdb.me/francesuku - Happy Friday, Team UKU xoxo
http://instagram.com/p/PhdshnwG4N/

2012-09-14 14:44:32 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Kate Winslet Screen Tests For Titanic

And it's not opposite Leo. See if you recognize the (wonderful) actor playing "Jack", starting at 0:40.

2012-09-11 19:19:43 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Lianne La Havas, Live at Bowery Ballroom

Yep, me. Getting my indie beat on tonight in the best performance space in New York City.

Who's jealous? xx
#donthatemecosimbeautiful

2012-09-11 18:38:15 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Pulitzer prize-winning author Junot Diaz will be hanging out live on +Google Play to talk about This How You Lose Her (http://goo.gl/RQbgy, US & CA). To participate in the live hangout, let us know how we can contact you here (http://goo.gl/lEy5R) and submit a question for Junot Díaz below.
+Google Play will reach out to you if you’ve been selected to join.

Full of energy, humor and tenderness, the stories in This Is How You Lose Her follow the loves and longings of a young hardhead named Yunior. 

2012-09-03 22:17:20 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 9 +1s)

Huge Loss, Far Too Early

Michael Clarke Duncan, star of The Green Mile, has died at age 54, say fiancée. The actor died during hospitalisation following a July heart attack.

2012-09-03 20:02:24 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Change Done Came

You've no idea how geeked this little brown girl is right now. It's a fine, fine, time to be in this line of work. Salud, +Sundance Institute and gorgeous Ava Duvernay!

The film, Middle of Nowhere, is in theaters Fall 2012.

2012-09-02 15:50:13 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Bienvenidos a New York City, My City

Super-fun history and culture piece in today's issue of +The New York Times !

GREEK COFFEE CUP: Before Starbucks, takeout coffee was invariably delivered in a blue and white paper cup featuring a Greek vase. The Anthora, as the cup was called, was created in the early 1960s especially for the NY market and its ubiquitous Greek diners and delicatessens by Leslie Buck, a Holocaust survivor.

THE BAGEL: First known mention? 1610. Krakow, Poland. Still, no other food is so associated with NYC as the “Jewish English muffin".

LES: It was called the Lower East Side, the East Village, Alphabet City. But in Nuyorican, the local Latino vernacular, it is Loisaida. Popularized by the poet Bittman Rivas in 1974, the name became official when the city sanctioned Loisaida Avenue as another name for Avenue C in 1987.

2012-08-30 21:59:41 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 16 +1s)

Acting Demo Reel: The YouTube Edition

Many thanks to all who already bothered to peep it on imdb.me/francesuku - here it is again, just 'cause xx

2012-08-29 23:43:52 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Okay, Hold Up: THIS Is My New Show

If I have watched a funnier pilot than The Mindy Project ever in life, I will need you to tell me what that was... Mindy Kaling, hire me please! (Preferably in a scene with dreamy Ed Weeks)  

WATCH the full FOX TV pilot here: http://goo.gl/Mf4HP

2012-08-28 23:37:53 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Another For The Please-Hire-Frances Files

Beverly Hills Cop meets The Shield. Welcome to the gun show.

2012-08-27 20:58:01 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

The Joy of Missing Out

+Jenna Wortham and +Anil Dash share a li'l something I've been experimenting with myself. On all my networks, not just +Google+. These days, I'll even leave my mobile at home while I go dog-walking. On purpose.

Have you found yourself scaling back on time spent online? Let's talk +The New York Times xo

2012-08-23 20:42:10 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

+Frances Uku I just saw on twitter that you posted a link to an interview with Saul Williams...were you the interviewer? I am hoping to go to his book signing at Howard on August 31st! He is absolutely amazing.

2012-08-22 23:03:14 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Best of British

And they just happen to be black ;) If ya missed 'em when they rocked Philly, please meet Floetry xoxo

#jamoftheday   #happyhumpday   #thatswhattheycallitright ?

2012-08-19 21:57:56 (17 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)

Sunday Funnies

Was going to save this for Monday morning, but listen - it's my first actor reel, gang! I'll post it today, and tomorrow, and the day after that - on francesuku.com, IMDb, or wherever it pleases me xoxo

>>> http://goo.gl/69iRf <<<

2012-08-16 19:16:05 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

My First Actor Reel

Will shortly be up at francesuku.com -- or, if you prefer, imdb.me/francesuku  

Wheeeeeeeeee! xoxo
http://instagram.com/p/OG6jqYwG5f/

2012-08-16 18:57:26 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Family Tree: Coming Soon To HBO Comedy

You have no idea how hard I will hustle to worm my way onto this show! Our "No Maids" rule will swiftly be relaxed =P 

Christopher Guest + Chris O'Dowd = Chris'mas

2012-08-03 21:12:09 (10 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Who's Excited For Cloud Atlas On Screen?

Trick question, that would be ME! Check the leaked pic below and say how you feel. Did you read/enjoy/only hear about the book?

[PS. I double dog dare a soul to come with a "So, um, how come is whiteface okay?"]

2012-08-03 14:11:56 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

(Thu04) At the happiest place on earth.

2012-08-01 21:43:46 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)

Daily Inspiration

My PlussyPoos know I am all about balance. Here's is a lighter, far happier story about a guy you might've heard of if you're on one of the other big social networks. One of Tumblr founder David Karp's Top 3 favourite blogs, I give you Humans of New York.

[PS. Lots more Brandon love at +The New York Times  xo http://goo.gl/4GPlL #NYC #actors]

2012-08-01 15:47:52 (11 comments, 2 reshares, 7 +1s)

Please Submit All Ethnicities

Oooowwweee, we got us a whopper on our hands today, Plussykins! Today, get a sneak peek into my world - here's the sticky-icky, the day-to-day - just ask any actor in NYC or LA xo

[Boss Lady +Nina Shen Rastogi for +Slate] 

2012-07-26 12:18:09 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Sherman Hemsley: Feb 1 1938 - July 24 2012

If you keep an ear out for these things, you may have heard of the recent death of George, crotchety husband of Weezy on The Jeffersons. I'm a huge fan of actors (um, obviously), and even more so of those very ordinary, non-privileged, non-trust-funded ones, who stuck it out, and were rewarded for their patience.

A daily and eternal inspiration, I'll forever miss (and celebrate) the legendary Mr. Hemsley. 

[ #actors    #thejeffersons    #allinthefamily    #Broadway ]

"I did about 6 or 7 years of children's theater, auditioning, taking classes at night, just constantly grinding it out. Then in 1967 (I was working in the Philadelphia Post Office at the time) and decided I was about ready to go to New York. I put in a transfer to the New York Post Office. So then I was in NYC, which wasgreat ... more »

2012-07-25 17:23:17 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

London 2012

Not satire. Link below contains a list of guaranteed and certain events to transpire during the Games, kicking off with a very fantastical Opening Ceremony this week in Stratford. 

[See: Ian McKellen bulletpoint in particular, plus the free DVD giveaway! xo]

2012-07-22 21:03:38 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Blackamores On The Block

Most think black people came to Britain after the war - Caribbeans on the Empire Windrush in 1948, Bangladeshis after the 1971 war and Ugandan Asians after Idi Amin Dada's expulsion in 1972.

But, back in William Shakespeare's day, you'd have met people from West Africa and even Bengal in the same London streets. In one small parish, "St Botolph's outside Aldgate", we find 25 black people in the later 16th Century. Mainly servants, but not all. One of the named:

"A negar whose name was suposed to be Frauncis. He was servant to be [sic] Peter Miller a beare brewer dwelling at the signe of the hartes horne in the libertie of EastSmithfield. Yeares xxvi [26]. He had the best cloth [and] iiii [4] bearers".

[Even in Elizabethan Days... #swaggerlikeus   #swaggerswaggerlikeus  xo]

2012-07-20 23:08:24 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Pups

They make me very happy - I hope they do you, too.  And for those in NYC, I've got a nice, dependable dog-sitting thang going @ https://dogvacay.com/Always-room-for-one-more-terrier-Dog-Boarding-3015 - come see me and Quincy sometime xo

(PS. Happy #fidofriday to all at +The G+ DogPark!!!)

2012-07-20 20:38:35 (5 comments, 4 reshares, 5 +1s)

Aurora

Given my own sensitivity to mental health-related topics, let's say I was certainly not psyched to wake up to this morning's news from Colorado. With precisely the same cringing as writer +SE Smith, here for +xoJane xo

2012-07-17 13:01:47 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

How To Be A Woman

"If you’re complaining about something for more than three minutes, two minutes ago you should have done something about it."

The above non-fiction title by UK journalist/media darling/proven hero Caitlin Moran hits US bookshelves today x

[Feature below in +The New York Times  #books   #publishing ]

2012-07-16 20:00:15 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Still In The Game! Where My Plussies At?

Quincy my pup-pup has missed you all terribly (as has yours truly x) cc +The G+ DogPark  #musicmonday  

2012-06-10 17:32:32 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

For Your Sunday Afternoon Groove

Ugandan-Brit Michael Kiwanuka has just the jam for you. This is the studio recording and official video of "I'll Get Along", but you should also give the Live Hackney Round Chapel version a listen here: I'll Get Along (Live At Hackney Round Chapel, 2012)

And for my New Yorkers, both Master Kiwanuka and fellow Brit singer-songwriter Laura Marling play Prospect Park this week @ Celebrate Brooklyn! x 
[cc +Brokelyn]

2012-06-08 20:44:10 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

Great Big Flaming Tour

The #Olympictorch rolled through Glasgow today. Actor James McAvoy (my soon-to-be bestie) was on hand to see it through the streets of his hometown.

2012-06-08 20:47:49 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Dogs in Cars

This is your final #FidoFriday  to own a piece of artwork (or coffee table book) by British photograher Martin Usborne. I'm backing his +Kickstarter campaign as a birthday present to myself - http://kck.st/K1D1ZN - 'cos every dog has her day, ya know? xo

+Laughing Squid +The G+ DogPark

2012-06-05 19:35:15 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

Daily Birthday Inspiration

And anyone who saw the current Broadway incarnation of Death of a Salesman, or any other offering from the genius that is Philip Seymour Hoffman, would agree. On this my born day, I give you my spiritual father, in a 6-minute chat with +Mo Rocca xo

2012-06-08 21:02:51 (8 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

Black Sunday in Nigeria

+BBC Africa's Tomi Oladipo reports from Lagos, where my mum, siblings, and I each lost high school friends, coworkers, and loved ones. My girl from secondary school pictured here? http://instagr.am/p/Lba4AXQG2q/ She was in Abuja to do planning for her brother's wedding, and on her way back with her husband, their 4 infant children, her mother, and 2 cousins. All dead.

My Storify here:
http://storify.com/missuku/dana-air-md-83-nigeria-s-latest-plane-disaster

/via +BBC News +BBC World Service +ABC News 24

2012-06-03 19:41:19 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Consider The Lilies

Fave scene from one of my fave films and I just happened to stumble upon this most excellent clip just now. Kindly click the link to enjoy, with love from the Coen Brothers xo
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/an-wjwib7nmuhbJmm/o_brother_where_art_thou_2000_hitch_hiking_with_george/ #OBrotherWhereArtThou

2012-05-27 23:28:18 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

It's Like I Was Saying About Life...

Ups and downs. But when you're high, peeps - you're Love On Top xo

2012-05-27 22:16:02 (3 comments, 4 reshares, 5 +1s)

Daily Inspiration

Life is beautiful, but it can be cruel. There'll always be someone younger than you, more beautiful than you, better pedigreed than you.

Do what you know you're meant to.

2012-05-24 16:15:44 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Daily Inspiration

Can't believe next month will make 1 year since we've been hangin' out on the +Google+. If you have taken pleasure from any of my postings here, I humbly ask that you stick $1 in the tip jar of my Los Angeles family: The Independent Shakespeare Company (iscla.org)

They're so worth it, my Pluskins, SO worth it! xo
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1501831302/griffith-park-free-shakespeare-festival-2012

2012-05-22 18:10:11 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Daily Inspiration

First-ever masterclass from +EyeEm today - there's a Live +HangoutParty from Berlin but click below for more on the hot new thing out of Europe, and the latest in #streetphotography #mobile #apps

PS. Any of my Pluskins at #tcdisrupt ? Say hi to me! xo

2012-05-20 16:28:37 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Daily Inspiration

Any Regi fans among you, my Pluskins? I love her like life. Today in +The New York Times Magazine xo #krasivaya #devushka #muziku