Negro Please

Hot Links & Gumbo

"Y'all niggaz be scramblin, gamblin/Up in restaurants with mandolins and violins" - The Notorious B.I.G., Notorious Thugs

African American Environmentalist Association: Congressman Al Wynn Should be Proud of Energy Vote

Congressman Wynn has been right on all of our needed local projects, including National Harbor, the Woodrow Wislon Bridge replacement, the Intercounty Connector and the Blue Line Metro to Largo Town Center. Wynn voted against the Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act this summer that would authorize additional offshore oil drilling. Prince George's County, as the richest majority black county in the country, is well represented on energy and environmental policies by 4h Congressional District Congressman Albert Wynn.

Jack and Jill Politics: Al Wynn Wants to Lose -- Which Is OK with Me

Donna Edwards is waging a strong campaign against Rep. Albert Wynn in a critical Congressional district that happens to be home to a large base of affluent, well-educated black people. She's a great progressive candidate who is pushing Wynn on votes that have hurt blacks in the long run such as his support for the Iraq War -- a vote he now concedes was a mistake.

Fusicology v3 - Your Source for Progressive Music News and Event Listings

August is turning out to be a great month for quality urban music as Common’s “BE” album and Gnarls Barkley’s “St. Elsewhere” both go PLATINUM!

Rick Ross teams up with Ohword.com for exclusive remix - Oh Word¹

“Rick Ross? DUMB NICE! I was getting pretty bored with my Gnarls Barkley CD and was wondering where all the rapping was this summer when I heard Ross’ album. Did you hear him on Blow and Boss? You can’t make up shit like that, it’s just too funny.” wrote a prominent blogger. “I always thought Cam’ron’s rhymes were the funniest rap could get but clearly I was wrong. Ross sounds like a mix between an overweight walrus and Young Jeezy, I can’t wait to play this shit for my frat this fall, they are gonna CRACK UP!”

Wired News: Judge Halts NSA Snooping

The Bush administration's warrantless eavesdropping on Amercians' telephone and internet communications is unconstitutional and must stop immediately, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

apophenia: Save Your Space

Save Your Space is a website created by a Southern California organization called "The Friends of MySpace" (not affiliated with News Corp). They have put together a petition against DOPA and they're trying to collect signatures of people of all ages who are opposed to the legislation. If you are (and you damn well should be if you're reading my ramblings), please take a moment to sign. And then pass it on.

NJ.com

"There's a way all African- American males learn, particularly when we're in a professional environment, to modify our behavior," said Darryl Hughes, who lives in Neptune and works as corporate director for community and senior services at Meridian Health. "It's tone of voice, attitude, speaking style, dressing style. It's really our whole persona. We take measures not to be seen as the threatening black man."

The CIA-Contra-Crack Connection, 10 Years Later - Los Angeles Times

Most of the nation's elite newspapers at first ignored the story. A public uproar, especially among urban African Americans, forced them to respond. What followed was one of the most bizarre, unseemly and ultimately tragic scandals in the annals of American journalism, one in which top news organizations closed ranks to debunk claims Webb never made, ridicule assertions that turned out to be true and ignore corroborating evidence when it came to light. The whole shameful cycle was repeated when Webb committed suicide in December 2004.

Rox Populi: I Got Yer Dark Alliance Right Here

Lore has it that the LA Times was pissed because The Merc broke a story in its own backyard. WaPo and the Grey Lady were pissed because they weren't going to have a 2nd rate news outlet from ComputerLand kick their proverbial asses.  A handful of alternative newsweeklies reprinted the series. Then, under pressure, The Merc bailed on Webb.

Overtime: Learning from a Legend

I was curious to hear Russell's take on those issues. Russell said he hasn't read the book, but he responded to a few of its points when I brought them to his attention. (My take, especially in regard to the title: I think black athletes are often exploited and kept out of the power circles, but I don't think it's appropriate to use slavery or plantation imagery when it comes to sports because slavery was about the destruction of identity and the complete denial of options. A college scholarship or a pro sports contract is a great opportunity, one that slaves never had. You can only be exploited if you allow it to happen. Guys like Bill Russell didn't allow it to happen.)

Cavaliers Blog: Bizzaro ball

The arena is more like an auditorium with carpet that swallows sound and there's almost no echo because I think the building doubles as a concert hall. So even from the second deck you could hear things going on down on the court and on the U.S. bench. Especially when Mike Krzyzewski cussed out his team after a lethargic start in the first quarter.

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¹Peanut Butter Jelly Huster is the funniest thing I've heard all week.

Friday Hodgepodge

"We been too strong for too long." - Mary J. Blige, Be Without You

Good News
A year ago, I left television. Today, I'm back. (more on this at a later date)

Danity Kane Update
Since I can't escape the dainty kaners, I might as well join them. SOHH calls out Diddy for letting Cassie suck ass on stage while our five mini-divas had to go through hell and high-water just to put out a record. Meanwhile, I might have joined them but I haven't really joined them. Doesn't someone want to see what they are saying about me on aubreyoday.com's message boards?

Negro Please's Big Day(s)
There have been 4 extremely popular days on this blog (extremely popular in this case means at least 5 times the normal traffic). The biggest continues to be when Slate got all excited about Joe Boxer. Then I got Kottke'd with my Can't Stop Won't Stop review last year. This year, I said thank you on behalf of some evil bitches snarky friends and they said thank you right back. And, now, thanks to the Sunday School Sexpot, I've been metafiltered. I've been filtered before but never quite like this. I wasn't going to post more about Kelly but this revelation that she's issuing some vitamin water of her own is too good to pass up. Speaking of Kelly, 1/2 of those evil bitches snarky friends thinks I have to watch From Justin to Kelly (which airs pretty regularly on the channel, actually). In honor of all the traffic she's brought me and the new gig, I just might.

Metal Skool with Kelly Clarkson

"I followed you last night. I saw you turn your lights out." - Stars, Going Going Gone

This is officially the whitest thing I have ever posted. Heavy Metal, Yellowcard, Jack Daniels, Wild Turkey and Kelly Clarkson in a fucking cardigan but this is proof positive that Kelly is the only American Idol that matters.

And I will not suffer any hating of the Clarkson on this site. That chipmunk-cheeked proactiv wearing sunday school sexpot is the future of pop.

Via RockInsider.

Update: Title of the post changed to reflect correct spelling. Hi Metafilter!

Who Shot Ya?! - 40s Era Black Folks

"See a black man dead from a white man's powder, see a white man scared from a black man's power" - Timbaland & Magoo, Up Jumps Da Boogie

Seeing color photos from historic times is totally mind blowing. More at kottke.org

This Week In...Black People Dying

"My people. My people. My people people p- people."  - Mos Def, Know Both Sides

I was trying to figure out why this post on the African American Environmentalist Association blog bothered me so much yesterday:

The burning loins of youth are particularly hard to restrain, but the reasonable young mind should realize that sex strictly limited to the institution of a faithful marriage is the best place for sex. The safest place too. Thus, it is better to marry than to burn. So get married and be faithful to your mate. Sexual freedom has led to enormous pain and suffering in America. The Woodstock Nation got this one completely wrong. The black community should just get back to the garden. And if celibacy is too much of a strain, then get married and remain faithful. The AIDS problem will have no effect on you. We know. You say naive. But Nancy Reagon was right and the hippies were wrong. The solution to this problem is really simple. And in a generation it would be solved.

Thankfully, Ed Gordon's African-American roundtable yesterday (although it makes no mention in the summary) helped shine some light on why. Several of the guests pointed out that the key problem with this kind of argument is that it treats HIV/AIDS as a societal ill instead of a health care crisis. AIDS is the #1 killer of Black women aged 25-34.

We don't ignore lung cancer or cardiovascular disease (or judge poorly those who contract them) despite the fact that people can make the choice to not smoke and have healthy diets and exercise daily to prevent or severely decrease the chances of contracting those diseases.

The AIDS pandemic doesn't get solved with high-horse morality. It gets cured with cheap, effective medicine and responsible health care initiatives.

Contest! Cirque Du Soleil Delirium Soundtrack

"Every movement carried much mystique" - Jamiroquai, You Give Me Something

With all the Danity Kane traffic I've been getting the past few days, I should probably be giving away the 2006 Bad Boy catalog or something right now but since my Momma is currently out doing costuming for this show and in honor of So You Think You Can Dance's season finale this week, of which Delirium choreagrapher Mia Michaels has been a big part, I'm going to give away a copy of the soundtrack.

This may, in fact, be the very first negro please contest. I may have given away tickets or something early in the life of this site but who can remember back that far?

Anyway, the Cirque Du Soleil show is currently on an arena tour and is described like  this:

DELIRIUM depicts the quest for balance in a world that is increasingly out of sync with reality.  The arena production centers around a character named Bill, an ordinary man who lives inside a bubble, a recluse in a society where even relationships are “virtual,” and where television and computers have become ubiquitous devices that isolate us from one another.  Everything in Bill’s urban life further draws him into an imaginary, virtual world.  On his journey he meets myriad characters that bring him little by little on the cusp of growth and change.  He eventually learns to ground his energy into the real world.  At the end of his voyage, Bill contaminates the people of his planet and enlists them in his quest for balance.  The subtext of DELIRIUM is the notion that in life, we must join together to escape our solitary cocoons in order to survive.

Well, doesn't that sound complicated?

Check out some of the music and if you like, go ahead and enter after the jump. And when you go see the show and you're admiring the excellent construction of all the costumes on the male dancers, think to yourself "That's Jason's Momma!" and be proud like I am.

And jealous.

That damn woman's been cooler than me my entire life.

Tivo-ing While Black

"I'm here for you, my dear, what do you need?" - Sleepy Brown, Margarita (featuring Pharell & Big Boi)¹

I think my Tivo is racist.

Okay, hear me out. Maybe racist is too strong a phrase but why are there always several episodes of Martin, The Wayans Bros., Good Times and The Jamie Foxx Show available in my suggestions folder? I mean I get why I get Pimp My Ride and Wild 'N Out, I am the one with Making the Band 3 and Run's House all up in my top 10 of subscriptions but The Wayans Bros.? Really? I appreciate you, Tivo, when you save Deep Cover or Fresh or some other early nineties hood flick for me. Deep Cover is one of my all-time favorite movies and there's a big nostalgia factor for all those Gangsta joints but I don't really know how you know that.

Okay, so I do love saying "Awww, Gina, Damn!" (or "Awwww, Damn, Gina!") and have been bringing that back into my lexicon of late but nothing, at least not that I can tell, in my TV viewing habits suggests that Tivo should know my secret obsession with that show.

Are you racially profiling me, Tivo?

But maybe I'm just sensitive and what I really should be concerned with is Tivo's psychic abilities. On the same day that I was reading this random Jeopardy nonsense, Tivo decided to record an episode of Jeopardy.

Cue creepy "Final Jeopardy" music now.

Is this like Pulse? Is homeboy from Old School and 2 Fast 2 Furious going to try to suck me into my television?

Damn, I need to get out more.

No "Where You At?!" events this week, at least not today. I have a lot of family and friend obligations so I won't be doing too much hanging out but it has given me a little time to start looking towards the fall. There's some good stuff coming that will get me away from this prejudiced ass possessed idiot box device.

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¹Can we get a Sleepy Brown full-length some time? All the one shot singles have been fire and this one is killing me right now.

Sunday Random Ten: High Blood Pressure Edition

"Now I rock the house party at the drop of a hat." - Beastie Boys, Shake Your Rump

I'm debating starting a health/diet blog or maybe integrating some of that content here as after a year of being told every time I get my blood pressure taken that "it's a little high" I'm attempting to do the most important things I can to improving that number - lose the extra 30 or so pounds I'm carrying, decrease my salt intake and up the number of fruits and vegetables in my diet. We'll see. I'm working on some full on hypertension at 31. Not cute. Particularly not cute in a black man as heart disease gets us and gets us quick.

Out of 3600 songs filling all my "Best of" lists, we've got ourselves a

Sunday Random Ten

1. I Originate - Pete Rock & Deda
2. Mr. Telephone Man - New Edition
3. Steady Mobbin' - Ice Cube
4. Ever After - Seek
5. Aquemini - OutKast
6. After the Rain - John Coltrane
7. Baile Funk One - M.I.A.
8. Sophisticated & Coarse (feat. Eska) - Ty
9. Memories - Eisley
10. Light - Burn Burn

10 in 52: Cinnamon Kiss

"You are what you love and not what loves you back." - Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins, You Are What You Love

Cinnamon Kiss by Walter Mosley (Little Brown, 2005). Blogging.la put together a list of 25 fictional Angelenos. They counted down with Mr. Miyagi ending up as number one (and Fred Sanford making an appearance) but I'm not sure whether or not it was really a ranking meant to be some kind of empirically deduced statement on the characters that make up the imaginary of our fair city or if it was just 25 characters that tickled the crew's fancy. Either way, my own list would've included Kate Spencer, that other Steve Martin creation, Jake Gittes, the entire ensemble of Six Feet Under, Doughboy and Easy.

What is fictional Los Angeles without Ezekiel Rawlins?

You already know what I'm going to say in the review. My favorite author with my favorite character in his continuing journey through late 60s Los Angeles is always outstanding. Cinnamon Kiss, however, is particularly compelling in the way it wraps the very gripping mystery around the Summer of Love in the Bay area and an America that, once again, has changed around Easy, although not quite as much as it thinks. Mosley is subtle and lyrical. Easy is always Easy but this Los Angeles isn't always what we expect. Characters we've known for many many chapters are surprising yet true to themselves and Easy, once again, is the man I might aspire to be.

Without Ezekiel Rawlins, I'm not sure I would understand the rhythm of this city as much as I like to think I do. There is no fictional character more aware of the racial climate of LA than he is. There is no character more built on the fabric of this environment than him. He conveys all that this city represents: hope and sex and danger and complexity and mystery.

If I'm creating my own fictional Los Angeles, the Mayor's last name is Rawlins.

We want Easy!

Hot Links & Gumbo

"I'll chop you in your throat til you choke on the answer." - Murs & 9th Wonder, Murs Day

On a path: Blogher 06: A Study in Criticism

I've enjoyed reading the criticism and the criticism of the criticism. It's help me think about, define and pinpoint if and why I want to attend BlogHer and why or why not I support the conference. This post isn't about me though. Really all it's about is my belief that people who tear down other's works without giving support and trying to make the works better are mean and I wish they would instead be constructive and helpful. That extends to people who tear down people brave enough to openly criticize but with a view toward making things better. If you're speaking about someone else's life, experience or feelings I just don't see how saying "you're wrong, I'm right, my experience was wonderful and special so shut up about it" can possibly help anyone. It's because I've become too much of a pansy I know but being helpful to others, being part of communities and trying to do good for others in that community have all become very important to me. It's seems that BlogHer is trying to do all of those things. If they stumble, if they falter, I hope that people are there to point out the failures but also the strengths. I hope that people are there to try to make things better for everyone who wants to participate. In short I hope that community building, constructive criticism and a desire to help others overtakes the desire to flat out slam, put down or snarkily criticize both in regards to BlogHer and in other areas of our life. Hippie pipe dream? Maybe. But I like it, I embrace it, I claim it as my own.

Asia Pacific Arts: The Many (Soul) Sides of Oliver Wang, Part One¹    

Southern California-bred and Northern California-identified Oliver Wang began hosting a well-mannered but also completely raucous show on KALX-FM radio in Berkeley as a hyphydunkulous undergraduate. From there, he went on to become a well-respected hip-hop journalist and a hip-hop internet pioneer, mixing it up with savants and idiots and idiot savants alike on many a Usenet board before becoming one of the first bloggers to give away (good) music for free. Paradoxically, such blatant middle-fingering of the RIAA only made him more legendary. He has since settled down, established worldwide credentials with a book called Classic Material (his spectacular and groundbreaking history on Filipino DJs is on the way!) and with his newly established professorship at Cal State Long Beach, will have mentored an entire group of Yellow B-Boys and B-Girls, who refer to him as the "Yoda" of postmodern Asian American culture. I don't know why he likes the Red Sox.

    -- Jeff Chang, friend, fellow critic, and Oakland A's fan

soul sides: SONGS OF OBSESSION: "LA MURGA" + "WATER GET NO ENEMY"²

I've listened to a decent amount of Fela's stuff over the years but I either just let this slide past my radar or missed it completely but now I'm completely obsessed with it. I was instantly infatuated with it and here's why: like most of Fela's biggest Afro-funk songs, this track unfolds with a steady and sublime patience that reveals depths to the rhythm that might go otherwise missed unless you have the advantage of a longer view. But like "La Murga" what also makes the song such a pleasurable listen is how Fela brings in an electric keyboard...a softer, gentler sound for a song writhing in such thick rhythms and (once again) a monster brass section. The main riff are the horns (just like in "La Murga") but it's the piano that deepens the song's personality and elevates it towards the sublime. Even though the song is nearly 11 minutes, I've put it on repeat over and over and simply lounge into its folds. Heavenly.

Garth Trinidad: Tacos, Por Favor

    

I like to get coffee at a place called Magee’s Donuts in Hollywood.

    GT: I know that joint. Highland and… Santa Monica?

   

Yeah. Little dive but cheap.

    GT: Good?

   

Yeah, good coffee.

    GT: When I’m in the neighborhood I’ll have to check it out.

   

Strange characters there. Transvetites like to hang out there. There and Benito’s.

    GT: (laughs) A good friend of mine calls that corner ‘Babylon Square’… “Yeah, going down to Babylon square… gotta run an errand over there…” It’s all the trannies, man. Throws you way off.

   

Last time I was at Magee’s there were three or four of them hanging out right outside. We actually sent a food reviewer to talk to the trannies, buy them donuts and find out why the hell they’re hanging out there. She went five or six times and still came back empty-handed. She could never find any. Said they weren’t there.

    GT: They’re always there! If they’re not there, they’re at the taco stand like two doors down.

   

Yeah, Benito’s! We’re going to have to send somebody else out there.

    GT: (laughs) Somebody with some balls…

Taco » project: Whatcha Like ~ Los Angeles³

I went to Project: gallery’s “Best of Readers’ Choice” show/party last night (08/05/06).

In Hand. At Heart.: Everything I needed to know about life, I learned from Pretty In Pink    

4. Otis Redding is really the absolute greatest soul singer that has ever lived and died. Just ask Duckie. He'll tell you.

    5. Smoking in school, while brazen and bad for you, looks really hot when you get away with it.

    6. Cherish close friends and the differences you share without ever compromising your convictions or intentions.

    7. Walking into a room holding hands with someone you love is always better than walking in alone.

The FADER Magazine - Make It Work

Since the casting episode from the current season of Project Runway, Michael Knight from Atlanta has been our favorite competitor because of his gentle vibe, level head, flashes of humor and (most importantly) consistently strong designs. The only problem has been that dude has not been getting enough camera time. Last night's show changed that. Recently Project Runway has been plagued with some suspect judging calls and we're not going to spoil anything for the folks who still have the episode in their TiVo lineup, but we will at least big up Michael for bringing the phrase "Captain Save A Hoe" to Bravo.

SwanShadow Thinks Out Loud: Only Weekend Warriors need apply

"If you want to be in my band, you have to be a member of the NRA, and you have to love to kill stuff. That's why we're here."

 

Why “Content” Has Become a Dirty Word | Copyblogger

The longer I publish online, the more I dislike the word “content.”

Writing is Fighting: Let's talk about race...again

Then I thought, I'd like to be him. Have his balls (figuratively, that is). To have the courage to keep on doing what you do in a world that doesn't want to talk about race, to see and comment on the inequalities and injustices of the world, deal with black folks that would rather shove their heads up their ass and 'forgive and forget' rather than face the harsh reality that we ain't free and that we deserve the same respect as everyone else......... I want to be like Spike.

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¹A fitting re-introduction to the back again So. Cal soul man.

²See what I mean?

³This is the art show we drove past but didn't go in to last weekend.