Kitty Power

Sugar Honey Iced Tea

Circlesquare - Dancers from Bienvenido Cruz on Vimeo.

I spent this year's Hallmark holiday with my friend Banana at the movies. We sidestepped the ridiculous line to see He's Just Not That Into You to see Taken. It was sufficiently fun and badass (though lacking the wonderful scene with the nails in the commercials) and that was almost enough to ease the bitterness of movie tickets being $12 nowadays. Now I remember why I go to the movie theater like once a year. Perhaps almost 28 is long enough to finally experience this movie date thing that other people seem to do. Obviously I'm doing something wrong. Afterwards, we successfully sidestepped couples grabbing burgers at a diner, then drinking at semi-divey Gramercy area bar. Good night overall.

I meant to go upstate for the day, keeping with my new getting out of town more often mantra, but that didn't work out so well. Instead of cleaned out my fridge and danced around the house to reggae. Life is so exciting right now!

I Haven't Got Time For This Mickey Mouse Bullshit

The royal we hearts Gary Oldman. Inspired by this

Oh Shit!

Fucking Christmas on the last fucking day in July!

And Bill's posting Nona Hendryx songs. Oh, lovely day it is!

Everywhere I Turn

Voom:Voom, Keep The Drums Out
Whodini, One Love
Manu Dibango, Soul Fiesta (Chateau Flight Rework)
Lords of the Underground, Funky Child
Royksopp, Remind Me

-- with my favorite commercials of the moment as a bonus. Both on the old side, but the 2nd will be starring in a Times Square billboard I had a hand in getting together.

They Got The Steely Dan T-Shirt

I'm such a lady, but I'm dressing like a ho....aurgh! Shoot me. No more VMA clips. I'm a little amused by the resurrection of Timbersnake. It only makes me feel worse for my real 'Nsync fave, JC. Dude doesn't stand a chance in the pop world at the moment. He'd be better off doing some random ass XLR8R-approved techno/electro collabo and trying to recast himself as hipster avant garde.

Banksy v. Paris: video | flickr set | news article. Maybe it just makes an asshole but I think you almost deserve to get a doctored version with "That's Hot" on a megaloop if you actually purposely go out to buy a Paris CD. [via Abe]

Interview snippet:

10. What do you think of laptop DJs?

Its whatever, I dont think anyone likes seeing someone checking their Myspace profiles for new messages from hot girls during a set.

If youre gonna act like a performer, then do something magical.

Laptop DJs should be hidden in a black box because its distracting and very unflattering what they are trying to do.

Ouch.

I've been having more than a few moments lately (especially when I start to think about the upcoming new apartment hunt) when I think it might be fun to pick up and go somewhere new. And then I remember I can't drive and/or speak more than the basics of a foreign language and that I'm broke and then that nips itself in the bud. And then I had one of those "it can only happen here!" couple of days and I really forget about that.

Thursday night, I left work and went downstairs to the boy's lair. We're friends it seems..at the moment...I guess. I'm just the type of person prone to silly entanglements, but I'm trying to get better. (In an aside, I've decided to blame my guy friends for that. Besides them giving me mostly ineffectual advice, I must be the only girl in NY with a horde of attached guy friends who know nothing but...other attached guys. What are the fucking odds for fuck's sake?! Since I'm left to my own devices, all I've got is recycling and the internet. le sigh.) We palled around about dumbo, then went to the birthday party for this band guy I used to harass the hell out of. The boy intro'd me with a "you remember Candice..." and I got the unsure blink of recognition, but at least he didn't say "you're the bitch who used to get on my nerves!" I might have if the situation was reversed.

Everyone at the party besides me and a handful of people were giants. I'm about average height, so it's very strange to be somewhere that 95% of the crowd is 5'10"+. It makes me wish I had a spare pair of heels stashed in my bag to at least be in the same atmosphere as everyone else. One of the other shorties was this random who was very weird. She and the boy are friends of friends and they were chattering away. She looked at me once like "are you lost?" and then again after some time had passed like "hmm..you're not going away..." What did I do? Well...nothing. I was drinking and passing the time, I didn't really feel any way about her besides amusement. When he wandered away for some reason, she gave me the grilling (why do they do that?!) and I was pretty blase. She perked up when I said I lived in the Heights and she dropped that her boyfriend lived a block over from me on Lincoln. Well...bully for him. Soon after, she poofed and I'll admit I got a slight thrill dropping to the boy about her bf living in my hood. He kinda visibly deflated. I might have hid a snicker. Good times. But, some good advice: let's just avoid the hero at 3am, even if someone else is paying. It'll just make you feel bad the next day. Seriously.

Saturday night, I was representing for the office at a coworker's DJ gig. Also there was this guy we work with that I had a crush on until I realized a) we'll always be working together, so it's to my best interest not to be that into him b) he resembles a young Tom Cruise circa Risky Business and reminds me of how much I always hated that guy with his dead eyes and chicklet teeth. Poof! Crush gone. Biggest thrill of the night was hearing "Sweet Freedom" and then spazzing with the DJ partner about how much we love Michael McDonald and how a yacht rock mix would be the sweetest thing ever. Yacht Rock...bringing people together. Also, being at a party in Williamsburg with the '06 crowd of FOA hipsters made me feel like I was 40 years old. Deliverance now!

Alafairnadia and I took in a show at the shores of the Gowanus Sunday afternoon. I love shows in random ass places. We heard good music, got a new DJ hero, and even got to see Justin...though saying hi almost got me a broken foot. Ouch. Amusement was making a bathroom line friend by talking shit about how slow the people in front of us were and running down how we and others reacted in other lines. Kids gotta get their kicks where they can I guess.

Turn Up The Eagles The Neighbors Are Listening

I ripped the whole Steely Dan boxset (and what?!) to my Zen the other day. To say I'm on a kick would be an understatement. I want to go to the Atlantic City show. It's a SD/Michael McDonald double bill. All my Yacht Rock dreams come true! Man, I loved that show. I'm so sad it's gone.

I was stuck upstate half the weekend and had the chance to sit around watch videos mindlessly for a bit. Cassie really is a Ciara knockoff. That's like someone making a Conway version of a Chinatown Prada bag. Totally unnecessary. Deja Vu is the latest in highly stupid disjointed videos. Look at B shake her fake hair! Is she in Savannah? WTF is up with all the gloves? Zero dramatic tension in the video. Her wide-eyed look face shows what a crap actress she is. And the "hey everybody, look what I learned in African dance class" section is just even more bizarre. Someone stop putting Keyshia Cole and her non-singing ass on songs. She's like the famous version of the teenage girls on the bus who wouldn't know how to stay on key if they're life depending on it. Enough with the wet cat sounds. Hate!

DFA79 broke up...that's a shame. That was a kickass live show (minus the idiotic "banter").

I can't remember for the life of me where I got this link from but this is hilarious. Dude was a super dirty old man:

No Fun

Something that's been driving me nuts for months now: does the Burger King look like Val Kilmer or what? Am I the only one who sees that?

You know what turns me on? Modern technology. On the bus ride home tonight, I was chilling watching the Navy Yard and Vanderbilt go by, listening to As The World Turns. Yes, listening to an mp3 of the previous day's episodes. They fucking podcast soap operas! Is that a riot or what? Complete with a voiceover describing wordless action and the "previously on.." and "next on..." scenes. And they update the new ones on the day of. It's awesome.

I've been watching an excessive amount of videos lately. And pretty much only reminding myself how much I hate Keyshia Cole. That heifer ruined a video starring Tyrese with her bleating! I f'love Tyrese. I'll watch him in just about anything..sooner or later. 2 Fast 2 Furious...needed more Tyrese...half-naked.

I've loved him a loooong time, since he was singing in Tommy commercials and had facial piercings. Remember when he was all edgy and playing the baddie in the "My Way" video? I do. As if someone would give up Tyrese for Usher! Not in this world. Why don't I meet more Tyresesque guys? Oh yeah, cause I spend too much time with corny hipsters or acid freaks. No self respecting sex symbol would slum it like that. Ah well. Sucks to be me I suppose.

If We Got Married, Would That Be Cool?

Sunday, neighbor friend Lirio and I trotted over to the Court St. Theater to catch a sneak preview of Something New. Surprisingly enough (or perhaps not), I'm really big into the black boho romcom genre. Fave movie of those: Hav Plenty and I would've loved it even better if they would've kept the original "you snooze, you lose" ending. I always kinda wish for those. Not because I'm a hardened cynic or whatever, but because it's always nice to have a dose of reality at the end. Sometimes you just fuck up and can't fix it and that's just how it is! Oops, sorry. I'm letting my emo slip out.

I'm gonna start off with what I didn't like:

-- the hair thing. It was really annoying that when she had her long weave that unless she was being "fancy," she never put the fucking thing up. No ponytails, no scrunchies, never back or up, just her hair flopping about her shoulders all the time. Yeah right. And then when she went natural, the same thing: always hanging loose and curly. As if a woman as prissy as she was supposed to be never switched up her hairstyle. And when he asked her about taking out her weave saying that he wanted to see her "really naked," I really had to gag. In real life, a) he would probably never notice and b) I can't see her saying more than "fuck off. Issue deaded" instead of actually going to the hairdresser to get the tracks out.

-- they never showed his place. If you're dating (or whatever-ing) someone and spending as much time with them as the movie implied, unless they have something to hide, you'll have been at their place before. All they needed was one scene there, even just a visual would've been good. As it was, it seemed like dude fell from the sky to garden and roll around in his pickup truck. It would've made a nice contrast to know what kind of life he was living. Really nothing about Brian was sketched out besides him being a generally cool guy (except when he said something naive) who worked in the community garden and was all crunchy and stuff. Even giving him a dad (Cliff Clavin!) in the end was just an afterthought. It would've been nice to even have a throwaway scene with Kenya meeting his friends.

And that's pretty much it. Everything else I enjoyed: the full out debates between the friends (oh so familiar!); him getting some shit as well as ignored or people being kinda indifferent ("The white guy's alright!) as well as not being completely naive either; the Ideal Black Man (Blair Underwood looking not so hot. Dude looked mad skinny and had a perv's moustache, even if his character was cool) not being a bad guy, just not the guy for her; the workplace stuff -- I always get annoyed when people aren'ty really doing anything at their fictional jobs. She was working hard and that guy who didn't respect her pissed me off, so I liked the aspect that her boss was on her side and she made partner; and mainly the interactions between the two of them. I've had a million of those conversations and it was nice to see them not glossed over.

I was amused by all the older black women grumbling about how fine the guy who played Brian was. Dude was cute -- and I don't even like blonds. I just liked that they let both of the characters be bumblers. They were mutually fucking up all the time and that's realistic. It made even sweeter that they worked out in the end. (Yeah...that's not a spoiler. If you thought they weren't going to end up together in the end, you must've never seen a romantic movie before!) I wanna see it again!

It's Like That

All year, I've been telling myself that I would get my shit together and submit a proposal for the Pop Conference. Everyone made it sound so fun last year! And I had a topic I thought was pretty meaty (Trapped In The Closet and the mainstream success of the chitlin circuit) and have been definitely not shy about music punditry over the internets -- as poor Anthony's email box can confirm. But in typical form, the deadline's fast approaching and of course, I haven't written anything yet to send off. Oops. I think I'll go anyway though. I've never been to Seattle and I will ask probing questions and/or jeer for kicks. The meantime, I'll try not to let dumb things elevate my pressure and try to hold back the "eat a dick" in correspondence. After all, my (forthcoming) list o' 2006 resolutions includes see at least one creatively satisfying idea through and stop selling myself short. As harsh as I'll ever be on anyone, I've always been my worst critic.

In case the title doesn't make it obvious (or perhaps the album on the sidebar), I've surrendered to Mariah for the moment. I haven't really hated her like I did in elementary school when I cursed "the annoying bitch hitting the stupid notes only dolphins can hear" in forever -- I even bought the #1s collection thingy in Discorama some years back for $6.99 I believe. The songs I've heard so far -- the singles really -- have caught my ear (well except for the latest one), but watching her videos really bother the fuck out of me. The desperation is usually wafting off the screen. She's always preening like a horse (show my left side! left side!) and usually wearing something real questionable. In the last video, was that her soccer outfit from when she was in junior high? Just no. Or maybe I just secretly still hate her and a few catchy JD productions isn't making me feel otherwise. That's what I suspect.

Kanye West Is A Dude

Kanye on the NBC Concert for Hurricane Katrina Relief:

"I hate the way they portray us in the media.

"If you see a black family it says they are looting if you see a white family it says they are looking for food.

"And you know that it’s been 5 days because most of the people are black and even for me to complain … I would be a hypocrite because I would turn away from the TV because it’s too hard to watch. I’ve even been shopping before giving a donation and so right now I’m calling my business manager what is the biggest amount I can give.

"And just to imagine if I was down there, those are my people down there. So anybody out there who wants to help with the set up, the way that America is set up to help … The poor, the black people, the less well off as slow as possible. I mean, Red Cross is doing everything they can.

"We already realize a lot of the people that could help are at war now fighting another way and they’ve given them permission to go down and shoot us."

George Bush doesn’t care about black people."

(Video here and post on Hip Hop Music)

Someone should make a gif of Mike Myers's panicked expression. "You're ruining my career just by having me associated with you right now! I'm Canadian, I'm neutral!"

It's no secret that I'm not the biggest Kanye fan, but lately, I've got a lot of new found respect for the guy. The average celebrity as rich as he is tends to loathe coming out with a position about anything because their eyes are so firmly entrenched on making the most money possibilty. They are blank slates in order not to alienate anyone. Even their participation in most benefit shows is with the knowledge that they have the potential to increase sales heavily. So, when a best-selling artist recently on the cover of Time comes into the homes of America and actually speaks his mind, you know he's got balls of steel. Kanye West may have potentially risked career suicide, but he's a better man than Mike Myers who was gaping like a fool.

Even the criticism he's facing is typical: "he was overly emotional and inarticulate" "how dare he come to an event with an agenda? he's hurting relief efforts!" "why do they always have to make it into a black and white thing?" "it's not even George Bush's fault...it's the other government bureaucrats' fault!" "there's more white people than black people affected, you know." "how can he not care about black people? look at his cabinet lately?"

Talk about not seeing the forest for the trees. New Orleans as we knew it doesn't exist anymore. Some of the poorest areas and those inhabitants in the city were the most devestated. The Red Cross is not being allowed to enter. Dead bodies are floating in the streets. People were holed up for days in the fucking Superdome, sick, dying, and hungry. It took days for the federal goverment to show any kind of significant response. If your first instinct on someone famous showing the anger and fruatration that millions around the world are feeling is to play the blame game and undercut his words with charges of him being calculated and illiterate, then not only do you need to check yourself and wonder when you stopped being a human being, but fucking pray that you never have to experience what the people in New Orleans and the Gulf states are feeling right now. Because you are a heartless idiot who probably thinks of all of this as an inconvenience putting a pallor over your Labor Day celebrations and fucking shame on you. George Bush doesn't care about black people or poor people or anyone who didn't vote for him or anyone that's not on his side. Neither do many politicians who went down to New Orleans for photo ops and lip service. Good for Kanye and Ray Nagin and the Congressional Black Caucus and so many others for not being afraid to call it that. If a natural disaster had affected Houston or Atlanta or Washington DC or New York, there would have been aid before the papers went to press. Ladies and gentlemen, that's our government and they are a disgrace. For an entity supposedly the representatives of the people, our government has been moving in slow motion to help and revealing that they think of themselves as bound only to parts of the population. Even if we didn't vote them in, they still represent us and it's a travesty.

Attention NYC Readers

We here at KP are in need of aid. We supremely love Six Feet Under and haven't been watching this season all because in our lovely walkup, we have no HBO (for the record, it's all Ant's fault). But for the last episode ever, TWOP recaps isn't going to cut it. So...who wants to have a little bright-eyed funny girl like us over their place Sunday night at 9pm? We are the perfect house guest, cracking jokes (not during the show natch...unless you like that) and lighting up a room with our magnetic personality. I'd be your best friend and I'd even (maybe) bring your preference of cake or liquor. Please please please? Give a shout to your girl! Thank you.

/end public service announcement

Nuggets

The more disjointed than usual edition.

The Black Feminism blog shall be the first new link added when I stop being lazy and get to restructuring those sidebar links. Just on the first page, reference to the B-Girl Be Summit, a word on the Wait/Voice controversy, and Lil Kim the class.

I found myself rather confused a few weeks back when I got an email from the long-dormant Jamiroquai mailing list about a new single. Jay Kay finally got his shit together and stopped being a sniffer meglomaniac long enough to make some music?! Fucking A! The new song is meh, but hell, I'll see them if they tour NYC. So, I was just amused to see that Jay got a whole item (3rd down) in the gossip columns. Until I noted that former crush/would-be baby daddy Stuart Zender got some inches too:

Meanwhile, Jay Kay's former bandmate Stuart Zender has been taken under the wing of a hot new music manager: Leo DiCaprio.

The "Aviator" star digs the sound of Zender's new group, Leroy, so much that he bankrolled their demo. He's even let the bassist crash at his L.A. mansion now that Zender's split with his wife, ex-All Saint Mel Blatt.

DiCaprio's faith may be paying off.

We hear Geffen Records head Polly Anthony is close to signing Leroy.

1) Single...woo! Good thing I want to move to L.A! 2) Is anyone else as excited about the new music potential as I am? Someone? Bill? If it's half as good as Azur (what's up with the stupid band names though? Sheesh), I'll be the happiest little camper!

Former ANTM winner Eva fired as an Apple Bottom spokesgirl. Well, there's a shocker! A woman with no ass isn't the right promotional fit for jeans made for women with ass. What are the odds?! But the most notable thing in this blurb, is Janice is out of ANTM! What the fuck?! Janice makes that craptastic show! Tyra got her horse weave sewed in too tight. Ah well, I and you blog readers can relive my "vintage" first hand account of the lovely craziness.

Man Man interview over at The Stycast.

Say No More

I've spent a surprising amount of time with R. "I get a hard-on for water sports and adolescents" Kelly's new 5 part melodrama/song, "Trapped In The Closet." I've still got 2 1 more parts to go. Once I got over waiting for Ron Isley to pop in there, a few things popped out for me:

1. I'm kinda fascinated by the moral code -- or lack of. Everyone's a cheater. Everyone's been shady and sneaking around. No one finds it that out of the ordinary their husbands are still out of the house at 7am. Yet I like the "what's good for the goose is good for the gander" aspect. The spoilers for part 4 have Kells getting a surprise in his bed which I find hilarious.

1a. The mock outrage. Since everyone's a cheat, you'd think they'd be above getting on their high horses about it.

2. The song is fundamentally absurd. If I got caught by a cuckolded husband, the last thing I'd do is wait around and see what his surprise is -- me waving a gun or not. It would've been a different -- and possibly more entertaining -- song if Chuck was only pretending to be the lover and ended up sticking Kells up with a gun. He should've been out of there almost immediately.

3. The names are just funny to me because I really don't think there's a black person under the age of 45 named Chuck, Cathy, or Rufus, so I was mentally visualizing Kathy being CCH Pounder (I actually have no idea if she's over 45 or not).

4. The most vivid mental connection I get when I hear this is like I'm listening to a "chitlin circuit" show. If someone made a script out of these songs and put it on at the Beacon, they'd be rolling in the dough. And now that I think of it....

4a. The throwaway lines are brilliant. "There's a mystery here and I'm gonna solve it!" "Don't give me that mack shit please." "Why don't I just go out the window?/Except for one thing: we're on the fifth floor/Shit...think...shit...think" "Brother spare me the detail" "I should've known you'd go and do some bogus shit up in my house!"

ETA: 5. Part 4 is total crap. Talk about a letdown! He couldn't go one song without reminding you he's the Twelve Play guy! It so better pick up for part 5.

6. The video for Part 1 is up. I'd say it's well done. I totally though Rufus was Farnzworth Bentley at first though!

Related sorta (yes and no) is that Anthony has walked himself right into a shitstorm. I'm wary of double-barrel shotgun blast type of bombast in the best of terms, but in this one I especially think the vitrol towards him is misguided. I've spoken my piece on it and I'm not defending much about his article's position, but saying that by giving them a tentative pass in one review you are saying yes to rape/patriarchy/subjugation is a real leap.

The Eyes Spied

Typical for me, the most interesting things that happened to me in LA were all on the random side. Let's get the star sightings out the way.

At The Grove on two seperate days: you may know him as Lex's dad on Smallville, but to me, he'll always be The Devil. Tall, thin, salt and pepper hair, beard, looking like he was off to pick up a tent from Patagonia for the camping trip; and one of my old fave VJs (6'4"?! Yeah right, Imdb! I'm barely 5'5" and I'll give him like 6' tops.) with this guy who gave me the nastiest look when I did the sighting double take.

At Segal, I noticed him when he double taked me (god knows why). Later when I was trying to navigate my way through that damned maze of a women's section (What is up with that store? Way too complicated for me. From box to box to box. I don't get it.), I strolled into the Cosabella room and came face to face with her. Again, 5'5" my ass, Imdb! She was the palest little 5' I've ever seen. I started looking at things and talking with the sales girl while she went into the fitting room. Did you know I'm a freak and had to get the biggest size tops they had? Isn't that interesting? Rose came out and I went in and gagged. She dropped a serious bomb in there! I breathed super shallow until the smell dispersed and I could make my exit. I kinda smile/smirked when I ran into her at some other little box before heading off on my merry way.

As I stood to do check-in at the airport for my return trip, he was strolling through. Imagine my surprise when we were on the same flight. I also loved how he got himself a seat facing the center walkway so you couldn't pass him without thinking "isn't that...?" Oh, those vain celebrities!

Telly Torture

So, I watched the VMAs. All of it. What was I thinking?

But really, what was Beyonce thinking when she let her mama dress her in that? Your mama hates you, girl. It's obvious. It's Atlantic City Hooker Barbie with a detachable dead squirrel wig! I've got to give thanks to the VMAs for putting "Ocean Avenue" on a brain loop and making me watch heavy metal videos to get it out. I loved hearing "Prototype" live and that Andre 3000 is sick of performing "Hey Ya" as much I am hearing it live the past year. Line of the night goes to Marilyn Manson for his response to how did you get here: "I rode in on Mandy Moore." I liked the pre-show music I heard from Pitbull. And it's good thing MTV told me about voting. I would've never known otherwise.

The show really wasn't that interesting overall. I think even Dave Chappelle was less funny just by being there. Does Paris Hilton always sound like she just came from her lobotomy? And it was cute when the Yellowcard guy cried.

Some highlights from the running IM commentary Jay-V and I had going:

Jay-V: i havent seen mtv in such a long time
Jamirakid: yeah me neither
Jamirakid: the novelty of all of this is great
***
(on beyonce)
Jamirakid: turn and look at this girl
Jay-V: oh jesus
Jay-V: her hair looks like shit
Jamirakid: jesus...why does she let her momma dress her?
Jay-V: yeah i know
Jamirakid: with all that money! she's famous! she can get that shit for free!
Jay-V: and then she could get good looking shit
Jay-V: god i cant get over how bad her hair looks
Jay-V: it looks like she just took out the rollers but didnt didnt comb
Jamirakid: that outfit too!
Jay-V: the outfit i can overlook. not cause its not that bad but because my eyes are drawn to her head
Jamirakid: beyonce looked like a HBCU majorette in that outfit. she stole that from the set of drumline
Jay-V: lol that she did
***
Jay-V: okay hailey is all sorts of ugly
Jamirakid: yeah i know
Jamirakid: it's really also sad that she's the older sister and glued to hilary
Jay-V: and hillary is no dime either
Jay-V: yeah
Jay-V: hailey needs a nose job
Jay-V: hillary needs to give her one for xmas
Jamirakid: haha
Jamirakid: she's got a nose like ashlee simpson
Jay-V: lol
***
Jamirakid: hmm. i notice i didn't see justin timberdick
Jay-V: heh true
Jay-V: hes been laying low in general though
Jay-V: and hes not up for anything
Jamirakid: did you hear he refuses to get back with nsync? fucker
Jay-V: are you serious? i didnt hear that
Jay-V: could his head be a little bigger?
Jamirakid: yeah i know
Jamirakid: hate!
Jamirakid: they call him Punk Ass Bitch on fametracker. so fitting
Jay-V: heh
***
(on Mr. JLo's Kanye intro)
Jamirakid: ooh no claps
Jay-V: YES
Jamirakid: ha. and right in front of puff
Jamirakid: ass to him!
Jay-V: lol thats really funny
Jay-V: he always looks coked up
Jamirakid: yeppers
***
(on the candidates daughters' segment)
Jamirakid: jenna looks like a pig
Jay-V: i think this whole thing is really cheesy
Jamirakid: pig face to the extreme
Jamirakid: yeah really
Jay-V: lol the skinny one (barbara) has weird eyes
Jay-V: jesus shut up already
Jamirakid: yeah they need to stop
Jay-V: they totally killed the vibe
Jay-V: lol liked the lets move on part
Jamirakid: yeah really
***
(on the lil jon, et al mastermix)
Jay-V: till the sweat drips down and falls. ha
Jamirakid: oh shit
Jamirakid: vivica fox!
Jay-V: oh shit i just thought it was a video ho
Jay-V: she has no shame anymore
Jamirakid: nope
Jay-V: also does she realize shes not 28 like the rest of them
Jamirakid: with her booty hanging out those shorts
Jay-V: uh huh
Jamirakid: the funny thing is that lil jon's gotta be like 35
Jamirakid: most rappers are fucking old
Jay-V: heh
Jamirakid: except like chingy and j-kwon
***
Jamirakid: oh bruce willis
Jay-V: lol
Jay-V: i always get a kick out of seeing celebs having fun and dancing to a song
Jay-V: its like hey! they like the same shit we do
Jamirakid: oh yeah. that's fun
***
(on Jet taking forever to get to the stage for their award)
Jamirakid: eww. they need to stop making out already
Jamirakid: they were making out all the way down the carpet and everything
Jay-V: heh i know
Jamirakid: and he looks like a dick in that hat
Jamirakid: why's some skinny mofo always trying to show his scrawny chest?
Jay-V: lol
Jay-V: man you like them
Jamirakid: eh?
Jay-V: i was saying you like ths skinny white dude type
Jamirakid: haha. not that skinny
Jamirakid: ...well not all the time
Jay-V: lol
***
Jamirakid: lenny kravitz looking stupid. what else is new?
Jay-V: yup
Jay-V: though i have to say im glad the perm is gone
Jay-V: i was not feeling that
Jay-V: his perm was looking better than mine. i was like ooh girl he must wrap his hair at night
Jamirakid: haha
Jamirakid: nah, he probably had a model or 6 do it for him
Jamirakid: he looks like bam bam in that stupid outfit
Jay-V: lol uh huh

Nuggets

The "gotta fill the empty space, dammit!" edition.

Two super fresh links courtesy of TMFTML: Some diamond ads that would have them flying out the stores, until men remember that they'll still be frustrated and out a few Gs. Such is life in the big city, boys. And the book Jay-V and I could've written blindfolded -- without that pesky overthrown the capitalist pigs sentiment.

And this one isn't web based so much as a media critique, but all over the net people are hyping the Barack Obama speech last night at the DNC. And I listened to 880 News this morning, hoping to hear a bit because I missed it. I think I heard the same soundbites from Dean, Teresa Heinz Kerry, and Ron Reagan Jr. about 4 times but no Obama. It's like it never happened. Isn't that interesting?

Nuggets

The "I'd rather surf the net instead of 'working' this morning," or alternately, "gotta keep that fucking sidebar in line" edition.

Real fact # 264 off my Snapple bottle cap (Cranberry Raspberry if you're curious): Your breathing rate increases when you start to type. Tres interessant...not.

Always useful for me: a new hangover helper, prickly pear cactus extract. And it's got other uses as a sunburn ointment and diet supplement. So, it's good for if you get drunk and decide to watch your weight at the beach, then easing that burn after you pass out in the sun. Gotta love the multiuse medicines! I also didn't know that eating greasy foods to ease your pain was one of those "folk remedies." I could've sworn I made that shit up one hungover day when the nearest thing to eat was some White Castle. Ah well. [via Gothamist]

The Dave Navarro/Stephen Perkins typepad blog. Rock! [via Pop Life]

I almost forgot to mention that Saturday post-BBQ, Jay-V and I checked out Chronicles of Riddick, i.e. How Vin Diesel of the sexy voice and bad one liners playing a badass anti-hero got all his friends killed yet still triumphed over the goth(!) aliens. Thandie Newton looked like a million bucks in that movie and her character was like a strange cross between Naomi Campbell and Lady Macbeth. Tres bizarre yet interesting looking. 'Twas no Pitch Black though, that's for sure. No matter how much Vin tries to pimp it.

So I Lied

Everyone say thank you to my job for being boring as shit.

Anyhoo, I'd like to say a "bah humbug" to the first day back at work. I had the hardest time getting motivated to leave the house this morning and on top of that, was pissed off listening to the FM side this morning. I usually stick with 880 for just the weather and top news stories, but I decided to check out first K-Rock (because driving Sunday, the playlist was excellent. It was like major 7/8th grade flashback. But, I'm hearing that it's not normally that good on the reg. Figures) hearing Stern and turning so fast I almost broke the tuner button and then Power. Where I was greeted by "Paternity Test Tuesday." All I can say is: WTF?

It's bad enough that if you come across that bullshit if you happen to be sitting in the house watching regular tv on an afternoon. But on the radio too? I call bullshit on that. Fuck Clear Channel for running that shit. The guests this morning were an ex-couple with a 2 year old in question as ignorant as they wanted to be. The guy hestitated mad long to say how many kids he has -- besides the boy he was brought on about. Not sure, son? You've got a problem. Let's address that they waited two years before figuring this stuff out, the time during which she's been taking care of the child with no support from him or the other guy who might be the daddy (who she couldn't get in touch with to bring on the show. Hmm.). The reason she had any question at all was because she and this guy had been planning to start a family (so they were not using protection) before she cheated on him with some other guy (who was supposedly using protection but his friends say that he tampered with the condoms. I won't even ask why the fuck he'd possibly do that because people are insane and I'll just chalk it up to that and leave it alone). What amused/horrified me was how defensive they were about it. Oh I'm sorry, here you are on the radio -- a public forum in case you haven't noticed -- airing all your bullshit for the tri-state area, but nobody better ask you shit, right? Fuck off. The girl was like, "I waited so long because there's mad red tape and forms to fill out to get a DNA test for the state." Well damn, they really need to do something about that. Making it hard for people to figure out from a lineup who the daddy is. My mom and I were talking about the infamous woman on Maury (I believe) who has had 9 guys on the show who all tested negative and still doesn't know who her baby's father is. That's beyond fucked up. And on a further down the line level, how do you think a kid would feel to know that their mom had to go on TV/the radio to find out who their daddy was? Not very good. It turns out that the guy on the show was the father and he was still mad salty about it as if he intends to keep on punishing his child for the mother's mistakes. People are fucked up.

Or am I just pulling a Cosby? You tell me. Because you know what, I'm not even talking about the fact that the parents have broken up. My folks have been mostly bitterly divorced since I was 6. Unmarried parents are not even especially surprising in this day and age -- or in the past, let's be real. I won't even say that the pair on the radio are too fucked up to even have kids -- though I thought it when those jackasses were braying on the radio. I think there's a problem with the culture that a "Paternity Test Tuesday" theme exists. That everyone wants their 15-seconds of fame so much that they don't mind putting out their personal business for everyone to gawk at. Everyone is free to be a famewhore. It's a beautiful thing for someone I suppose.

And New York radio sucks...but that's stating the obvious.

Nuggets

Somewhere in the middle of college life, I had an obsession with Vin Diesel. Probably because I'm a sucker for the gravely voice. In 2000, you could not tell me that man was not sex on a stick...totally against type for me. I ignored the Fast and The Furious and XXX debacles, treasuring Pitch Black on DVD and cable viewings of Boiler Room and Knockaround Guys. The love waned. Finally, after all these years, there's a Vin Diesel movie that I'll be there for the opening day of: The Chronicles Of Riddick. Probably because it revives my favorite character. Pitch Black is my shit, through and through. Jay-V, do I smell a future outing? [via Memefirst, believe it or not]

Bare bones summer schedule over at the Voice is looking good to me. My summer resolution is to be as close to on time as possible for Summerstage shows because last year I got the lockout more times than I'd like to remember. As well as the handy tool I've been looking for: it spits out the surrounding subway stops. Hella helpful! They had that in DC and it made life so much easier. [both links via The Broke City Dweller's Journal]

I love The Beta Band, so I was pretty excited to see that Vice has an interview with them this month. Fucking piece of shit magazine. Is that even 200 words? Regardless, check out the awesome video for "Assessment." US Tour in the fall? Yes, please.

Read up on your old school hip-hop history at The Foundation [via Abe].

I'm Never Nice, But I'll Try To Be Sweet

You know what rocked? Kill Bill Vol 2. Bill's very dead at the end and I spoiled her name before they actually said it in the movie. Bad spoiler reading Candice. Bad.

Lost In Emotion

VH1 Classics rocks! I think I might have to say that at least once a week. Even thoigh I still don't really watch much TV, I'm always up for watching this stuff. I think the worst part about '80s videos has to be the dancing. (To say the clothes would be too obvious. People with too much money like to look like clowns. Some things never change.)

Favorite videos seen lately: Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam featuring Full Force, "All Cried Out" and Styx, "Mr. Roboto." As well as taped Steely Dan and The Doors performances. I'm gonna marry channel 136.

And continuing my good TV weekend, I caught both BASEketball and Guys And Dolls. Excellent!

You Possess The Power Of The Glow

As a baby of the '80s, I've got a lot of love for some silly and shitty movies that came out during that time. If Killer Klowns From Outer Space, Krush Groove, The Golden Child, Howard The Duck (saw that in the movies, believe it or not), or the like are on, don't even bother talking to me 'cause I'm not listening. The master of them all would have to be The Last Dragon.

I love that movie so much that flipping through the channels when I got home before dragging my tired ass to bed, I had to stop and watch it all...for like the millionth time. Yeah, it's cheesy. The "acting" is terrible. But, I'll be damned if I don't have those songs stuck in my head all over again and I'll probably be saying "Sho Nuff!" for the rest of the weekend.

The Surreal Life

I showed up bright and early to a familiar building, new floor. For two days, I'm contracted to run around, look sharp, answer phones, and suck up like my life depends on it (well, it does) to get stellar marks and if Fate would perhaps smile upon a poor hopeful soul, hired as an editorial assistant at this magazine. But, even if I don't, I've already got an awesome story.

Scene: Young Candicissima at her subbing station, eating her healthy lunch of grilled chicken and pasta from the Cafeteria (where they throw down for real. Money can buy you some good ass food). Suddenly, the phone rings and she contemplates whether or not to interrupt her lunch break to answer. Duty pulls her and she does.

Candicissima: Hello, blah blah's desk.
The Woman: Hello, this is Blahbitty Blah, one of the first supermodels and author of Such and Such: My Memoir of Wild Excess and Such yadda yadda yadda
Candicissima's brain: Overload. Brain exploding in 3...2....1.
Candicissima: *quietly when she's in a lull in the full press talk* Oh yes, I know you. And I've enjoyed you on (that model show)
The Woman: Oh that...I wish I would've never signed up for that. But, thanks! Yadda yadda crazy speak. I've got a new book coming out in April. I want one of those sexy woman profiles in the magazine. My butt hasn't hit the ground yet! I hope you can find some space for me.
Candicissima's Brain: Oh, I'm sorry. You seem to have mistaken me for a real editor. Oh you, what an easy mistake to make!
Candicissima: *scribbling notes furiously* Uh-huh.
The Woman: Yadda yadda. Call the publisher contact to set that up. Gotta make the money, I am a single mother and all. Yadda yadda more crazy talk. What's your name again? I'll send you a copy of the book.
Candicissima's Brain: Like addressed to me and stuff? Dude...
Candicissima: Candice Nassapeemapedalon*
The Woman: Will do! I love your voice! I love your name! Take my number down *stream of numbers too fast to process*
Candicissima's Brain: I'm exploding again! Aurgh!
Candicissima: Umm...could you repeat that number for me? *She does in a sensible manner* Thanks. I'll pass the message along.
The Woman: Thank you. Have a great day!
Candicissima: Thanks! You too!

Candicissima counts to 5 before furiously IMing everyone.

And then later a guy called from the White House and some guy wanted to talk to the editor about his interview with the rock musician Jay is currently loving to hate. Does anyone have any spells that could come in handy? I neeeed this job. Can I also get a "squee!!!" from the peanut gallery because she's every bit as crazy and fierce as she is on TV? Best. Day.Ever! Also, I'm slightly buoyed by the fact that my cell phone is ringing off the hook on the day I'm not going to pick it up.

* Of course that isn't really my last name. It's an old HS private joke. Did you really think I would say? Do I strike you as insane or something?

I Can't Help Myself

Would you believe I actually almost missed Tittygate? I was only half watching the show, turned to my computer and surfing the web, while talking to Russ over IM. He wrote that he imagined he had seen her tit on the TV and I turned towards it quickly to see the marching band or some shit. We had this long conversation about whether it had happened or not before Jay-V came along and helped me find a picture.

How stupid the whole thing is! Ooh...a breast on the TV! I'd like to hope for her sake that wasn't a stunt because how dumb did she look having one saggy, star- covered tit flopping around. Of course it was though. Tsk, tsk...Janet Damita Jo! But, with that said, I'm still looking forward to the jokes. They should be milking this one for a min.

Dope Shit On The Telly

You know what I saw yesterday? Only one of my favorite movies: Killer Klowns From Outer Space! Of course, it's a bad movie...but so bad that it's good unlike let's say, Mr. Deeds. Go rent that shit! Pure shlocky good times.

I've also got a few new favorite video shows: Monster Video Mix on MTV2 and We Are The 80s and Pop Show on VH1 Classics. On Monster Video Mix, they segued Right Thurr Remix into Ugly. It was ill. Keep that in mind, DJs. It's been all about the 80s on the other shows. I saw the video for Kool and the Gang, "Fresh" and Mary Jane Girls, "In My House." I was so excited I thought my brain was going to explode.

Digital cable is making me want to never leave the house again.

Regressive Track

I'm turning into a teenage girl. Here's a sample of what I've been watching lately: The O.C., Real World: San Diego, videos, As The World Turns. I'm turning into a TV fiend in general really. I caught Dead Presidents last night. That was some good shit. I never watched it all the way through before.

Is this what I can expect for 2004: sitting at home, stuffing my face and watching the boob tube? Someone needs to do an intervention!

Nuggets

I have buckled to the pressure of the silent visitors. I feel bad about all of y'all checking in with nothing to see. I've been resting my bones before starting Operation Rebuild, courtesy of a gym membership. I'm gonna be broken down and sore after tomorrow. On the flipside, it's gonna be cold as shit, so what do I need to go outside for anyways?

The Bush In 30 Seconds winners [via Abstract Dynamics because I truthfully forgot about it after mentioning it last time]. I think the winning ad might be a little too subtle. I mean, I got it, but isn't the nature of ads to make something memorable to catch your attention in 30 seconds? I barely remember that thing, but I can tell you all about that Army of One commercial with the guy who came from the USSR as a teenager and joined the army because he wanted to be different. And that is a problem. (But, don't mind me. I'm just honing my future advertising/PR "it's gotta pop!" speak.)

Sent to me by Grandmastah H. Reminds me of this site. What can I say? I'm sometimes easily amused.

New York Magazine is running a Best of Manhattan...erm, so sorry, New York poll. [via MemeFirst whom I would vote for as a Best New York blog of some kind if wasn't for the reasons that they
themselves put forth.] I suppose there's The Bloggies if the list wasn't about 100 categories long. Does anyone else think that there should be some sort of regional competitions leading up to the big one, Best American Blog? I mean, that is just a major title to bestow on sites that you love, but truthfully might not translate as well somewhere else. BUT, if I were to vote, I'd be casting my ballots for Abstract Dynamics (not only because we went to the same HS), Negro Please (not only because he linked me up on his list -- surprising me -- and is supposed to be sending me a CD), Bad Samaritan (just because dammit, it's interesting), Feministe (ditto), Negrophile (again) and P6 (because I'm amazed at all the information he pulls together).

On the off the wall side of life, man duped by 'bride' with false breasts [via Sex News Daily]. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction.

And everyone should go enter this contest. Cold hard cash for being marginally creative. Oh, if one of you wins, I'll be charging a finder's fee.

Today's No Shit Dispatch

Ho hum. Tell me something I don't know.

Fuck a Bendel. That's why I don't go there anyways...even when I did have money. Then again, fuck a Post. What do they know about anything?

For the record, I'm about 5'5" and 155, a 10-12 depending on the store. Also, fuck a skinny because everyone else wants to be also. I've been a 6/8 over the age of puberty and I had a Skeletor face, visible ribs, and still a sizeable ass and thighs. In other words, I looked half dead and starving (but only from the waist up) and indeed I was. The NYC social world isn't the end all be all of the universe, or even America. I think if you ask most people, they rather see someone with meat on their bones. Ever been stabbed with sharp hipbones? I have and don't plan to repeat it, thanks. Bitches can starve if they want to, pass me the ice cream and the pie. I'd rather look like a this (with a better bra) than a that any day of the week. But, even with that said, I'm going to the gym. Like she said, the ass can't maintain itself. A girl's gotta do her squats.

I Got The Yayo

"All I have in this world is my balls and my word and I don't break them for no one."

As if it wasn't obvious, guess who was watching Scarface last night? Good fun. I've got to admit I had no idea that the "first you get the money, then you get the power, then you get the respect" line comes from there too. Sheesh. Somebody needs to make a new iconic movie (you know, how can it be?! And yes, I am being sarcastic), so they can stop pillaging this poor movie.

Anyhoo, my weekend in a nutshell: Spending the most time I have with school people since you know, I was in school. I still hate that pack shit as I did way back when frosh year. There's just no point for more than 5 people to have to go with each other anywhere. I'll meet you there or something. Don't crowd me. It was cold as a motherfucker, to state the obvious. Apparently the massive wave of Wes people brought the Connecticut winter with us. Oh so sorry!

I also seem to remind randoms at 419 of a black Dr. Judy or some shit. People kept asking me for sex advice/affirmation. I was like "WTF is up here?" A girl confessed to me her desire of a threesome with this hot ass guy and his not so hot girlfriend across the room. (For an aside: I gotta say, because I'm shallow, I think there's gotta be a looks balance in a relationship. Is it wrong to be with someone as good-looking as you realistically are? Perhaps it's just me. Then again, I follow that "guy" rule (according to Rudy Rush's jokes) of when I move on, all that matters is the next guy is hotter than the one before, just so I can point out that he is missing out. But, in fact, I don't really. Just once in a while I totally wish I could.) And there was the Canadian guy before who asked me randomly if he had anal sex with a girl (who he said was his boss, but that's another batch of apples) and ejaculated (to be somewhat proper) inside her, could she get pregnant. I've got to admit I was somewhat dismayed to learn that of all the things they've got in Canada, apparently health class isn't one. Type sad.

This weekend I also let out my closet buppie to see the light of day. I hung with R Thursday and I was fascinated by her Palm. Then, I got to thinking that one of those would be nice. But only the one with a little keyboard and the ability to check my email on the go. Then I became so obsessed that I was tracking auctions on Ebay and shit to get one. Thank God I was outbid. Almost got me.

B-Ball Fever

It's always interesting to see people freak out on the street. In the "Oh my God, I'm so excited!" way, not the "I'm a lunatic about to kill everyone in my sight" way natch. On the bus and the train, people (mainly: guys) were chattering excitedly to everyone in sight, "Did you hear? They got Marbury and Penny!" which would start a whole new round of conversations complete with stats and "Isiah's the man!"s.

I almost got swept up in the fever but then I realized that I've fallen off with basketball in a major way. I was a serious tomboy growing up, choosing ball over double dutch in elementary school and playing as a Lady Hawk in HS for a season until I remembered that I wasn't a real team spirit sort of girl. My chorus used to go to a few Knick games a season since we would sing the national anthem every once in a while. I was never a hardcore stat quoter, but I knew the team and loved watching games. Nothing kills that in you like going to the woods for a few years and giving up TV watching for the wonders of the net.

But, suddenly my team and basketball are looking a lot more interesting. Go Knicks!

Yeah, well...

...so I said I wasn't going to write for a while. Sue me. It's one of those things where if I can make a little time for it once, I can do it again soon after. You know because I'm addicted to my computer and all.

My experience with Speakerboxxx/The Love Below has been basically all backwards. I hadn't heard more than a few notes from either (or rather, on "The Way You Move" and "Hey Ya" only out and about at Sapph) until I found myself in Williamsburg with a random the morning after Halloween listening to the Andre side insisting "Hey Ya" was on repeat. I got a soft spot for that side after that. Besides, I wasn't crazy about "The Way You Move" anyways.

I remember the first time I saw the video. I think my jaw dropped when I saw the main woman. I don't know her but I'm in love with her. I've talked about her a lot as I've seen it more and more. I remember sitting with Russ, Lina, Moon, and others after dinner watching TV and marvelling that you just don't see women looking like her much on TV. I speak glowingly of her, exclaiming "that bitch is stacked!" like I just stepped out of a blaxploitation flick. Then again, what do you expect from someone whose fave t-shirt has Blacula and his vampire hoes pictured on front? All I've gotta say is god bless her. That's a woman with good old Southern ass and thighs that another woman genetically predisposed to look about the same can appreciate. She makes me want to go get some food from the country kitchen or something. The missing resolution is to look like because she's my hero. And I love that song because of her.

And I'm really just a pig in girl's clothing. Back to my hole.

...but I've got to add: 5'2"?!?! They must have some crazy camera angles in that video and/or she's wearing like 6 inch heels. Plus she's an CFO. Can I be her when I grow up -- just like taller and stuff? And this message board is comedy gold!

Nuggets

An article that sums up just about every thought I ever had on the woman (it's Salon, so make with the Day Pass):

I'd always found what happened to Monica Lewinsky very sad on a personal level. It was as if she became a burlesque embodiment of all of the nightmare fears of my own phylum: the young urban woman.

What if all our potential bosses never saw past our sexuality or took us seriously? What if our professional aims -- even when backed up by experience and ambition -- were ridiculed? What if we were made to pay for youthful indiscretions with early-onset spinsterhood? What if unseen forces monitored everything we put in our mouths and then called us fat? What if men liked us just because we gave head? What if someone snapped our picture as we stumbled, hung over, to get tampons on Sunday morning? What if by exhibiting sexual confidence in our 20s we had inadvertently barred ourselves from a future that included fulfilling work and love and kids if we wanted them?

Even at my age, I worry about the unspoken flip side to the gloss of Sex And The City and Living Single.

What does it mean when Kelis, a woman who became famous for her uncontrollable colored afros and burning-bed anthems, poses like a typical Herb Alpert sexpot on her second album?

Yeah, really. That's what I was thinking when I saw the album cover. I'm off to listen to my Wanderland mp3s.

And to just be completely random, I still love the hell out of Girlfight. Fighting tomboy power!

"My favorite part of my body is my brain. I think no matter what my body looks like I wont be satisfied unless I know how to use it."

Michelle Rodriguez is the shit! As is Karyn Kasama. I hope she can make another film unlike Leslie Harris who did another fave.

Thoughts From A Music Binge

There are so many songs that I would love to just strip verses from and just leave instrumentals and choruses. "Change Clothes" and "Superstar Part 1" for example. I actually like those songs but the music and the choruses make them for me. Is it possible to buy something like that?

Spoke N' Heard is just about my favorite show, probably because I so rarely watch TV and it's all fresh to me. Fab 5 Freddy was on one tonight. I love him! Videos were my lifeblood at one point. I remember so well watching Video Music Box on Channel 31 and the early days of Yo! MTV Raps. Seeing him reminded me when I was a kid, trailing after my uncle with his giant boombox. Listening to Nice and Smooth and Heavy D and Chubb Rock and Salt N' Pepa and BBD. Putting the posters from Right On on my wall. Those are good memories. I snickered though when he said that 2003 was one of the weakest years in hip hop he's ever seen. I really had forgotten how much I like MTV2. Also funny was Questlove saying about the Roots: "A rap group that's gone 13 years without a dance hit is kinda suspect."

The Christmas season reminded me that I basically have four songs I never get tired of hearing: TLC's "Sleigh Ride," Bing Crosby/David Bowie's "Little Drummer Boy," Nat King Cole's version of "The Christmas Song," and Jose Feliciano's "Feliz Navidad." And definitely Stevie Wonder's "What Christmas Means To Me" too, but that's due to Old Navy subliminal marketing more than anything.

My absolute favorite album bought on my recent buying frenzy is Prefuse 73 Extinguished. It's so utterly fantastic. Truthfully, I didn't like One Word Extinguisher on my first listens. I played it on my show (*sniff*) and everything, but I didn't have to run out and get it or become instantly obsessed like I was with Vocal Studies or even '92 vs. '02. Now, I've reassessed One Word and I like it too. It's quite the Mama's Gun situation...with a new album instead of a chance video viewing changing my mind.

As a part of my end of the year mental roundup, I was remembering that an unfinished thing bugging me is the unwritten interview I did with Alex. One day, we sat in my room in the Cake House For Midgets sitting in front of my headset mic and it ended up being this half hour conversation about music and inspiration. I've gotta write it up. Maybe I'll even post it.

Damn, I want the Chili Peppers Greatest Hits album really badly. The only problem with watching a lot of music shows are the music infomercials. You hear all the songs you like and think "hmm...I should get that...or at least download it." That's why I'm currently blasting Bob Seger's "Strut."

Looking Backwards With Downcast Glance

Hmm...blog gets a cop investigated by internal affairs [via Diesel Nation]. What I find especially fucked up is that's the police station I grew up across the street from. I suppose it's ENY corruption month since while trying to google the old news of my ex-elementary school principal having been arrested for embezzlement back in the day, I stumbled on this winner. Google is interesting tool in general having also come across this old newsletter from a city council rep with an interesting neighborhood demographics breakdown. I've driven through my old neighborhood and noted the shiny new strip malls; taken the A/C and noticed white people getting off a little bit later every time; read the paper and noted that apartments in houses across the street from Cypress are going for $1300+. But, I also read/watch the news and feel like it's still the '80s/90s and East New York is the last frontier, reduced to soundbites like "one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in NYC." The kids and the people going about their lives are still dodging bullets and getting leftovers when they get anything at all. I'd like to say that by escaping when so many do not I've moved onto a bigger and better place, but being that I live in Jamaica, sited in there (almost moreso), not quite. I just feel depressed noting that for so many here in NYC, nothing really changes. Here's to me counting my moving pennies and lamenting the state of the world.

As an aside, I also stumbled across a great addendum to the other day's nuggets. I love Bad Samaritan and I never saw that one before. That tells me I need to go through the archives.

Nuggets

The new Beddings section at Nerve is killing me:

However, Ms. Winston, a gender studies major at Barnard College, says she's thrilled for Mr. Wrightman. "I'm just so happy he finally felt comfortable enough to explore his sexuality. Maybe now he'll be up for that MMF threesome I wanted for Christmas."

I've been following the Seasonale development with interest for a while. I'm pretty on the fence about all of it.

"They need to learn pain and suffering? They need to know that women have a different role in life?" Nelson asks indignantly. "What if guys had clumps of blood coming out of the ends of their penises? We would have come out with this a decade ago."

This statement is a little over the top, but it's got a grain of truth in it. I'm all for women who are literally in pain once a month getting the chance to help themselves, but for Jane Public, whom the period doesn't really affect that much besides the obvious, another one of those extra perks I guess. We'll see how I feel about it when they come with the Seasonale patch. This is a pill swallowing free zone because Candicissima = too lazy to learn.

"Locked out?! Oh no! Wait...I know what to do. Slide down through the chimney!Yeah, that's it..." Brains, not always a given.

"Sex And The City" not an accurate depiction of NYC female single life? What? That's blasphemous! But, what I really meant to say was: no shit. It is a fictional TV show last time I noticed. But, the article was also kinda whiny. "Nobody I know can have expensive shoes and live too! Nobody I know has sex and goes out on dates! Or they just want one night stands! Wah!" Good grief. I figured that crap out around 18. Not that I have actual plan of how to navigate the city minefield or anything, but it's better to suck it up and deal than complain about it. I found this article kinda heartwarming strangely. I hope SATC ends more like this.

Nuggets

Thoughts on the new Timbaland and Magoo over at S/FJ is cracking me up.

20. This song said something about shoving a dick down somebody's throat. My friend Joshua said line reading can save any lyric. He was wrong.

21. You should read Joshua's poem "Aeon Flux: June", for is it truly crunk.

22. I have figured out why people don't care about T1m & Mag00 records. But Welcome To Our World was great. And Indecent Proposal had some great tunes. So did this album, about 30 minutes ago. Hi. How are you. Get off my couch.

Heh. But, I've got to admit that my favorite part is the C train visual. I miss the C. I think I've lived at every stop between Euclid Avenue and Broadway-East New York at one point or another.

Jay took the Candicissima Quiz and got a 6/10, but I'll readjust that to an 8 because those wrong had to be a slip of the fingers because she knows the answers. Anyone else want to take a turn?

Unfortunately also my reality right now which is why the job search stopped being so leisurely. [via P6]

I was flipping through a Glamour at the job (*shrug* what can I say? They print the damned thing and I was bored) and like the second page was that Vickie's Secret ad with the young black girl. Is anyone else disturbed to see this kid who can't be more than like 16 dressed up in skimpy lingerie and knowing that she's gonna be strutting up and down the runway on TV wear that? Oh, just me then, okay. Still, no wonder why kids are so out there. If I saw my peers always tarted up everywhere I turned, then I might think it's okay too to wear whatever skimpy thing I felt like it -- that is, if my mother wouldn't have shot me down without a word before I could touch the doorknob. Which reminds me that the "Parents: The Anti-Drug" poster in the subway is so over the top and the commercial is even worse. But, hey, that's truer a lot more than it isn't. The kids I know who had folks that were just strict enough didn't get into half the shit that everyone else did. That's why I'm still practically an angel at 22, man. But, here's a big surprise of an article and a commentary. I wouldn't really say that the ads or the models affect me in any particular way besides wondering why I see half naked women all over the place, but men not often enough to suit me. I'm from New York where at every corner there is always someone prettier, smarter, more successful than you or anyone else, so if you spent all your time comparing yourself to the person in front of you, or conversly thinking that you're such hot shit, the new breed is waiting around the bend to blow everybody out the water. It's the way it is. So, I always try to tred that fine line between being confident but not deluded and try to appreciate someone else's looks without having especially any feeling about it. Unless it's some 2 X 4 being held up as the standard I should want to be or the crack designers seem to smoke when it comes to clothes. Being a size 10 does not mean I'm 6 feet tall and 130, fuckers.

Anyhoo, a relationship manifesto up on Smitten. I agree with some of the comments that say just because a relationship is work doesn't mean it has to be a bad thing. There's no human interaction that's sunshine and puppy dogs all the time and if you really want it, sometimes you have to put in the energy to keep things on track. Then again, if it's more bullshit than goodness, you've got to know when to walk away. Now excuse me while I don't even take my own advice.

On a musical detour, in a post about the hip hop equivalent of rock albums in the section for:

album by a group that everybody pretended to like, but were actually complete crap...

Without question this would be 'To The East - Blackwards' by X-Clan. There are no cornier rappers on the planet. This is rhythm straight from 1979 and the Gary Byrd Experience. Only people who were addicted to the Afrocentric Idea could vibe with this album. Where are they now?

I was just listening to this album with my father a month or two ago. He had found the tape (yes, I said tape) buried in the garage and decided to give it a listen. It was downright unbearable and annoying after a while. Especially with Professor X shouting over every song with his "SISSSSSY!" though that was the most amusing part. [via Negro Please]

Nuggets

The last reference I plan to make to Ghettopoly unless that fool comes out with part 2 or something as well as getting to what really pissed me off about the whole thing -- the racist/classist bias inherent in the creation of something like that:

It is the privilege of thinking that poverty is a game, precisely because you and yours have rarely if ever had to play it from the inside, have never been the chess pieces moved around by someone else’s hand. It is the ability to say “lighten up, it’s just a joke,” precisely because the joke is not on you or anyone you know.

I've got to say that the response that kept popping up that really bugged me was the "well, why are they complaining about that when they're not making a big stink about other 'harmful' stuff?" Watch Coolfer get some feedback. Coolfer refers to himself in the third person. Coolfer sucks. Gothamist's posting on the topic ended up being a nice forum for a lot of issues.

Anyhoo, a happy belated b-day to Mr. Effinchamp! Man, you're old!

Aww...Amy Sohn got married. It's Carrie from Sex In The City walking down the aisle. I used to read her Female Trouble column in HS and I'm all about Naked City. [via Gothamist]

Really good read about visits with Timbaland over on S/FJ. And since I was being all link nosy, I even found a new site to keep my eye on. Score.

Even though the output is kinda sporadic lately, these two articles on Nerve show that the old boy still has some bite.

Nuggets

Hallelujah! I'm finally off the NYCB frontpage. Not to be ungrateful for the traffic, but a little anonymity is a good thing. My world is small enough that I've been self-censoring and if I wanted mad people from NYC to be reading my little corner, I would've put my blog in my Friendster profile or something. But whatevs.

Shades of Colin Ferguson anyone? Plus a posting that seems tangetially related in my mind that I have no commentary for...as of yet.

How susceptible am I to an article that this actually sounds cool enough to look into? But, the saddest/funniest part about the whole thing that my inspiration would be more having been watching first season Angel on syndication yesterday, rather than swayed by Charlie's Angels or that type of tripe.

I *heart* Gawker and Friendster today. Gawker took me back and all I had to do was a write a silly, tongue firmly in check message and I even threw in a name-dropper story for kicks. Plus I've 1,003,679 connections from my 43 friends. Woo hoo!

Nuggets

Is it just me (and P6 and Ms. Lauren) or is this story just strange?

And as everyone seems to be blogging about, considering that "Under God" wasn't even there until 1954, what the hell is the big deal? It flows just as well without it. Plus hello, seperation of church and state, goddamit! It was option in my elementary school. About 2nd grade, you had to stand up, but putting your hand on your heart was up to you. By sixth grade, you didn't even have to stand. Natch, the precedent set by removing the under God would probably have major effects: no more "In God We Trust" and the like, but hey, I don't think I'll be especially broken up about.

One of the most annoying ads currently have to be from them. "You thought if there was no more smoking at the job, you'd stop going. But, you're still working, eh?!" Whatever it says. I don't feel like quoting them directly since it all boils down to "we told you so! Suck up some smoke-free air!" I'm not even a real smoker, but they can go fuck themselves. Makes me want to buy those $5 Newports at the train station out of spite. Woo hoo! Smoke-Free NY and a lot bars with suffering business! When the nightlife industry is crippled, we can be smoke-free with nowhere to go. Isn't there a rise in quality of life offenses because of the smokers all outside causing a ruckus? I was talking with someone the other week who I agreed with that said if the city is financially suffering so much, they ought to let people just about do whatever to make some money. City-sponsored cigarette machines in city licensed to smoke bars. Hell, even if they levied a tax on club owners for that, people would be back in droves again, so they'd be making more money. Interesting thought.

An interesting dispatch I found in my email box:

The Emerging Democratic Majority is ours--but we have the power to blow it by convincing future generations of Blacks, Latinos, Asians, and others that their growing numbers are not of interest to us and they have nothing to gain by participating. The right is quite justifiably following a smart strategy which is the only way they can win. They have even succeeded in getting most Democrats to follow a strategy which is the only way they can lose.

The last insurgent populist campaign the Democrats dispensed with was Jesse Jackson's, and his math is still sound. Consider this equation from his 1984 convention speech (still a great read-isn't it amazing what you can find online?):

If Blacks vote in great numbers, progressive Whites win. It's the only way progressive Whites win. If Blacks vote in great numbers, Hispanics win. When Blacks, Hispanics, and progressive Whites vote, women win. When women win, children win. When women and children win, workers win. We must all come up together. We must come up together.

Those who think that campaign never set off alarm bells in the halls of power need only remember the Newsweek cover four years later, when Jackson managed to break 50% in the Michigan primary by mobilizing tens of thousands of African American youths to vote in their first electoral experience. Somebody found a fairly scary close-up of Jackson in the throes of an intense speech, face contorted and sweaty in a way reminiscent of Hitler or Sun Yung Moon. The one-word caption, in large-type yellow letters, served as headline, heads-up, and horrified call-to-arms: Jesse?! It was apparently the moment when the establishment, although still dismissive, actually considered that he might win, and began to contemplate what it might mean.

The math, stripped of its eloquence, looks something like this: If minority constituencies could be inspired to vote in proportionate numbers and in line with their historical preferences, a populist candidate would need less than 40% of the white vote to constitute a majority. In other words, in a 100 million vote election, 12% Black at 90%, 12 Latino at 65%, Asian at 60%, White Women at 53%...leads to only 25% of white men needed…. Before you get out your calculators, remember this is only a rough sketch. The theory is that by truly energizing the progressive base, we can further effect this shift to the left.

But, back to less political things, this site is pretty cool. [via Gawker]

Nuggets

I gotta admit I wondered this too watching Kill Bill. It definitely does not pay to be a henchman.

And continuing with my debriefing, how much did the women rock in that movie? I've always liked Uma and Lucy Liu's been up there on my badass list for a while now. I even saw Ecks vs. Sever in the movie theater, man! (Shut up, it was a great action flick -- though the ending pissed me off!) The only punk woman was the Sofie character, but that was her role: plot furtherer. I gotta say I got a major kick out of Gogo. What a fucking lunatic! She was awesome! I can not believe she was born in '84. I feel so old.

A bunch of things clued me into that this article was totally bullshit: 1) It's the Post 2) Nowhere they suggest sounds remotely interesting. 3)They hated on the Olive Garden in the first line. Fuck him, the Olive Garden on 6th rocks! PrincessNella and I made the trip two weeks ago and we had a blast. Wine and other drinks, great food. (Both thumbs up on the Italian Margarita!) Gothamist agrees with me on that one. I've got to admit I get a bit of a kick out of watching Manhattan turn into a suburban strip mall. Red Lobster, Applebees, soon to come Home Depot and DSW Shoe Warehouse. When I was a kid, we had to go to Long Island, Queens or the mall for all this crap and now it's in Midtown. Hilarious!

Amusing me: Nerve's Weekend In Review:

Any woman who has spent twenty minutes crawling across a sticky bar floor looking for a dropped birth-control pill will rejoice with me upon hearing this week's news: a new male hormonal contraceptive has been developed, and reportedly it's 100% effective. The contraceptive is a combination of shots and implants which use testosterone and progestins to turn off sperm production. TWR recently mentioned this to a male friend; he got all weird and started talking about “his boys” like the sperm were very short people.

Here are my two favorite things about this:

1) Greater equality in responsibility and options for contraception.

2) Fewer girls saying, “Oh, remind me to take my pill” every five minutes because they want you to know they are having sex. We'll be able to respond, "Bitch, if you can’t remember, put your boyfriend on it."

But, I'm disturbed by the mental picture of a woman taking a pill at a bar. WTF? That's pretty random. I happen to be all for the Male Pill though. If only because I can't swallow pills myself (which makes any ailment a real barrel of laughs).

Funny thread on that article about bloggers making the rounds at Plastic:

The overwhelming majority, however, are crap. Actually, they're worse than just bad diaries in a public place or public access TV soft-core porn fundraisers. The overwhelming majority fall into a few very familiar categories:

Woe is me! The darkness, the loneliness. Sure, they think this is a valid means of communication, but really it's just self obsession and fashionable depression or suburban nihilist angst. Soon enough, the blogger will find someone willing to knock boots with them and they will become...

My sweetie is the sweetest sweetie and everything is roses and sunny-bears. Page after page of rambling about how wonderful their significant other is. Until they get dumped. This begins the cycle...

I have no center, just extremes. Each blog entry is either a depressing and depressed bit of self-contemplation which would be somehow better if the person were serious about putting themselves under a train or swallowing the whole bottle of pills or Life is wonderful and great and everything is amazing and I have found the secret to happiness. Which of course, leads to the next group...

I, who have been so low for so long, declare my self HEALED. The Hallelujah is optional. The blogger either finds Jesus or some truth to life and in a strange bit of self-denial and distancing one's self from themselves, suddenly decides they are healed. No, not just getting better or just moving forward. Healed. As in completely well. Suddenly they feel that they are not responsible for all their past transgressions, since those were wiped clear with the healing, of course. Now they can finally go on with their lives, but not before slipping back into the dark world they have left every once in a while when something really, really, really terrible happens, like if there's no juice in the fridge or something.

Hehe. I'll admit I am prone to extremes, but I'm trying to keep it out of the thick of things using the oh so helpful category and extended entry features. Have I mentioned lately that I love Movable Type? And actually, even in my pre-blogging web site days (I'd link it, but it's really embarassing in retrospect. Plus if you go on the old blog, you can find it easy enough), I wasn't really that gushy about Mr. Sailor or anyone else for that matter. I don't really do gushy...that much.

Nuggets

9. The movies: Mystic Pizza, Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Dirty Dancing, Grease and The Cutting Edge. Seriously, that last one is like the female Slap Shot. "Toepick!" may just be the best pick-up line ever.

Gotta admit that he's got me on Girls Just Want To Have Fun and The Cutting Edge (but the rest of the movies would probably be Sixteen Candles, Dead Alive, and a buppie romantic comedies like Hav Plenty). Between Channel 9 (WWOR, baby!) and cable, I've seen them both a million times easy. He might not have it all right, but he's probably better than most on breaking the code.

After a decade or two of dating boys, we ladies get to a point where we’re sick and tired of coddling emotional basketcases who are always certain there’s someone "better" lurking around the corner, and behave accordingly. We get tired of the inevitable post-coital freakout/apres-blowjob disclaimer speech:

Him: "I hope this isn’t a problem for you, but I’m really too deep and tortured to have a girlfriend right now."

Her: "I totally understand. Thanks for sharing that with me after I’ve swallowed your semen. I’m now going to rip your scrotum off with my teeth–I hope that’s not a problem for you."

A decade or two?!?! Man, I'm so way ahead of schedule! Go me!

In the "snark is good" category, I'm loving The Minor Fall, The Major Lift. Especially since I've been listening to Grace lately and though I actually dislike that song, I've got a soft spot for it because Jeff made it sound so nice. I've got to admit, I'm amused by the big mystery about them. Is it really a "them"? Or is someone invoking the royal "we"? Oh, wait...I don't care. I think it's more fun when bloggers have some anonymity unlike you know, me. Though, I've gotten better with things like that as I've been doing this web thing over the years. But, the web (like my old schools) are very stalker friendly -- if you're into that sort of thing.

I think this would be almost funny if they weren't selling it at freaking Urban Outfitters. Just like Abercrombie with that chinese laundry shirt, it's real easy for those marketing to the white bread of the white breads to be all "we're bringing everyone closer together through humor." Where the hell is the vanilla suburbia game complete with clueless apathy, flavorlessness, wiggerism, and idle drug use? Or the WASP game where you get platinum cards and a Mom named Muffy? That's something I'd buy. ETA: Hot off the Gothamist press: "Due to customer concerns, Urban Outifitters no longer sells the board game 'Ghettopoly.'" Wow...a boycott that works. How you like them apples?!

California Tumbles Into The Sea

I was getting tea in the pantry of the place I'll be puttering around in working for the next 2 weeks. Crossfire was blaring on the televisions overhead. I glanced a little as I poured hot water into my cup.

I'd heard of the show but never really watched it before. They were doing this strange dual interview segment with one man talking to Willie Brown and another talking with Mary Bono. The hot topic was naturally the recall elections. Brown spoke out against the recall in general and defended his party's decision to not place showboat candidates into the race as the Republicans had. Bono smiled and looked generally blank as she answered all her questions. I was too busy shaking my head and stifling a hysterical laugh of contempt to focus on more than her dumbass expressions and monosyllabic replies with a beauty queen smile. If she'd been asked "so really Mary, admit it: you don't have a fucking clue what you're doing here and are just glad to be on TV," she'd still do that little half smile and say "that's right, I might as well be a sock puppet because I have no clue what's going on!"

*sigh* It might never rain in Southern California, but the whole state's going to hell in a handbasket. And to think, I wanted to live there at one point. I hate to say it but I'd rather have a health freak workaholic not letting me sniff some smoke in a bar as a mayor and a cheapskate that threw his father in a destitute old folks home for governor than be having to go through the sideshow they've got going on the other coast. What a circus! I don't know whether to implore a CA reader to just vote "no" on the recall or pack up your shit and move. The whole thing is just terrible.

TV Renaissance

Today I've been experiencing a renaissance of sorts. I went to the laundry and washed clothes. I thought to myself: "Man, I'm hippy hippy hippo, I can't take looking like this...I need to get off that "see food, eat it" mode. And I'm too broke to buy everything I could possibly need if I keep getting larger than my bleeping clothes." (With that said, this coat is way pretty. A little busy, but being that I've been complaining my personal style is kinda blah and plain, this would definitely brighten it all up.)

Anyhoo, I've been a television fiend today. I watched ATWT. It's the only soap I've managed to stick with all these years. It's some good stuff right now. Then again, anything's better than AMC of the raped lesbians and putting people on meathooks in cold storage. Bump that mess. I also watched the stuff a girl's sci-fi, eye candy dreams are made of on the WB. Smallville and Angel. My husbands are so pretty. I might even tune into Tarzan on Sunday to see the pretty man slink around in a loincloth. Lovely, just lovely.

I don't remember the last time I've just sat around and watched TV. It's been excellent. Sometime last spring, I just fell out of TV watching and believe me, for a person like me that's tragic. I still have the syndication schedules of the local channels burned in my brain because when I was a kid, watching the boob tube was practically a lifestyle. TV is fabulous for simply letting yourself get washed over by stories, fantasy, and prettiness. And also for honing your critical gaze and snark to play with the kids at TWoP. I'm loving it while it lasts.

Hmm...pretty definitely appears to be the word of the day. Ah well.

Nuggets

This is why I love Sars and have her linked up -- besides the fact that once upon a time I wrote into the The Vine and she sent me pens when I got published.

Great article from Salon...definitely worth those stupid premium commercials.

I've gotta say that this article sums up just about everything I love about "While You Were Out." Except for the kitschy goodness and the quiz for prizes at the end.

Also on Slate, the Diary feature is a medical anthropologist in NYC researching sexual decision making in minority poor MSM -- or men who sleep with men, in case you haven't heard that. Back when I was writing my essay -- seems like forever ago, I doing a lot of reading trying to incorporate that topic into my research about the sexual agency of young black women, but it was way too much to tackle. I'll be reading the week's dispatches with interest.

Currently cracking me up...

Currently cracking me up:

11. Drinks with "sexy" names. Bar patrons who order a "screaming orgasm," "sex on the beach," "blow job," or "long slow screw against the wall" are 77% less likely to get laid than the ones drinking beer. Wonder why.
18. Your cats. Attachment to a non-human mammal that doesn't give a fuck about you bespeaks emotional damage. It's the kind that transforms you from "alluringly quirky" to "certifiable."
19. Little digital cameras on your cell phone. These are for taking dirty pictures and posting them online, not for snapping your fully clothed friends in bars. When will the populace understand this?
35. Friendster.com. For a few months, it was a secret cute-kid sex party. Then all your exes heard about it. Then Courtney Love got on it. Then strangers started insisting you'd shared some magical experience with them outside Tuscaloosa. You told them you'd never been to Tuscaloosa and that they must have the wrong person. Then they told you your pet hamster’s name from when you were five and you started shaking.
36. Employment. People always talk about "becoming their job," which is the most heinous thing ever.
43. Blogging about your sex life. People who do this are under two delusions: a) that everyone wants to fuck them, and b) that their writing is interesting. Which is worse: sexual megalomania or an inability to edit? It's a dead heat. The online equivalent of that excruciatingly monotonous blowjob scene in every porn movie ever made.

Funny peach business

Funny peach business [via Negro Please]

Now, considering my love of sly sex talk sprinklings here and there, how the hell did I never know that Face/Off is a quote goldmine? Granted, I know why I haven't seen it. I have a generally irrational dislike of Nicolas Cage and that was directly post-"comeback" Travolta when he was getting on my nerves too. But,

"If I were to send you flowers where would I... no, let me rephrase that. If I were to let you suck my tongue, would you be grateful?"

and

"Y'know, I could eat a peach for hours"

are like the shit to me right now. I've got to rent that. And just think: where would I be if Farmer hadn't enlightened me on that peach quote last week? (And not like that, perv. Clean out that filthy mind with soap.)

Some Thoughts on Hip-Hop

An article that I most definitely agree with [via Negro Please]. Much of rap right now is a farce. I don't even take seriously what I'm hearing most of the time -- and I suppose that's part of the problem. I dance around to "Get Low" or quote "Get Down (Like A Pimp)" on my away messages, maybe even watch the videos if I catch them. But is enjoying it as mindless entertainment implicating myself? The last rap albums I bought were God's Son and a Source mag compiliation from 2001, both discounted. Truthfully, I can't stand listening to most of what's all over my radio. If I think about the lyrics too much, I get annoyed. Like everyone's favorite "nice" song, Fabolous's "Can't Let You Go." That shit pissed me off. But, I've been annoyed with those "sensitive thug" songs since "Let's Get Married" of the "We ain't get no younger, so we might as well do it" line. Then again, what does my opinion matter really? I'm a black woman. It's not exactly speaking to me anyways. Who is the music really speaking to is the question indeed. He thinks that it's speaking to those who want the excitement of ghetto warzone imagery for various reasons -- the corporations strengthening their bottom line, white kids playacting at "thug life," disenfranchised urban youth who hear their stories in the music (a view he shares). I get annoyed with articles like this one that are so essentialist, especially since his conclusionary line is such a crock. It's knee-jerk generational gap garbage. I'm sure he would've protested to the death if someone said that about the soul music of Motown and Stax at the time.

But, rap and hip-hop is a multifaceted thing. It may have begun in the ghettos as a party soundtrack that developed into a voice, but it's an international movement. I'm never going to forget being in Senegal and having the kids ask me if I had any Biggie or Tupac or bonding crossculturally with French kids that barely spoke English over Nas. I don't know what to do about what's out now as a creative person or a consumer. I've made a conscious decision to have this music in a way represent me, but I totally invoke the right to be critical. A lot of the lyrical content doesn't move me because it tells me that I don't matter. Black women stand in the space of the exploited and the accused too much in the music for me to be comfortable, but that's a reflection of the fucked up mindset that is being taught in a lot of communities. Is it too much to ask for something crunk yet progressive in hip-hop for a change?

A song that I still love to this day is "Fear Not of Man" because of this lyric:

Listen.. people be askin me all the time,
"Yo Mos, what's gettin ready to happen with Hip-Hop?"
(Where do you think Hip-Hop is goin?)
I tell em, "You know what's gonna happen with Hip-Hop?
Whatever's happening with us"
If we smoked out, Hip-Hop is gonna be smoked out
If we doin alright, Hip-Hop is gonna be doin alright
People talk about Hip-Hop like it's some giant livin in the hillside
comin down to visit the townspeople
We +are+ Hip-Hop
Me, you, everybody, we are Hip-Hop
So Hip-Hop is goin where we goin
So the next time you ask yourself where Hip-Hop is goin
ask yourself.. where am I goin? How am I doin?
Til you get a clear idea
So.. if Hip-Hop is about the people
and the.. Hip-Hop won't get better until the people get better
then how do people get better? (Hmmmm...)
Well, from my understanding people get better
when they start to understand that, they are valuable
And they not valuable because they got a whole lot of money
or cause somebody, think they sexy
but they valuable caause they been created by God
And God, makes you valuable
And whether or not you, recognize that value is one thing

Word.

Word.

To Be A Woman

I read this article (via One Man Army) about how it sucks to be a woman out and about and now I'm annoyed. Granted, I can agree that it takes preparation to be "cute" or whatever, but did she have to take the most hackneyed stance. Women have it so hard because we can't eat big dinners and have to teeter on 4-inch heels in short skirts all the time...Wah! What a crock of shit. I suppose the feminist is rising up, but of all things to complain about why does her focus have to be on the most superficial typical things like shoes, hair, makeup, nails, weight and dieting? What can suck about being a woman is that you can get harassed because someone feels that your body is up for commentary by the peanut gallery, that your strength can be undermined when people won't take you seriously because of what you look like, and that those who offer you that free drink can be under the false impression that you owe them something. But fuck that it "sucks because I have to spend a lot of time looking pretty" garbage. That's between you, Cosmo, and genetics.

In the "no shit" category...

In the "no shit" category for today: People seek themselves in potential mates.

So, all I need is a sardonic, media-obsessed guy who spends way too much time online, loves music and dancing and me. In this town? Ain't happening...

Brains Don't Grow In Albany

In the stupidest-shit-I've-heard-all-year side of life, a junk food tax. WTF?!?! Is this really New York we're talking about? You can't smoke when you go out, get ticketed for jaywalking or sitting on a crate, cigarettes are shit expensive, etc. NYC is becoming a decidedly uncool place to be. And that guy who proposed that stupidity represents Brooklyn too. *tsk, tsk* Not my former neighborhood however. Though truthfully, I'm scared to check their records or the ones of my present representatives. Being people smart unfortunately isn't a requirement for Assembly members.