Plucky Punk's Happy Land...Grr...Spit...

Real Americans: A Rant.

2011-04-27T10:29:00.011-06:00

So the president released his birth certificate. The extra-special long-form one that even Orly Taitz wanted him to release. Unfortunately, this will not please his "critics" who don't think he's American enough to be president because, well, he's still black.

That's right, I said it. The only reason this is happening to Obama - wait, no, let me not use the passive voice - the only reason the "birthers" are assailing Obama's parentage is because he is black, and they are racists. Can we talk about that, please? Can that fact be on the nightly news?

And I can't believe he actually had a press conference on this. Seriously, look.

(added: transcript here)

I would have a billion times more respect for Obama, politics, and America in general if the current cultural atmosphere had been such that the president could have spoken plainly here, and said, "We are only talking about this because I am black and American society is still deeply racist." I recognize why he couldn't say this, I guess. I just wish it could have happened.

These people, the "birthers" are so transparent you'd think they would be embarrassed if they could just hear themselves. To quote a friend on Facebook, psychologically, it's fascinating. It's also textbook. A first year psych student could make up something more complex. They're like the racism version of mustachioed villains from a bad silent movie melodrama.

The conspiracy talk around his mother is also interesting/not surprising at all to me. She's a slut who posed nude and the Kenyan guy probably isn't even the father.

It seems altogether possible that the progressive and adventurous 17 year-old Dunham was impregnated by a black man while the family was still living in the Seattle area.

White women who fuck black men: "adventurous" (read: slutty) race traitors who will fuck anyone.

These people, they sound like cartoons.

Now it only took about 2.5 seconds for a new conspiracy to form. Before the press conference above even began, Donald Trump (the "carnival barker" I believe the president was talking about) now wants to see Obama's school records, because the only way a black person could have gotten into Harvard is because white people let him in through the pity of affirmative action.

That's rich, considering the legacy Yalie C student who was our last president. But I forget, Bush was a white guy, and clearly an American Success Story of Pulling One's Self Up By The Bootstraps after some Youthful Mistakes.

Silly me.

I really hope people in the media call it like it is now - people think Obama is not American enough because he's black and has a "funny" name. No amount of documentation he releases will change that. Let's please stop using euphemisms like "cultural unease" to describe the reasons why the GOP base doesn't like Obama.

There are plenty of reasons not to like Obama, ones I even agree with. But this nonsense? It's racism, pure and simple. American society is so deeply racist not even getting elected president is enough to make you immune.

Hey there

2011-04-27T10:21:00.003-06:00

Poor old neglected blogger, a relic of my life in the aughts. I've been posting over at tumblr now, if you're interested. I like the social networking aspects of tumblr, but I must say I think blogger is better at long-form, ranty style posts. And I definitely feel a big one coming on.

Stay tuned.

I have a question for fans of the “Hipster Indian” look.

2010-11-14T08:57:00.005-07:00

(This is a more thought-out and in-depth version of a post I first put up on Tumblr this morning.)

If the reason that you feel the need to dress this way is just that you “appreciate the culture” and “think its beautiful” why don’t I ever see fashion spreads of Native Americans dressed in the attire as it was meant to be worn? Why is it always shirtless white ladies in the desert with a cigarette in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other?

(picture of a young white woman with straight brown hair wearing a war bonnet, is seemingly shirtless, with "warpaint" that looks like lipstick and smoking a cigarette, standing around in a forest)

Seriously, you don't need an advanced degree in semiotics to figure out what's wrong with this image.

My theory? These people don't give a shit about any particular Native American culture. They feel fine and dandy "appreciating" these images because the culture being appreciated is not any particular Native American culture. It is the culture of middle class America from 30 years ago, back when if you dressed your kid up as an “Indian Princess” for Halloween no one would think twice about it (I’m looking at you, mom). Back when you sent your kids to summer camp and they made wallets with fringe and plastic beads on them to "appreciate" Native culture. Or when you could take your family on road trips to reservations and buy a bunch of plastic tomahawks and fake arrowheads made in China (my husband is looking at you, mother-in-law).

(picture of three young white women wearing costumey feather headdresses, blackened eyebrows, and those cheesy 70s-ish clothes so popular with kids these days.)

You can tell because all these pictures also often exhibit artifacts of the 70s, like feathered hair and tube socks pulled up to your knees, or have orangey red faded color palettes or excessive lens flare like a flashback in a Wes Anderson movie or something.

The “more innocent time” these images are hearkening back to is not to some imagined time of pre-Colombian noble savagery but the time from my childhood when middle America felt free to stomp all over Native American culture without guilt.

That time has come again, apparently.

And let's go a little bit deeper. BFP on tumblr notes:

when you literally don’t care or it never crossed your mind what is happening to native peoples today—what their struggles are, what is happening to their children while you are admiring how pretty their headdress looks (if you dye it orange and green first) with blue eye shadow and blue jeans—when you write passionate defenses of your right to wear native dress instead of passionate pleas to people to donate money so that elders and children don’t get their fucking HEAT shut off in the middle of winter (because, yeah, that whole thing about having to pay somebody exorbitant rates for the use of minerals found on your own land sorta sucks ass)—then you can judge yourself as not having the right to wear native clothes of any sort.

I’m from New Mexico, the phenomenon of the rich white (or Hispanic) lady from Santa Fe who is fond of Navajo jewelry and Navajo art but not so much, you know, actual Navajo people is well-known to me.

Which is not to say that you can’t have a beautiful turquoise bracelet or something. Just don’t wear sacred items and always buy it from local Native artists so that the economic power stays with the people whose culture is being commodified.

That, I think, is at the heart of what makes this sort of thing so offensive (to me, at least). White people make money selling this crap to other white people while the people whose culture this comes from deal with some of the worst poverty in the US.

If I may nerd out for a moment, it's something I spent some time studying in school. There was a similar pattern with African art in the 1920s and 1930s, and Australian Aboriginal art in the 1980s. Cultural Anthropologists (which, while it is my chosen field of study, has a lot to answer for) would "gather artifacts" from communities and then sell them to art galleries for a jillion dollars.

Recommended reading: Hipster Appropriations and My Culture Is Not A Trend on tumblr. I got the pictures in this post from these blogs.

And, for those with an anthro bent, read anything by Sally Price, especially this book and this one.

Happy Halloween, Bitches!

2010-11-09T15:48:00.002-07:00

Welcome to Valhalla, motherfuckers.

I stayed up all night reading Octavia Butler's "Kindred"

2010-10-20T11:15:00.002-06:00

And I’m not even tired. Holy shit, that’s a good book.

It was very good at making me think about - well, not so much the reality of slavery, because I’m sure no mere book would be enough to convey the experience of what chattel slavery is like - but the reality that my ancestors were slaves.

I got a similar feeling when I went to DC for the Obama inauguration - that the buildings all around me had been built by black slaves, and now a black man was being elected president. I was seriously on the verge of tears almost the whole time. (Not so much out of happiness at the election, although back then I was much more on team hopey-changey stuff than I am now, but out of horror of the past).

I grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in a neighborhood where the oldest buildings dated to maybe the 1950s. Black chattel slavery is distant here.

To have my stepmom (who is from there, and who is biracial just like me) point out buildings and say “That’s an old slave auction house,” or “That tunnel is where they brought slaves in from the docks,” and whatnot was completely upsetting to me.

"You're very sensitive," she said to me, not unkindly.

My family is from Cuba, so the likelihood that any ancestor of mine walked through those tunnels or stood on those particular auction blocks is probably low. But they walked through tunnels, they stood on auction blocks. And there were similar ones, right in front of me. Meanwhile, a black man was getting ready to be President.

It was the same feeling I got when a white friend of mine explained to me that her grandmother, who I had spent the previous afternoon chatting pleasantly with, was actually a horrible racist and said mean things about my daughter. Betrayal, shame, embarrassment, anger, fury. Pride that I wasn't what her grandmother thought I was.

That feeling - that's what it's like to be black in America.

Thinking back about my week in DC two years ago, I remember a conversation I had about the whole thing with a man who was a friend of my stepmom’s family. “I don’t think white people understand,” he said.

I agreed.

Also, I’m pissed at myself that I haven’t been reading Octavia Butler this entire time. Next up - Fledgling.

Yes, I am a Muslim-American

2010-08-24T08:12:00.003-06:00

(eds note: My father, who has been increasingly horrified by the growing tide of bigotry apparent on the nightly news lately, emailed me this last night and asked if I would post it on my blog. Of course I would, I said.)

Am I an American? Why am I asking myself this question again? Yes, I am an American, a Muslim African American.

Why am I asking that question again? It is because the monster is trying to once again rear its ugly head. A monster who once tried to trick me into believing that I was not an American because of the color of my skin and because of the origin of my parents and the first language that I spoke (Spanish) as a child.

The ugly beast who snapped at the heels of my parents, with its white only bathrooms and diners, and the black only seats at the rear of the bus or train, and the inequality and lack of justice that permeated its presence, breathing the fire of hate for those who dared to be different than it.

The horrible looks and words of hate that frightened a child and young adolescent, emanating from the mouths of pale skinned creatures that looked as human as I; and breathed the same air that filled my lungs, and walked the same earth that I walked upon. I a child not really understanding the disease that filled the hearts and minds of these men and women, some who called themselves the follower of Jesus (peace be upon him) as I was, the prophet of peace and love.

Why I said as a child why, why do you hate me so, the answer always being you are the other, not like me, apart from me. Yet in my heart I always knew this to be a lie, knew that the other was as human and fragile as I was. He or she was just sick in the head from some blow of a hammer that must have once fallen upon their heads.

Then as I grew into adolescence, came the words and actions of Martin, words of freedom, equality, respect, the transformational words of Malcolm demanding respect as a man and as a human being and servant of God. The demand for the implementation of the eternal principles that I knew permeated the hearts of all men and women who know the truth and that submit to the one and only Lord and Creator of the universe.

These waves of change passed through our country transforming hearts and minds, as they always have when the creature appears. Men like Mandela, Gandhi, Muhammed, Jesus, and Moses and so many others. Who chase the monster away; if not for a little time, making him hide in slumber for another day.

Here is that day, today when I ask myself again, am I an American? The monster stares in my face, I now a grown man a Muslim-African-American.

The beast once again looms in our presence, again staring at me with eyes aglow. It basks in its own self-indulgence of ignorance, hate and accusations of being the other. The same old story just another time and another place.

Know this oh beast, I will stand firmly on this sacred ground that I call my country, my home, my place of birth. A place called America; I stand here with no fear of you in my heart. Knowing with surety who I am and why I am.

I am a Muslim American, a servant of Allah, born in the home of the brave the land of the free.

I am a red-blooded American.

You can screech your words of being the other, of there is no room for Muslims or mosques, or adhans in this land. I tell you we are here to stay, over nine million of us strong and growing, most born American Muslims and true believers in our hearts.

I stand here wrapped in the cloth of freedom made by the blood of my ancestors and yours. The promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness not a dream but a reality made true by the following words:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense,
promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

This is my birth-right, a covenant made to every citizen of this country born or naturalized.

Your disease of the heart has made you blind and ignorant to the beauty and guarantees encased within those words. So beware oh beast, the sword of justice looms over your head, and no matter how loudly you screech, justice and freedom always prevail as God our Lord and Creator has promised. Watch your neck because the sword of Damocles hangs over your ugly head. You will consume yourself in your own self-hatred and ignorance.

We stand as brothers and sisters together Muslim, Christian, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and all the other paths of life that exist in this world.

For we stand with the Creator who has given us love and compassion the most powerful forces in all of creation. Beware and be aware, because we have the Niyat (intention) to us this force of love and compassion to its maximum effect.

We wish to change your heart, to cure you of the ancient disease of hate and ignorance. Your brothers and sister call to you to join us in peace (salaams), to join us and to become part of the human family once again.
We await your decision.

Salaams always,

Imam Abdur’Rauf Campos-Marquetti
TaHa Mosque-Islamic Center of Santa Fe

How little things have changed.

2010-08-22T18:43:00.001-06:00

It's really depressing, but not entirely shocking, to see how little things have changed since this speech was given.

It's not us and them. It's just us.

2010-08-16T23:20:00.004-06:00

The hysteria surrounding the not-a-mosque, not-at-Ground Zero interfaith community center that an Islamic group wants to build in Manhattan has gone on longer that even I thought it ever would.

The objections to it are so ridiculous, so reactionary, so based in hatred and fear that I don't even know where to begin taking them apart anymore.

The fact that you have representatives of the Muslim community on the news having to make statements like "American Muslims were not behind the terrorist plot," is totally fucking Twilight Zone-scary.

David Vitter, the Republican senator from Louisiana, says that the not-at-Ground-Zero, not-a-mosque is "a slap in the face to the American people." If that's the case, then I backhand slap the American people right in that stupid, afraid, bigoted, unthinking face. Twice.

9/11 was not an attack by Muslims against America. 9/11 was an attack by those who embraced a theocratic view against the forces of democracy and capitalism (there's a reason they targeted the World Trade Center, it was a financial center). Those Muslims who committed almost 3,000 murders that day were also attacking other Muslims. Many of the office workers, restaurant employees, firemen, police officers, and paramedics who were killed for the "sin" of living in New York (or D.C., let's not forget the Pentagon was also attacked) were...Muslims.

It doesn't work to say that "Muslims attacked us" when "Muslims" and "us" are two groups that overlap. This, despite the best efforts of many, is a cosmopolitan nation. Muslims are not others, they are us. As are Catholics, Jews, Baptists, gays, blacks, asians, hispanics, Dallas Cowboy fans, Sarah Palin fans, and even (gasp!) atheists.

I say again, this, despite the best efforts of the worst amongst us, is a cosmopolitan nation. You can't change that no matter how hard you try. It's the whole fucking point of our country. To think otherwise puts you on the losing side of history.

I mean, Jesus, even W. said we were not at war with Islam.

President Obama finally weighed in on the subject on Friday, saying “Al Qaeda’s cause is not Islam — it is a gross distortion of Islam,” the president said, adding, “In fact, Al Qaeda has killed more Muslims than people of any other religion, and that list includes innocent Muslims who were killed on 9/11.”

To which I add, No shit, Sherlock. Really? Does this even still have to be said? I get the feeling my poor dad (who is an imam now) is going to have to go on another "Muslims don't all have claws and fangs" tour of local churches.

Usually, I find Keith Olbermann just this side of shrill and histrionic, but this time I think he hit just the right note.

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Right now, (during Ramadan no less) millions of Pakistanis, the vast majority of them who are probably Muslim, are dying because of horrific flooding in that country. Wouldn't our energies (and our 24-hour news cycle) be better spent helping -or at least paying attention to- these people? (*cough* Donate to Doctors Without Borders *cough*)

To conclude, I like the point made in this blog post.

In the real world, New York is rebuilding. The site of the ruined World Trade Center is the site of the new World Trade Center, 20 stories high and rising. Get rid of the Islamic center and the alternative will not be a memorial park, but a fitness center, an American Apparel, a Pinkberry.

Maybe I'm naive in my patriotism, but the reason I think that so-called "Ground Zero" is sacred ground is because all of America is sacred ground, because the principles laid out in the Constitution (although, historically, actually following those principles has always been a bit touch-and-go) protect the inalienable rights of the people who live here.

Well, for now anyway.

Chuchu the sock monkey.

2010-08-14T00:02:00.009-06:00

Why yes, I did just spend the last 10 hours or so making two socks into a monkey, why do you ask?

Discoveries along my journey across the sock monkey learning curve: use thicker socks, use longer socks, use smaller stitches, use more interesting socks, and most of all, don't explain to your child what a sock monkey is because you're certain to spend the next ten to twelve hours making one, much to your chagrin.

But then she named it Chuchu and gave it a big hug and loved it despite all the obvious flaws I saw. Which is why she is wonderful and I am a jaded former punk rocker.

Full evolution of Chuchu here.

A challenge.

2010-08-02T17:27:00.002-06:00

I don't know what I was thinking. I ventured into the comment sections of this and this (much better) article on the so-called "Ground Zero Mosque" (which is neither at Ground Zero nor a masjid) and I think I've been driven to the edge by the complete rejection of both reason and reality on display by many of the commenters.

So, I issue a challenge.

I challenge anyone to explain to me why this community center shouldn't be built at this location, using 500 words or less. You must (unlike anyone I've read or heard who so far who objects to this) take these five actual, factual points into account:

1) The proposed building is not just a mosque, but a community center that will include a restaurant and a gym.

2) The proposed site is not at "Ground Zero" but in fact several blocks away, and you can't even see it from the WTC site.

3) Dozens of the New Yorkers (and, if I recall correctly, at least one of the people on the planes) murdered on 9/11 were Muslim, and their families deserve the same respect as the other victims.

4) It's private property owned by this group, and as long as all proper building codes are followed they're allowed to build whatever the fuck they want.

5) Republican politicians (and celebrities like Sarah Palin) are using this as a wedge issue to motivate their base to vote for them in November, as a distraction from the successes of the Obama administration and the previous eight years of Republican failures.

Seriously. 500 words or less. I'll send you a free Viking Fish t-shirt.

I don't expect any takers, because a) no one reads my blog anymore, but more importantly b) once these five points are addressed you don't have much of an argument beyond, "I hate Muslims because television and the Internet said I should."

Hm, I kind of like this idea. Maybe I'll try it next for those who oppose gay marriage.

The power of images

2010-07-30T09:21:00.004-06:00

I've been kind of haunted by Time magazine's most recent cover image ever since I saw this Salon piece on it yesterday. In it, a striking beautiful young Afghan woman stares defiantly at the camera. The woman, an 18-year old named Aisha, has been brutally mutilated by her own husband, her nose and ears cut off. But the way the photographer Jodie Bieber captures the fire in her eyes shows that even this brutal act did not defeat her.

Or, at least, that's what the photo says to me. I have to idea how Aisha actually feels about her situation and the horrific crime that her husband and the people of her village, who enabled him to do this, enacted against her. But I appreciate the decision Bieber made to not photograph her as a broken victim.

What I don't appreciate, what in fact drives me up the wall, is the headline Times chose to place with her picture. The cover reads, "What Happens if We Leave Afghanistan." Nice try, Times, but I'm not buying it. This isn't what happens when we leave Afghanistan, it's what's happening now. Aisha was attacked last year.

In what, as Daisy on Facebook mentioned, appears to be a bald attempt to engage in a propaganda war with Wikileaks (and what I think is more of a cynical attempt to sell magazines), Times has hoped that the arresting nature of this image will make your brain skip over this fact.

Not to mention that, with the addition of that text, the image becomes yet another Muslim woman is the "ultimate victim" needing rescue from the West. Boy, does that trope not ever get old.

You can't solve problems like violence against women with a war. If anything, our presence, and the money we're funneling to all the wrong people, is merely fueling top-down corruption that is probably making situations like this worse. Watch this segment from Rachel Maddow's recent trip to Afghanistan to see what I mean.

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I don't have a solution for how to make it that another woman never gets mutilated for attempting to escape abusive situations. I don't even know whether or not I actually feel like we should withdraw from Afghanistan, really. I mean, I recognize all the good reasons to do so, but there is a part of me that feels like its kind of amoral to destabilize a country and then just leave.

What I do know is that you can't use what happened to this woman as a reason to stay. Because our presence there couldn't keep it from happening in the first place.

And also because the suggestion that we're in Afghanistan to protect the lives of the women there is laughable. If this were the case, how come it took us so long? I was reading about RAWA and the oppression of Afghan women years before the war (in, if I remember correctly, Jane magazine). What about women in the Congo? Women in Juarez? Women in Darfur?

And if you're looking for arresting images, how about the image of this child, burned after a NATO bomb attack?

War is a complicated issue, there are no easy answers. Let's not be swayed by an (admittedly powerful) image, but try to actually think.

**Edited some for clarity. It's hard to blog when a four-year-old is also seeking your full attention**

Housekeeping

2010-07-28T23:56:00.002-06:00

If I really am going to pick up blogging again, which I seem to be doing, then I need to update my blogroll. There are blogs I don't read, dead blogs, dead people on it, and blogs that I do read (lurk at, mostly) that aren't on it. I'll be doing this over the next few days.

New Fridge!!!

2010-07-27T16:07:00.000-06:00

Motherfucking iced tea in the house, yo!

We were snookered! Wait, what?

2010-07-27T09:27:00.003-06:00

Last night, Jon Stewart returned from a two-week vacation and unleashed his sharp knives of satire on those on the left who were "snookered" by a re-edited tape released by Andrew Breitbart that supposedly demonstrates racism and corruption on the left.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Lost in Race

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor

Tea Party

(Also, Comedy Central, your embed code is crappy. I had to go in and close like three tags to get it to work. In case I screwed it up, the link to the video is here.)

Which is something I would have thought way more awesome, if this hadn't been Jon Stewart's response to Breitbart's completely fraudulent ACORN tapes last year.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

The Audacity of Hos

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor

Tea Party

(Link here.)

Hm. Did you get snookered, too, Jon? Were you so eager to demonstrate that you treat the left and the right equally that you were willing to throw poor, black, (and in that clip, mostly females) under the bus?

I had sincerely hoped that someone in the media would be willing to revisit the ACORN tapes, just to throw light on the extreme injustice done to this now-defunct organization at the behest of the crybabies on the extreme right. I kind of thought it might be the Daily Show. Oh well.

The beard is dead sexy though.

Someone get this man a cape.

2010-07-25T12:56:00.001-06:00

Because he is a superhero.

Just sayin'.

On Shirley Sherrod

2010-07-22T23:49:00.006-06:00

It's hot and humid (well, humid for Albuquerque) and my fridge is still broken. I'm grumpy and I promise you, this post will have problems with tone.

This whole Shirley Sherrod scandal has really gotten me all perturbed. In case you've been living under a rock these past few days, here's what's happened.

The NAACP finally had the gumption to say out loud what has been obvious to everyone else with half a brain: the Tea Partiers willingly and knowingly harbor racists in their midst and should, if they're wanting the other 98 percent of America to take them seriously, cut that shit out.

Proving that calling a white person a racist is a bigger insult these days than calling a black person nigger, professional crybaby and total douchebag liar Andrew Breitbart (who was also behind the totally fake prostitution ring tapes that got ACORN disbanded) released a tape of a black woman named Shirley Sherrod who works for the USDA, giving a speech to the NAACP about being annoyed at a white farmer who came to her for help, "proving" that the NAACP specifically and black people in general are the real racists.

Of course Sherrod was forced to resign. The NAACP also immediately renounced her, calling her actions "shameful."

Now, even before this tape was even proved to be maliciously re-edited in a deliberately misleading way, I was put out. Maybe it was just that coming so close on the heels of the slap-on-the-wrist verdict given to the white cop who shot Oscar Grant (an unarmed black father of a girl my daughter's age, shot in the back while handcuffed and having his face shoved into the ground with a knee on the back of his neck in front of a dozen witnesses all holding cell phone cameras) but I just wasn't impressed by the degree of "oppression" on display here.

Oh, a black authority figure was less than respectful to you, and sent you somewhere else? Boo fucking hoo. Try getting shot in the back while face down and handcuffed with a cop's knee pressing down on your neck.

Not to mention the man what seeking help from an organization specifically set up as a co-op for black farmers (the incident actually occurred back in the 80s, before Sherrod even worked for the USDA), and was not a dues-paying member. Not to mention that the man was being snooty towards her. And not to mention that she did actually help him anyway during that first encounter, sending him to a white lawyer who could assist him.

But come to find that douche Breitbart had edited out the last part of the story. The full video shows that when she realized her initial reaction was perhaps related to lingering bitterness surrounding the fact that her father had been murdered by a Klansman (go ahead, grow up black in the south of a few decades ago after your father was murdered by the Klan, and see how you feel about white people, I dare you) and that she should overcome these feelings if she's going to have any luck making the world a better place.

She realized that the real problems in this country are between the haves and the have-nots, and while that's often overlaid with the matrix of the social constructs of race, it's not always. And then not only did she go on to personally help this white farmer, but she probably saved their farm and the two are friends to this day.

I agree with Joan Walsh. Shirley Sherrod is a hero.

But that's not where the irritation ends, oh no.

I'll let Professor Melissa Harris-Lacewell speak for me for a moment here. She said exactly what I was thinking on Countdown with Keith Olbermann the other day.

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Nice Crash reference, by the way. Agreed about that movie as well.

So Shirley Sherrod was thrown under the bus. But after the tapes vilifying her were revealed to be an embarrassingly transparent fraud perpetrated by a huckster who is already known for releasing racially-tinged frauds to the media, everyone from the president on down apologized and jumped all over themselves to show how wrong and falsely quick to judge they were.

Tom Vilsack, the head of the USDA, even offered her a new special job. What is the new special job? An "outreach" position that would deal specifically with racial discrimination issues within the USDA.

This is the part that really got to me.

It is really annoying how mainstream white America wants black people to be, like, cultural envoys about race or something. I don't think Shirley Sherrod should have to leave her old, chosen job helping poor farmers and take a new job teaching the USDA not to be racist.

And, although I don't find him blameless in this situation (seriously, stop reacting to right-wing blowhards like their opinions matter!)I also don't think the Obama administration has some sort of obligation to "start a conversation" on race because he is black. I resent it when white people expect people of color to help them learn not to hate us.

Figure it out yourselves, already. Real life is not a movie with Morgan Freeman in a supporting role. No magical Negroes are coming along to help you overcome your own faults and teach you about love and friendship with their earthy wisdom. Deal with it.

Sigh. I'm sure this post makes me sound really bitchy and mean and violates the suggestions in this video. Until I have a working freezer so I can put some ice in my beverage and maybe cool off for a moment, I don't really care.

My fridge is broken.

2010-07-17T18:42:00.002-06:00

The fridge broke. So I had to eat everything.

If only I had some attractive wealthy roommates to help me pay for it.

Immigrants.

2010-07-14T20:36:00.004-06:00

The news that some group of serious xenophobic assholes has made a list of 1300 people, including children and pregnant women (with, most creepily, mentions of their due dates) and tried to have it made public, with no care or feeling of responsibility to what might happen to those people, has freaked me out way more than a little.

I mean, come on.

It's got me thinking about my own past.

I, like most Americans, am descended from other places. On both sides of my family, I am descended from lower-class immigrants, people who worked back-breakingly hard for what little they owned, and whom the American system of living consistently disenfranchised politically and socially.

My mother, second youngest in an Italian Catholic family of 13 surviving children, never had her own bedroom. My father, oldest child of two Afro-Cuban immigrants, famously states that his first bed was a box (and whether or not this was true or merely his own brand of constructed folklore I have never properly established).

In any case, my immigrant family members found themselves left out of the American political process. This may be why the political figures that exist in my family have always been elevated to near-legendary status.

For me, the political has always been personal. A friend once nicknamed me "Political Spice." It's in my genes I guess.

On my father's side of my family, a man named Generoso Campos-Marquetti was the first black man to hold a political office in Cuba, and played a key role in the Race War of 1912. On my mother's side of the family is her uncle Frank Rizzo, the 1970s Philadelphia mayor with mob ties. During their many knock-down, drag-out fights my mother often invoked her familial mafia connections the way a woman in an ancient Greek play might invoke the furies.

Also, I really want to see this movie.

I'm not sure what my point is, I guess. Most of America is descended from immigrants. Property crime and violent crime in border states is down. Undocumented immigrants form a crucial part of the nation's economy. Also, a generation or tow ago, I might have been in the shoes of those 1300 people in Utah. And political power is hard to come by, and is treasured for generations after.

So, what's the problem? If your big beef is that these people are here illegally, then make it easier to come to the United States legally, problem solved. (I have a friend who works in immigration law, and trust me, it's a seriously difficult process.) It would take care of the human smugglers and the drug runners who control the process now.

But it wouldn't deal with the problem of their being so many brown people, which is increasingly more obviously the anti-immigration crowd's real issue.

Another Abbie Summer

2010-07-10T18:50:00.002-06:00

There are eleven foot tall sunflowers in my yard this year.

Abbie is four now, and still retains a hint of babyness, as when she falls asleep, sweaty in the summer sun.

But she's also sort of a badass, as when she won her match at a recent judo tournament.

(Hilarious slo-mo and soundtrack courtesy of my father, who also took first at the same match.)

It's another Abbie summer.

Comment moderation on

2010-07-08T20:57:00.002-06:00

I'm turning comment moderation on, just because I'm tired of deleting spam comments. If you're one of the three people who still check in here occasionally, I do check the comments on a daily basis.

Stupid e-mail forwards

2010-07-07T10:11:00.003-06:00

So I frequently get unwanted email forwards from several members of my family. How do people deal with those? I usually just grit my teeth and delete sight-unseen, especially if they come from in-laws, but this one from my very own mother was particularly galling.

Subject: DON'T BUY PEPSI IN THE NEW CAN!
Don't buy Pepsi in the new can. Pepsi has a new 'patriotic' can
coming out with pictures of the EmpireStateBuilding, and the
Pledge of Allegiance on them.
However, Pepsi left out two little words on the pledge,
'Under God.'
Pepsi said they didn't want to offend anyone. In that case, we don't
want to offend anyone at the Pepsi corporate office, either!
So if we don't buy any Pepsi products, they will not be offended
when they don't receive our money that has the words
'In God We Trust' on it.
HOW FAST CAN YOU FORWARD THIS ONE?

Pretty darn fast!!

Not being a huge fan of Pepsi even in my soda-guzzing heyday (as i often put it when I was still a brash obscene punk-rocker, Pepsi is Coke for pussies), I have no idea as to the veracity of this, but like all stupid e-mail forwards it's probably completely false. In any case, here was my reply.

Just fyi, the Pledge of Allegiance as originally composed by Frances Bellamy in 1892 did not contain the words "Under God." Those words were only added in 1952 during a particularly shameful, jingoistic, xenophobic period in American history riddled with extreme fundamentalism and fear.

The separation of church and state is an American value which I feel our founding fathers held sacred, protecting not only the state from the church's influence but the church from the potentially corrupting influence of state power. I would happily toast the country that I love with a glass of Pepsi, but I don't drink soda anymore actually, it's terrible for you.

Also, Frances Bellamy was a big-time socialist who briefly considered adding "equality" and "fraternity" as well as "liberty" to the pledge.

I almost hit "reply all" on that one, but decided not to out my mother as having a weirdo commie pinko child who doesn't even drink high fructose corn syrup. I'm too nice, I know.

So Arizona's a police state now...

2010-04-26T17:45:00.001-06:00

I hereby invite all Hispanics of Arizona to move to my home state of New Mexico. The weather's nicer, the tourist traps are less cheesy, the food is better, and the rent is cheaper.

What Jesus Wouldn't Do

2010-03-20T12:05:00.003-06:00

I know I'm an atheist, so I might be way off base here, but I'm going to go ahead and make the assumption that the Teabaggers in this video, like every other Teabagger I've met or heard of, are God-loving Christians.

Jesus said "Blessed are the meek," not "Blessed are the red-faced and screaming." Jesus healed the sick and infirm, he didn't threaten and humiliate them. Jesus said the best way to get into the kingdom of heaven was to sell all of your possessions and give the money to the poor, not to greedily hang on to every last dime while people are dying around you for lack of what you take for granted.

I seriously recommend these people go home and read about Jesus for awhile.

People, often these same Teabagger people, usually say, "We are a Christian nation, with Christian values," but either I'm confused as to the true nature of Christian values or these people are acting in a seriously fucking un-American way. (Or, at least, what should be an un-American way, but you know, despite everything I somehow manage to retain a mild patriotism about my country.)

Or, who knows, I shouldn't assume, maybe they're another religion. In which case I'm pretty sure they should also go home and study for awhile, because I'm not familiar with any religion that advocates behavior of this nature.

Maybe they're atheists like me. In which case they should seriously shut the fuck up because they're making me look bad.

Although bully for the guy wearing the baby.

The guy in the video has a pretty eloquent response.

This health reform bill is a universe away from perfect, or even good. It's not even really health-care reform but health-insurance reform, and a pretty weak attempt at that, even. It's a step, though. At least it would show that we're willing to take some action. I hope it passes, and that the result is as Bob in the video says, more families crying with happiness at good outcomes than crying out of sadness and worry.

I've seen this movie.

2010-03-13T12:48:00.001-07:00

I think Ron Howard directed it.

Flying while Muslim and forgetful

2010-03-07T03:06:00.003-07:00

I just had to share this story because I laughed so hard I almost peed when I heard it. I just hope I tell the story as good as my dad did.

My father is Muslim, not conservative or anything, but fairly observant. He wears identifiably Islamic dress. Being black, he more often gets "read" as "friendly African" than "scary Muslim" by those inclined to do such "reading." That is, until the whole Nigerian underwear bomb thing happened.

He is, incidentally, also a scientist and as such is a bit of a gadget tech nerd geek kind of person. He also does a lot of business travel.

Naturally he has an iPhone. Naturally he also has a "call to prayer" app for his iPhone. And, being a bit on the daffy forgetful side and oddly inept with technology for a techie guy (I get a lot of pocket calls from this same iPhone), naturally he also forgot to turn off his iPhone before getting on a plane during his last business trip.

Literally, my poor father took one step onto the crowded plane and his call to prayer app went off, turned all the way up, blasting "Alllaaaaahhhhu Akbar, Allllaaaaaahuuuu Akbar!" in front of all the passengers and crew.

Everyone gasped, turned to look at him, eyes wide. The lower lip of the flight attendant standing next to him started to quiver. With the strains of the adhan filling the cabin and images of getting tackled by some Soldier of Fortune-reading Teabagger Militiaman running through his head, my dad slowly took the iPhone out of his pocket and silenced it, saying, "Sorry, it's just my phone!"

Hearing his New York accent must have relaxed everyone and they all audibly exhaled at once. A Hispanic man in front of him started cracking up laughing. Oh, just a regular American dude, no worries.

I wish I could have seen their faces! I would have cracked jokes the entire flight.

"You thought he had a bomb! My dad! The Star Trek nerd! You almost peed yourself in fear because a phone made a noise you heard once in a movie!"

Hehe.

My favorite thing so far about the Winter Olympics

2010-02-13T15:57:00.002-07:00

Besides manic tap-dancing punk-rock fiddlers and the apparent respect for First Nations people that the Vancouver Olympic Committee has, of course.

But my favorite thing so far about the Winter Olympics?

Azerbaijani Rainbow Pants. Awesome.

Back from the Aelthing!

2010-02-08T19:37:00.002-07:00

So, back from this year's Taos Aelthing. Pictures can be found here. Unfortunately, due to some camera issues there's less photos than usual, but I'll try again to wrestle with the memory card tomorrow. I still need to take a shower and wash the campfire smell out of my hair. Give me a few days to recover.

It's Aelthing Time!

2010-02-04T12:47:00.002-07:00

Going to the 2010 Taos Aelthing (holy crap, can't believe it's been so many)! See you next week.

For past Viking exploits, see here.

Whitewashing and Americanization

2010-01-26T10:05:00.003-07:00

I hate Hollywood.

I take that back, I don't hate Hollywood. I actually kind of love the whole stupid glamorous self-absorbed situation. But they are working my last nerve.

First, there's the new film Extraordinary Measures, which looks kind of dumb on the whole anyway. But there's nothing overtly offensive about that, really, until you read this.

Basically, the story has Brendan Frasier and Harrison Ford working together to find the cure for a rare disease that strikes children. Harrison Ford plays the doctor, Brendan Frasier the aggrieved parent. It's based on a real-life story...sort of. As mentioned in Roger Ebert's review:

Dr. Robert Stonehill doesn't exist in real life. The Pompe cure was developed by Dr. Yuan-Tsong Chen and his colleagues while he was at Duke University. He is now director of the Institute of Biomedical Science in Taiwan. Harrison Ford, as this film's executive producer, perhaps saw Stonehill as a plum role for himself; a rewrite was necessary because he couldn't very well play Dr. Chen. The real Chen, a Taiwan University graduate, worked his way up at Duke from a residency to professor and chief of medical genetics at the Duke University Medical Center. He has been mentioned as a Nobel candidate.

I suspect Dr. Chen might have inspired a more interesting character than "Dr. Stonehill." The Nebraskan seems inspired more by Harrison Ford's image and range. He plays the doctor using only a few spare parts off the shelf. (1) He likes to crank up rock music while he works. (2) He doesn't return messages. (3) He's so feckless he accidentally hangs up on Crowley by pulling the phone off his desk. (4) He likes to drink beer from longneck bottles in a honky-tonk bar and flirt with the waitress. (5) "I'm a scientist, not a doctor," he says. He's not interested in Pompe patients, only the chemistry of the disease.

Uh huh. Why? Why does Hollywood feel the need to consistently whitewash Asians (and other ethnicities, but somehow this seems most prevalent with Asians) out of real-life stories? Or even cartoons (I'm looking at you, The Last Airbender! Or how about you, Prince of Persia starring super European-looking Jake Gyllenhaal!) At least the trend of remaking every successful Japanese horror movie to come across the Pacific into a crappier film starring white people seems to have slowed lately.

Second, and just as annoying really, comes this news that apparently a Hollywood biopic about Winne Mandela is being made, without ever asking her or even telling her about it.

Titled "Winnie", the film is directed by South African film-maker Darrell J. Roodt, whose work includes "Cry, The Beloved Country" and "Sarafina."

But a letter from her attorney Bowman Gilfillan said Madikizela-Mandela was "extremely concerned" to hear about the film, saying "she has never been approached for consent or at all," according to The Star newspaper.

"It is difficult to understand how a production bearing the name of an individual who has not been consulted at all could ever be appropriate or tell the full story of that individual's life as media reports suggest this production is intended to," the letter said, according to the paper.

Which is kind of rude, to say the least.

And that's not even mentioning this aspect of it.

The film had already stoked controversy in South Africa when Hudson was tapped to play the role, sparking outrage among local actors who complained that South African talent had again been overlooked by Hollywood.

No kidding. While I'm sure Jennifer Hudson could do an excellent job (although it would depend on how distracting her fake accent winds up sounding, I guess), they didn't even try? Maybe it's for the best, they might have cast Charlize Theron or something.

"Haiti is a Nation of Heroes."

2010-01-22T21:00:00.005-07:00

Sometimes I think Jay Smooth lives inside my head. Literally, every video he makes I nod my head in amazement.

Am I the only one having a kind of mixed reaction to the outpouring of fundraising for Haiti? On the one hand, of course it's wonderful that so many people are giving, of course I think that it should be on tv, it's news, of course I think it's great that celebrities are involved because they have the ability to reach more people, make an issue more visible, etc.

But, I have this kind of queasy feeling about it all, like, it's not like Haiti didn't need help before. It's like, hundreds of thousands of people have to die suddenly in order for people to pay attention. And I'm afraid that this situation leaves the door open for more of the IMF/World Bank, etc type loans to screw over the Haitian economy further, or for the spread of further US corporations to "create jobs" etc etc.

Every time I bring this up people look at me like I'm kicking an adorable puppy.

This is a similar feeling I had after Katrina, and after (well, after reading about, as I was too young to really notice at the time) Rwanda. (Although it hasn't done much for the people in Darfur, really.)

Why do we only care when Bono tells us to? Why do we only notice when it horrifies Anderson Cooper?

Meh.

**added** And just to make clear, I don't leave myself out of the "We" mentioned above. I've been keeping this blog for almost a decade, and I don't think I ever wrote about Haiti once. Why not?

Oh, oh, and if you want to know the type of havoc IMF and World Bank loans can wreak on an economy, I can't recommend this movie enough. (Again.)

My Life with Abbie

2010-01-20T13:29:00.008-07:00

I'm done with my current writing assignment, so I have nothing much to do.

Now is the time to make you all bask in my daughter's adorableness!!!!

(Yes, I *do* enjoy annoying the sanctimoniously "childfree," why do you ask?)

Abbie has been spontaneously breaking out in these semi-descriptive arias lately, where she screams/sings what she's doing, what I'm doing, or just random stuff. Hilarious.

She builds these great, ornate, huge, floor-spanning Lego creations. Awesome.

She likes to make up weird games, like "Peekaboo Mice." To play Peekaboo Mice, you first have to think about mice, then you turn off the light, then you turn it back on and scream, "Eek, mice!"

No, I don't really get it either.

She loves to totally rock out dancing.

She's in the question asking phase. This just happened:

ABBIE: Mama, how come I ask you so many questions?
ME: *dies*

And also, here's Abbie and a ukulele.

The end.

Help in Haiti

2010-01-13T12:19:00.003-07:00

By now everyone probably knows about the horrific situation with the earthquake in Haiti. Maegan la Mamita Mala at VivirLatino has a good link roundup of places and ways to help. This is the one I did.

For those interesting in helping immediately, simply text “HAITI” to “90999″ and a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill.

I hope this isn't as bad as it looks at the moment.

RIP, Miep Gies

2010-01-11T20:37:00.003-07:00

What a brave woman. This part, especially, touched me.

After the apartment was raided by the German police, Gies gathered up Anne's scattered notebooks and papers and locked them in a drawer for her return after the war. The diary, which Anne Frank was given on her 13th birthday, chronicles her life in hiding from June 12, 1942 until August 1, 1944.

Gies refused to read the papers, saying even a teenager's privacy was sacred. Later, she said if she had read them she would have had to burn them because they incriminated the "helpers."

Emphasis mine. I always felt a little weird about reading Anne Frank's diary without her permission. And in this age where we all spew our inner thoughts all over the internet, Gies's respect for the privacy of others seems all the more admirable.

There should be more people like her. RIP.

I have just met you, and I love you. Will you be my prisoner?

2010-01-11T19:56:00.003-07:00

Best pickup line, ever.

I recently (finally) saw Up, and it made me cry. And I'm talking, embarrassingly, openly weep-in-front-of-friends-and-family-members cry.

Here's the part that really got to me.

Even all those years later, even after having the best kid anyone ever had, I guess I still wasn't over it.

See, I can barely even type the word! Miscarriage. The miscarriage. Still, in my opinion, too taboo of a subject in American culture.

The rest of Up is also fabulous, especially Dug the dog in all his earnest literalness. But that little montage alone is perhaps the most moving piece of American filmmaking I've seen in years. If there's any sense of justice living in the souls of the people at the Academy of Arts and Sciences, it will garner an Oscar nomination. And I mean a real, big-kid Best Picture nomination, not the Best Animated Feature, kid's table consolation prize.

Where the HELL have you been?!?!?!

2010-01-06T22:46:00.003-07:00

I have to apologize as I've mostly retreated to the relative safety of Facebook. I, like a lot of sensible people, have pretty much had it with the blogosphere.

I may or may not be entering grad school next year, depending on how seriously they take my awful GRE scores. Yeah, I kind of choked on the math part.

Consequently, depending on how much time I'll be having on my hands, I've been considering what to do with this space. I've been doing some freelance writing for hire lately, and it's kind of got me into writing and pop culture analysis and that sort of thing again. I might consider doing some blogging about it.

Look for more in the near future, for sure. I'm not dead or anything, I swear.

Why does Hollywood Hate New York?

2009-12-01T21:58:00.000-07:00

Awesome.

I love Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T00:00:00.002-07:00

It may be my favorite holiday. It's secular, delicious, and with low capitalist sellout potential.

Just be careful with how you gloss over the whole Pilgrims thing.

Happy Thanksgiving all.

Just a rant.

2009-11-13T13:25:00.003-07:00

I am gently amused/annoyed that whenever something in the news cycle makes white people scared of Islam, my Muslim father suddenly has a lot of speaking engagements advising church groups how not all Muslims want to kill everyone.

It's always some group of Presbyterians or something, and they're always so proud of themselves for reaching out to Muslims by asking my poor father the same stupid questions over and over again. There's also often an uptick in interviews with the local news or newspaper. "Look, a Muslim, and he doesn't have claws or fangs or a bomb or anything! He's black and speaks Spanish and drives an SUV!"

It's also the only time anyone at the fairly conservative masjid in town calls him looking for help (there's been a growing split in the Muslim community here between conservatives and liberals. Which I think is great! I mean, the community is growing large enough to support two different masjids, there's no reason to smoosh everyone together. Not even in Albuquerque is Islam a monolith).

My father is happy to do these things, and in fact sees it as his duty as a Muslim. I however, find it annoying. Which is probably part of the whole being an atheist thing. I don't suffer foolishness very gladly.

YouTubing, atheist sermon edition

2009-11-07T11:04:00.003-07:00

Happy Carl Sagan Day!

RIP Claude Levi-Strauss

2009-11-03T11:21:00.002-07:00

What a full life!

I always liked his work on art the best. What's the quote about art and the tools to appreciate it being made in the same shop? Something like that. I swear, I've seen that line quoted in a billion different ethnology papers.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T20:02:00.001-06:00

From my sparkly Fairy Princess.

Welcome to my bloodstream, H1N1

2009-10-30T18:13:00.002-06:00

I didn't want to get left out of this pandemic. By the way, swine flu sucks. Don't catch it.

Although Tamiflu apparently kicks the swine flu's ass. Abbie was better after one dose. Gotta love modern medicine.

Stay klassy, guv.

2009-10-28T10:43:00.001-06:00

Governor Schwarzenegger asks if you seek Amy.

His office swears (pun intended) that it's unintentional. But reading down the lines, it sure looks like California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger dropped an F-bomb on his critics in the California State Assembly.

San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross show how, in a veto message, the guvernator's words line up so that if you read down the left side it spells out ... well, we can't write what it spells out. Let's just say it's a pretty common two-word combination in which the first word is four letters long and begins with "F" and the second word is three letters long and begins with "Y".

I'm still waiting for him to go all "Thulsa Doom, you killed my father!" on someone.

Look what we did!

2009-10-26T14:01:00.001-06:00

The porch of awesomeness is open for business.

New Glasses

2009-10-20T19:58:00.001-06:00

Eh? Too 1995?

Best. Lawyer. Ever.

2009-10-02T14:12:00.003-06:00

So the people behind the satirical website GlennBeckRapedAndMurderedAYoungGirlIn1990.com are, shockingly, being sued by Glenn Beck. Putting aside, for the moment, the tediousness of yet another rape=hilarious joke (not!) issue, which, honestly, in this situation I could kind of see myself arguing both sides of (but, you know, with the whole Roman Polanski thing going on at the same time, don't even fucking get me started), the dude's lawyer in this case is full of sheer win.

Quoted from the NPR article:

"Only an abject imbecile could believe that the domain name would have any connection to the Complainant [Beck]," Randazza writes, taking issue with both Beck's legal argument, as well as his politics. "We are not here because the domain name could cause confusion. We do not have a declaration from the president of the international association of imbeciles that his members are blankly staring at the Respondent's website wondering 'where did all the race baiting content go?'"

Snerk. Love it!

Also from the same article, my second favorite of those "Hitler yells" clips from the movie Downfall (which is actually a really excellent movie and if half the people who see these clips actually see the movie than it would be awesome).

My favorite is still the one where he finds out about the giant space squid getting taken out of The Watchmen. Hee!

Which, to go completely off on a tangent, makes me think of Inglourious Basterds, which I finally got to see. Awesome movie, perhaps even the best Tarantino movie since Pulp Fiction, if not so far. The only thing that really, really bugged me was that the best (and arguably the main) character was left out of the ad campaign entirely. I'm guessing they were going for the same demographic that makes the tedious rapes jokes (i.e., the young male internet set) that they figured wouldn't particularly identify with Shoshanna the vengeful female. Which is stupid, because that character is archetypal to a lot of things that demographic likes, and because it would have been cool to have a realistically badass woman feature strongly in pop culture for a change.

See, isn't she awesome?

Consider my ears wormed.

2009-09-29T22:51:00.001-06:00

Pro: Exposure to They Might Be Giants seems to have cured Abbie of her Kraftwerk addiction. Con: Abbie is now addicted to They Might Be Giants.

Sigh. Someday I will be again allowed to listen to a song, once, and them move on to another, different one.

Three year olds are loud

2009-09-22T15:56:00.001-06:00

But cute.

Awesome

2009-09-17T14:55:00.000-06:00

Kanye West is a jackass, Mr. President. No slack needed.

USA! USA! USA!

2009-09-13T12:30:00.004-06:00

**added** But wait, there's more!

Very Country Joe and the Fish, no?

And here's the official website for Paul Hipp.

Youtubing, Youth Indoctrination Version

2009-09-08T19:20:00.003-06:00

Via daddytypes, videos from the new They Might Be Giants album, "Here Comes Science."

"Science is Real." Can I get a woo hoo?

"Electric Car"

And my personal favorite: "I am a Paleontologist."

Hooray for Pachycephalosaurus! (Song starts at 0:55.)

Obama-doctrination Day!

2009-09-07T13:52:00.003-06:00

So right wingers are in a tizzy over the President's speech to schoolkids tomorrow. And it's not like I don't understand. Would I like it if George W. Bush made a speech to my kid about, oh, I dunno, how awesome preemptive war is, or how tax cuts for the rich totally worked? No.

Would I *read* said speech to make sure it actually contained such content before having a hissy fit and making a damned fool of myself on camera? Yes. But that's just me. I'm rational like that.

(Also, I don't think the mere idea of my child just being exposed to differing political beliefs would make me burst into tears. Cheesus, people, get a grip! Do you really have such little faith in your own parenting skills that your kids can't even *hear* a different point of view?)

Obama's speech tomorrow has a perfectly acceptable, bi-partisan message about working hard and staying in school. But that's beside the point.

It has nothing to do with what Obama says. It's the fact that he exists, that a bi-racial president with a funny name exists, that bothers these people. That's what they don't want their children to see. That's what's making princess blondie burst into tears. Her racism.

Someone in my Facebook feed made the point, in today's Shamwow hard-sell advertising culture, why do they even bother pretending? Why just not come right out with it? Birthers, Deathers, people preaching the coming doom of "Obamunism," just say what you really mean. Black men scare you.

The President follows internet memes!

2009-09-03T21:45:00.001-06:00

I am amused to note that President Obama's Facebook status now reads: "No one should die because they cannot afford health care, and no one should go broke because they get sick. If you agree, please post this as your status for the rest of the day."

Now if only he were in the position to do something about it.

I'm back

2009-08-24T20:17:00.003-06:00

With like nuclear fallout sunburn. Ouchie.

Here's the pics. Not even the really great looking ones do the place justice. If anyone ever offers you a trip to Kauai, run, don't walk to the airport.

Gone Fishin'

2009-08-17T00:46:00.001-06:00

Off to Hawaii. Back in a week!

It's depressing 'cause it's true.

2009-08-15T22:50:00.002-06:00

Indian film mega-star Shah Rukh Khan, in the US to promote a film he made about racial profiling, is detained for questioning at the airport.

I'm sure it wasn't motivated by racial profiling at all.

In a less depressing/more hilarious vein, apparently the cops harassed Bob Dylan, having no idea who he was. Even Abbie knows who Bob Dylan is, ferchrissakes.

Weird Dream Last Night...

2009-08-15T12:09:00.002-06:00

So last night I dreamt I was back on stage at my old high school theatre playing Berger from Hair: The Musical, dancing around with Beverly D'Angelo while Claus von Bülow watched me sing "Manchester England, England."

Then, I realized Beverly D'Angelo was from the movie, not the play.

Then I realized Claus von Bülow was from Reversal of Fortune and it should actually be Claude Bukowski.

And then I woke up and the news told me it was the 40th anniversary of Woodstock and that probably explains the whole hippie thing somehow.

Anyway, in honor of my weird dream and hippies here is my favorite song off the soundtrack, from a German revival of Hair set in a modern-day circus. Enjoy.

Oh, and here's a clip from the movie.

Everyone Listen to the Nice Young Lady

2009-08-08T17:38:00.002-06:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Please, frightened old middle-American conservative white people, understand that Barack Obama does not want to eat your Grandma. Or you. If you're going to act all crazy about patent falsehoods, please do it about something that won't cost my family affordable health care and be a Birther. At least the Birthers are entertaining.

Why I Love New York

2009-08-08T16:24:00.002-06:00

A cool bald lady shakes it in front of a drum circle and horn jam in a subway station while someone in a dolphin plushie outfit offers "Free Bouncy Rides."

I miss living in a real city. Via daddytypes.

You knew it was just a matter of time...

2009-08-05T18:00:00.001-06:00

The Kenyan Birth Certificate Generator!

Somebody call Orly Taitz!

Movits!

2009-08-03T22:17:00.000-06:00

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Movits! - Fel Del Av Gården Music Video

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Biraciality and other odds and ends

2009-07-31T23:03:00.002-06:00

So I'm just barely now reading Barack Obama's Dreams from My Father, a birthday present from my dad last year (before the election was over), and I'm honestly impressed. (Although I do feel kind of dorky reading a book by the president. USA! USA! USA!)

I mean, I'm not even past the introduction and I'm nodding in agreement. Let me quote this paragraph:

When people who don't know me, black or white, discover my background (and it usually is a discovery, for I ceased to advertise my mother's race at the age of twelve or thirteen, when I began to suspect that by doing so I was ingratiating myself to whites), I see the split-second adjustments they have to make, the searching of my eyes for some telltale sign. They no longer know who I am. Privately, they guess at my troubled heart, I suppose -- the mixed blood, the divided soul, the ghostly image of the tragic mulatto trapped between two worlds.

And let me say that I have had exactly this feeling before.

Another thing I watched recently is volume two of The Black List on HBO. (No, I have not yet fully clued in to the fact that I can't afford cable anymore. Petty indulgences are the American Way!) Here's the trailer.

Anyway, Maya Rudolph is in it, and she talks about being biracial, and how everyone always wants her to choose, and actually, she doesn't have to choose, thankyouverymuch. And I've had that feeling too.

Which made me think of the several occasions that I've had to choose, for Abbie, when filling out this or that government form for this or that government program. The first time I had to fill in the little spot next to "race" I didn't know what to put for her. I mean, she's Irish-German-Italian-Afro-Cuban-Chinese. Where's that bubble? I remember trying to explain to the lady behind the desk and getting a blank stare in return, and an insistence that I had to fill in something. I just put "white" on these forms now, although it doesn't feel right at all.

Anyway, back to my book, although I hope to leave enough of it for beach reading. Have I mentioned I'm going here in a few weeks? (Thank you, Dad! Best graduation present ever! Summa cum laude, bitches!) Any recommendations for nice places to eat on Kauai that are also cheap and not touristy? I hate being a tourist, it makes me think of this movie (come to think of it, though, I don't know that, other than a honeymoon in San Francisco, I've actually ever been a tourist). Although, damn, do I need a vacation like, right now. I think my mind is already there, waiting for my body to join it.

Perhaps the best thing to happen in the history of events.

2009-07-30T10:47:00.001-06:00

No, really.

William Shatner reads Sarah Palin.

I broke a tooth...

2009-07-25T19:03:00.001-06:00

*pout*

and *ouch*

It's summer and we're bored

2009-07-21T05:16:00.007-06:00

And we own a camera!

Stay cool and remember your sunscreen.

So I'm going to Kauai in August.

2009-07-17T18:19:00.003-06:00

My graduation present from my father and stepmother is a trip to the ludicrously beautiful island of Kauai.

Yay!

Which means I have to buy a bathing suit.

Boo!

What I really want is this but even Esther Williams thinks I'm too fat to wear it.

Actually strike that. What I would actually feel comfortable in is this, but I don't feel like giving my money to people who think the clothing choices of women serve as "stumbling blocks" to others. I'm considering this paired with these as a substitute, but since I can't afford any of it and am only getting a bathing suit because my sister is making me and my mom said I could put it on her Lane Bryant card, I will have to go with one of these, none of which I like and if I might like a few of them they don't come in my size.

Sigh. I don't *need* a bathing suit, do I? I'm not even a good swimmer.

Meant to post this last week.

2009-07-11T12:09:00.001-06:00

But I've been busy. There are a few lingering things I wanted to say about Michael Jackson. For posterity, I guess.

I was a kid in the 1980s, when Michael was at the (post-pubescent, anyway) height of his stardom, back when his fey elfin qualities seemed cool and not creepy, and before his obvious taste for facial plastic surgery went beyond affectation and into the realm of disturbing self-mutilation. My father bought "Thriller" (on cassette tape!) the day it was released and played it relentlessly. Like many black kids of the 80s, Michael Jackson was an icon of my youth. So the news of his untimely passing should have been more striking to me than it was.

But it failed to elicit more from me than a sense of confusion, that such a character, a creature made entirely of tabloid photos and courtroom allegations, would die so suddenly. One half expected a 90-year-old MJ to have himself cryogenically frozen alive, awaiting a future where new noses could be grown from stem cells and doctors had discovered a cure for vitiligo. To die of cardiac arrest at age 50 didn't seem *weird* enough. But it wasn't sad, per se. I think what happened is that the cool, slick Michael of my childhood died long ago, right about the time Elvis's daughter dumped him and he started naming children he conceived via surrogate after himself. The Michael that influenced Usher and Justin Timberlake was already long gone.

That is, until the final moments of his circuslike, televised funeral service, when his eleven-year-old daughter began to cry for her lost daddy, whom she loved so much. Then I realized that Michael was not a lost style icon or misguided pop star, but just a regular human being like the rest of us who left behind a saddened family in the wake of his departure. This is the fate that awaits us all. The transformation of the young, stylish, talented Michael Jackson into the bizarre Norma Desmond-like figure of the latter half of his life was tragic, but it can't compare to the loss of a child's father.

I, for one, welcome our new crow overlords.

2009-07-08T17:10:00.001-06:00

New Caldonian crown makes a tool out of a piece of wire. Neat!

YouTubing

2009-06-26T11:42:00.002-06:00

The "All-Abbie, 'Cause-its-your-birthday" Edition

And because she's a strange German Electronica-loving monkey:

Good Times.

2009-06-26T10:48:00.001-06:00

Perhaps my favorite dance sequence from my favorite movie ever to include a donkey sex show scene.

Well, there goes this news cycle.

2009-06-25T17:39:00.002-06:00

So, Michael Jackson died. It makes me feel kind of old.

But I hope this doesn't keep us from talking about more important things.

Neda

2009-06-23T18:04:00.003-06:00

Yeah. This.

I mean, I feel nothing but 100 percent solidarity with the people of Iran protesting for reform, but the sort of ghoulish thrill people are getting watching her bleed to death over and over again is seriously disturbing to me, more so than similar previous videos of Oscar Grant's shooting I've posted myself here.

I think it's because there's no record of the crime committed in the video, or of the criminals who committed it. It's just a woman dying horribly. It's like it's written in the passive voice.

I don't know. It just makes me sad that this woman had to die in order to be an icon for the people of Iran. Because it seems to me that the living Neda was pretty awesome.

RIP Neda. I'm sorry agents of your government murdered you. I'm sorry video of your death, what should have been an intimate, private moment between you and your loved ones at the natural end of your life, is being shown without your permission to a world full of creepy rubberneckers. I'm sorry you were so quickly abstracted into a symbol instead of a person, like you were some kind of sacrifice on the altar of democracy or something. (And I'm sorry if the thought of accidentally killing people like you wasn't enough to keep certain politicians from singing "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran!") May peace and solace come to your family as soon as possible.

I'm sure everyone has heard about this by now.

2009-06-11T11:38:00.002-06:00

But I'm especially saddened by the shooting at the Holocaust Museum in D.C. because for me it was the location of my Obama inauguration experience. Tragedy and triumph, so close together.

I actually remember asking a nice black male security guard for directions that day. I wonder if he was the man who was shot.

I wish I had something pithier to say on the subject.

Happy 0th Birthday!

2009-06-11T11:37:00.000-06:00

To my new stepcousin, Logan! Wow, two new babies in one week! What the heck was going down nine months ago?

Happy 0th Birthday!

2009-06-09T02:05:00.001-06:00

To my new niece, Rory Teagen Gatsch!

screams

2009-06-08T12:50:00.001-06:00

Umm, yeah. Even as a Sesame Street segment, Twin Peaks remains the freakiest thing ever to appear on television.

Battlestar Galactica = Good

2009-06-05T00:44:00.006-06:00

So I've been watching BSG on dvd. How come no one told me this show was so dang good?

I kind of feel like it would have been better to see as it was coming
out, though. It feels very very much about the Bush years, in a way that's almost triggering.

(I've also been watching a lot of random independent documentaries from the past few years that occasionally show our last president at work, and each and every time I get a little catch in my throat, like a mixture of sadness and relief. Obama's not perfect by a long shot, but seriously folks, out long national nightmare is over.)

Oh and can I put Starbuck in the same category as Angelina Jolie's
character in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow? The, "Vanessa *swore* she was straight" category?

Ahem. Apparently I have a fetish for butch white women who fly future planes. Who knew? Is there a complicated latin word for that? Is it related somehow to my thing for Sawyer on Lost?

I'm only on season two, again, which is apparently when I feel the need to announce these things to the internet. Nobody spoil me this time either.

Because I think we all could use a good laugh.

2009-06-02T22:45:00.002-06:00

My new favorite obsession: literal videos. Try not to laugh until you pee, I dare you.

And this one is the best because, wtf is this video about anyway?

RIP Dr. George Tiller

2009-05-31T13:50:00.004-06:00

An act of terrorism was committed on American soil today.

Dr. George Tiller was an American Hero. May his murderer rot in jail forever.

Feministe has a list of links up to places you can donate in Dr. Tiller's memory.

**added** Read this commenter's account of a personal experience under Dr. Tiller's care.

Qte

2009-05-30T00:29:00.000-06:00

Go ahead and squee. Abbie and Coco, my mom's new puppy.

Youtubing

2009-05-29T09:59:00.002-06:00

The "Ahhh Summertime" edition.

For me, summer and music are linked. That's true for everyone, right? I mean, in summer you have the time to blast loud music and dance around in your kitchen or something. (Not that I've been wasting my time on that recently, not while I need to put together a CV and try to find a real job, no siree.) Summer needs a soundtrack. So, here goes.

Firstly, because it reminds me of my misspent youth, and driving around in blisteringly hot weather for no reason in a crappy car when gas was cheap with all the windows rolled down while blasting the radio, and maybe later drinking a slurpee with rum in it (or maybe a frosty with whiskey in it) while lounging about on the front porch.

The Clash - "Rudy Can't Fail"

This one's for Abbie, who continues her weirdo love for Kraftwerk and all things roboty and electronical.

Kraftwerk - "Music Non Stop"

And because it's a good song, and in honor of being suspicious of any government who so readily denies civilian death tolls without letting anyone investigate, (methinks the lady doth protest too much) there's this one.

M.I.A. - "Sunshowers"

I've been finally watching Battlestar Galactica on DVD this summer, and quite like it, but I really like the music, funnily enough.

Bear McCreary - "The Dance" (not a particularly exciting video though)

And finally, because its the best summer song ever, (although here they are performing it the year I was born...neat!) and also optimal for kitchen dancing purposes.

The B-52s - "Rock Lobster"

Apparently

2009-05-23T12:39:00.000-06:00

I apparently actually graduated summa cum laude, not magna cum laude.

I promise to stop talking about graduating now.

Fascinating.

2009-05-22T15:51:00.004-06:00

I'd known about the original Solomon Linda version of Mbube (or "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" for the culturally appropriative amongst us) but I'd never heard it. I had no idea it was an isicathamiya song (a la Ladysmith Black Mambazo). At least it seems to be that way to my Western ears.

Thought that was interesting, anyway. Just being an ethnomusicology nerd. Professor Feld (look, you're in wikipedia!)would be so proud.

Class Privilege Meme

2009-05-19T15:33:00.004-06:00

From Daisy's, this is originally an in-class exercise that's been adapted to blogging.

For blogs, bold the following facts that apply to you:

Part I, when you were in college:

Father went to college
Father finished college
Mother went to college
Mother finished college
Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor. (Semi-estranged aunts and uncles.)
Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers
Had more than 50 books in your childhood home
Had more than 500 books in your childhood home
Were read children's books by a parent
Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18
Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18
The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively
Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18 (still don't have one)
Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs
Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs
Went to a private high school
Went to summer camp
Had a private tutor
If you have been to Europe
Family vacations involved staying at hotels
Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18
Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them
There was original art in your house when you were a child (by relatives, not by recognized "artists"--but it WAS original!)
Had a phone in your room before you turned 18
You and your family lived in a single family house
Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home
You had your own room as a child
Participated in an SAT/ACT prep course
Had your own TV in your room in High School
Owned a mutual fund or IRA in High School or College
Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16
Went on a cruise with your family
Went on more than one cruise with your family
Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up
You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family

Part II, in childhood:

If your body does not bear long-term signs of malnutrition. (Like Daisy, I have major teeth issues)
If you had orthodontia.
If you saw a doctor for anything other than emergencies or school-mandated shots.
If you heated your home with clean-burning fuels or had properly vented heating.
If you grew up in a house without vermin.
If you had running water.
If you had a basement or foundation under your house. (sometimes yes, sometimes no)
If you had an indoor toilet.
If your parents and immediate family were outside the criminal justice system.
If you yourself remained outside the criminal justice system.
If your parents had a new car.
If you never went barefoot so that you could ’save your shoes for school.’ (I don't think my paranoid mother would have allowed going outside barefoot, lest we step on something fatal or something.)
If your parents never argued in front of you about having enough money for food to last out the month.
If you ate hunted and fished meat because it was a recreational activity rather than as the major way to stock a freezer.
If your laundry was done at home in a washer rather than in a lavandaria. (Laundromat)
If your hair was cut by a professional barber or hair stylist instead of your parent.

______________________________________________________

Counting correctly this time, I get eighteen. I don't know how I feel about this meme. I kind of feel it's too vague to really measure anything. I don't know that having books is a class privilege thing, honestly. I know plenty of upper class people who don't read, and plenty of poor people who obsessively collect used paperbacks (me, my father, my husband). And getting read to as a child also seems to have little to do with class (well, other than maybe working such long hours you don't get to see your children at all). Ditto going to museums and stuff.

While I think that it *is* a privilege to grow up in a family that cares about education and knowledge, I kind if think it tips towards negative stereotyping of the poor to suggest that caring about books and reading is something that only the middle class does. Is that good-parenting privilege, then? As a parent now, I can see the thousand little tiny ways my parents, who were both working and getting their masters when I was born, and who both came from working-class backgrounds (my father grew up in the projects of Spanish Harlem, my mother was the daughter of a plumber and a widow), must have busted their asses to provide the kind of culturally-rich childhood I managed to have.

An important one to unpack from your knapsack, sure. But not the same as class privilege.

**added** It occurs to me that this might be another one of those things that growing up in New Mexico, where we're all pretty much poor and the division between the classes isn't so sharp, and education at state schools is relatively cheap for residents (hell, you can get your pre-recs fulfilled for a couple hundred bucks for a few semesters at CNM, the local community college, like I did), might affect my worldview. I've found it also affects my point of view on race issues sometimes, as in New Mexico everyone is brown and race is not mapped so tightly to class (or education level) as it is elsewhere. Hrm.

Done!

2009-05-16T18:29:00.000-06:00

Done for reals yo!

Long fricken day. I'm going to take a nap for the rest of the
afternoon, now that I'm officially unemployed and not just a student.

Woo-hoo!

2009-05-14T17:40:00.002-06:00

So I took my last final today. I got a cap and gown (that fits - don't ask).

Woo hoo!

Now I just need to figure out what to do with the rest of my life.

For the moment, though, this sums up my mood.

Hey, I really do love college

2009-05-03T17:45:00.002-06:00

So I'll finally have my BA in a few weeks. Anyone who knows me personally knows how hard it's been for me to get this done financially (it's taken several tries over a decade). I won't say that I'm not feeling a little maudlin about it, kind of like I'm getting laid off of my job or something.

But it does make me kind of want to give Asher Roth a spanking. Oh, for you college is just an opportunity to party while presumably living off your parent's dime? No trying to juggle a job, childcare, real bills, and a marriage with your freaking homework? How nice for you!

Although, come to think of it, I should thank Asher Roth and other peddlers of the drunken college student culture. Thanks to the fact that most of my classmates spend all of their time staying up all night partying, wake up late, then doing it again it's that much easier for me to make magna cum laude level grades. It'll be that much easier for me to make it in to grad school! So thanks, Asher Roth, for thinning out the herd a bit!

Republicans say the darndest things...

2009-04-26T09:28:00.002-06:00

The stupid...it burns!!! I'll never understand why people who don't know what they're talking about think that if they just say something with enough arrogant conviction, it will make it true.

Via Pharyngula and Scanners.

RIP Bea Arthur

2009-04-25T21:02:00.001-06:00

I can only hope that when it's my turn to go there's footage of me singing to drunken aliens to play at my wake.

YouTubing

2009-04-21T11:48:00.002-06:00

"I'm feeling like it's Summer already" edition.

Cheb Khaled - Alech Taadi

(You might recognize this song from a certain late 90s Bruce Willis movie about an element.)

The Aggrolites - Banana

You might recognize this from a show with a magical orange D.J.

Dil Se - Chaiyya Chaiyya

Some Bollywood action for you.

Mahotella Queens - Umculo Kawupheli

I've posted this before, but I lurve it, so deal.

Desmond Dekker - The Israelites

Classic.

Hrm. Apparently I'm feeling international about summertime.

Hey, dumbass.

2009-04-20T15:19:00.003-06:00

The problem, you see, and the reason why everyone is so up-in-arms about the whole issue, is that, with four exceptions, you don't live in a country where people can choose between same-sex marriage and "opposite marriage."

But you know, thanks for playing. Don't call us, we'll call you, etc., etc.

Lookout, the fat lady is pissed!!!

2009-04-20T12:01:00.003-06:00

You know what I hate? Whiny skinny people complaining about sitting next to fat people on the airplane.

Because you know what? However uncomfortable those 700 complainers were that United Airlines is claiming to be fighting for with their new no-fatties policy, I can guarantee the 700 fat people they were sitting next to were about ten thousand times as uncomfortable.

Oh, maybe the fatties shoulda thought of that before they gained all that weight, eh?

Here's a similar argument: Maybe poor single mothers should have just kept their legs closed so teabagger taxphobes can avoid having to pay for their children.

Maybe Arab guys should just stay out of the sun until they're pale and can pass for Jewish, and not frighten the nice white ladies so much.

Maybe gay people who wanted to get married should have just acted straight!

Look, reality tells us that, for *whatever reason* there are fat people in this world. And if you really think that being fat is *just* a sign of overeating, sill, in the meanwhile, there are fat people who will need to travel for various reasons. And unless you want to invent a time machine for fat people to travel through at security, so they can stop themselves from getting fat before they get on the plane, then fat people deserve to sit on the plane just like the tall guy whose legs splay out into the aisle, or the broad-shouldered who have to put their arms over the seat, or they crying children who are just as uncomfortable as everyone else, or the cobags who recline their seats all the way back until they're looking up the noses of the people behind them, or the people who drink on the plane and then act really annoying, or the people who deign to be Muslim and obvious about it, or whatever.

Because let's face it, like the security checkpoint dance, this is theatre. The airlines are only doing this so they can continue their fucked-up business model where they fail to charge what their service actually costs and therefore have to overbook their flights and cram as many individuals as possible into every square inch of the plane in order to compensate. Because now, instead of begging for volunteers to give up their seats on overbooked flights, they can merely just point to the nearest fat person and have them removed, to everyone's relief.

Honestly.

How uncomfortable can it possibly be to remain in contact with someone's thigh and upper arm for a few hours of your life? As uncomfortable as having to slide your kneecaps slightly out of place so your long legs will fit in the tiny space left by Reclining Joe in front of you and sitting that way for six hours? As uncomfortable as desperately twisting your hips into the inexplicably immovable arm rest of the window seat (seriously, why does the arm rest in the middle raise up, but not the ones at the aisle or window? I'd bet the majority of the space issues would be relieved if people could raise those armrests if they needed an extra inch to spread in to) until you have an armrest-shaped bruise in your flesh, just because the dude sitting next to you keeps giving you a little dirty look every time your thigh deigns to brush his?

Please, 700 skinny whiny plane passengers, realize, you're being played. Your disgust at the existence of fat people is being used by the airline industry to hide their shady business practices. Soon, they'll shrink the seats even more and the only people comfortable will be Kate Moss and/or eleven year-olds. Don't come crying to me when that happens.

Also, airlines, YOUR FUCKING SEATS ARE TOO FUCKING SMALL AND PACKED TOO FUCKING TIGHTLY.

Rant over.

Totally Awesome

2009-04-18T23:15:00.004-06:00

I thought this was cute. Also, I want that dress Joy Nash is wearing.

I wish I could make my mom sit down and watch every Joy Nash video on the internet. Every time I talk to her she insists I'm secretly dying of diabetes and won't admit it because I'm punishing her for being a bad mother.

Honest. She wants me to go on the Dr. Phil show with her. I'm half tempted.

What is it with this show?

2009-04-16T14:29:00.003-06:00

I'm talking about the talent show "Britian's Got Talent."

Apparently Britain is populated by unassuming schlubs with amazing singing voices. I'm probably the last person on the internet to hear of Susan Boyle. But damn! Way to make me crack my jaded cynical facade!

Of course, we all remember Paul Potts. I've watched this clip literally a trillion times, and still get choked up.

What do we have to offer in return? A hot lady who shoots arrows with her feet. Which is makes me want to cry in a different way.

Happy chocolate egg eating day

2009-04-12T12:56:00.002-06:00

Remember kids, Jesus died for your sins.

Lol...teabagging...lol

2009-04-12T08:25:00.003-06:00

OMG. My face hurts from laughing.

NSFW explanation for those more pure of form than I:

Seriously, lol.

Don't worry, Republicans. Just breathe through your collective noses.

Dancing with the Abbies

2009-03-31T08:41:00.004-06:00

As you might have noticed, I have a paper to finish this morning, and am procrastinating like a mofo.

Oh those backwards Canadians!

2009-03-27T15:06:00.002-06:00

Did the lack of US-style medical care kill Natasha Richardson?

No, probably not.

But without a doubt, the lack of Canadian-style medical care certainly killed Deamonte Driver and who knows how many other Americans.

So STFU. And mebbe DIAF.

Childhood

2009-03-27T13:18:00.001-06:00

When I watched this movie trailer I was seized with such an immediate nostalgia and longing for my own late 70s/early 80s childhood that I teared up a little. It looks awesome!

Home again!

2009-03-21T22:21:00.001-06:00

Yay! Now I'm gorging on non-hospital food and am going to sleep for 29
hours.

Plucky Punk's Happy Land...Grr...Spit...

Real Americans: A Rant.

Hey there

I have a question for fans of the “Hipster Indian” look.

Happy Halloween, Bitches!

I stayed up all night reading Octavia Butler's "Kindred"

Yes, I am a Muslim-American

How little things have changed.

It's not us and them. It's just us.

Chuchu the sock monkey.

A challenge.

The power of images

Housekeeping

New Fridge!!!

We were snookered! Wait, what?

Someone get this man a cape.

On Shirley Sherrod

My fridge is broken.

Immigrants.

Another Abbie Summer

Comment moderation on

Stupid e-mail forwards

So Arizona's a police state now...

What Jesus Wouldn't Do

I've seen this movie.

Flying while Muslim and forgetful

My favorite thing so far about the Winter Olympics

Back from the Aelthing!

It's Aelthing Time!

Whitewashing and Americanization

"Haiti is a Nation of Heroes."

My Life with Abbie

Help in Haiti

RIP, Miep Gies

I have just met you, and I love you. Will you be my prisoner?

Where the HELL have you been?!?!?!

Why does Hollywood Hate New York?

I love Thanksgiving

Just a rant.

YouTubing, atheist sermon edition

RIP Claude Levi-Strauss

Happy Halloween!

Welcome to my bloodstream, H1N1

Stay klassy, guv.

Look what we did!

New Glasses

Best. Lawyer. Ever.

Consider my ears wormed.

Three year olds are loud

Awesome

USA! USA! USA!

Youtubing, Youth Indoctrination Version

Obama-doctrination Day!

The President follows internet memes!

I'm back

Gone Fishin'

It's depressing 'cause it's true.

Weird Dream Last Night...

Everyone Listen to the Nice Young Lady

Why I Love New York

You knew it was just a matter of time...

Movits!

Biraciality and other odds and ends

Perhaps the best thing to happen in the history of events.

I broke a tooth...

It's summer and we're bored

So I'm going to Kauai in August.

Meant to post this last week.

I, for one, welcome our new crow overlords.

YouTubing

Good Times.

Well, there goes this news cycle.

Neda

I'm sure everyone has heard about this by now.

Happy 0th Birthday!

Happy 0th Birthday!

*screams*

Battlestar Galactica = Good

Because I think we all could use a good laugh.

RIP Dr. George Tiller

screams