Negro Please

Hot Links & Gumbo

"Live every moment to the fullest so your life isn't hollow" - Murs & 9th Wonder, Murray's Revenge

It's weird not having internet access at home and, generally, being far too busy at work for leisure writing. I've gotten so used to regular content here, though, that I feel bad that we've gone two weeks without a Conspicuous Consumption (There's some N.W.A. talk and why "Making The Band 3" and "Run's House" might be my favorite hour of TV this summer coming, though) and a week without a Wayback Machine or a Random 10. I might get in a Friday Hodgepodge today because I really want to talk about what's coming up new on Last.fm and some other things but my link list has gotten so long that I really need to get out some Hot Links & Gumbo so, whoomp, there it is.

Newsvine - Vandross Record Coming Out After Death

There's new Luther Vandross music on the way.

Fans of the legendary singer, who died in July, can enjoy two new tracks when "The Ultimate Luther Vandross" collection is released Aug. 22. It includes the previously unissued songs "Shine," produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and "Got You Home."

mediabistro.com: FishBowlLA

Word comes from deep inside the studio that Clooney plans to revamp and carry on a new version of the shingle with Eight's former VP of Development and Good Luck co-writer Grant Heslov. And the two have reportedly already settled on a new name for their production company: Smoke House.

For those unfamiliar with its world famous garlic bread, the Smoke House Restaurant across the street from Warner Bros.' Burbank lot has long been a favorite of Clooney's, who started making regular jaunts there back in his "ER" days. A local fixture since the '40s, the Smoke House was popular with WB stars like Errol Flynn and Judy Garland, and it continues to provide a welcome respite after marathon editing sessions and long days shooting hoops with the grips.

So That Happened...: Una Pelicula Mala

And, Nacho Libre was such a waste of time and money. Not a single funny line in the movie -- only occasional amusing deliveries of unfunny lines. What an a**pile.

Chuck Klosterman on Gnarls Barkley in NY Times Magazine

But I think the main problem (and explanation for his portrayal of Ceelo as pawn in Danger's master plan) is that he seems to be wandering around with the Gnarls press packet as his only guide, so he never fully catches on that it's the mechanics of their hype, in itself, that's the key to the Gnarls Barkley story.

NOW Magazine - Music in Toronto, JUNE 22 - 28, 2006¹

No one outside Scandinavia was paying much attention to the softly sung tunes González so gently strummed on his lovely Veneer (Imperial) debut, initially issued in 2003 (recently released domestically by Mute), until one of his sweetly crooned confections called Crosses appeared in the 2005 season finale of The OC.

The Omnivore's Dilemma : A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan (kottke.org)

At first it was just little stuff, like buying local produce and banning foodstuffs made with high fructose corn syrup. But then there was the fist-fight at the greenmarket about the sausage that Meg suspected was not humanely made because the woman selling it did not know the names of the pigs that supplied the meat. "Just one name, you heartless bitch!" she screamed as security escorted her from Union Square. The restraining order prevents Meg's further presence at the market and I am barely tolerated in her stead.

Amazon.com: The Omnivore's Dilemma : A Natural History of Four Meals: Books: Michael Pollan

We needn't learn how to shoot our own pigs, as Pollan does; there's hope in other ways -- farmers' markets, the Slow Food movement, restaurants supplied by local farms. To Pollan, the omnivore's dilemma is twofold: what we choose to eat ("What should we have for dinner?" he asks in the opening sentence of his book) and how we let that food be produced. His book is an eater's manifesto, and he touches on a vast array of subjects, from food fads and taboos to our avoidance of not only our food's animality, but also our own. Along the way, he is alert to his own emotions and thoughts, to see how they affect what he does and what he eats, to learn more and to explain what he knows. His approach is steeped in honesty and self-awareness. His cause is just, his thinking is clear, and his writing is compelling.

Be careful of your dinner!

Disease Proof: NBA Star Menu Predicts Future Health Problems

Clearly Richard Hamilton and his chef are not nutritionists. His diet is designed to meet Richard’s taste preferences, not to maximize health and performance. Let's take a look at what this fit basketball player eats, we’ll do a complete dietary analysis of his meals and see if his diet comes up healthful or not.

I had my staff dietician analyze these menus with a computer software program to document the poor nutritional quality of Hamilton’s diet. For any person to expect to remain in excellent health as they age, the vast majority (meaning 75- 90 percent) of calories must come from unrefined natural plant foods, not white flour, sugar, oil and animal products. Because Richard’s diet is profoundly deficient in vegetables, beans, fresh fruits and raw nuts and seeds (high nutrient plant foods), we can use his diet as an example of a disease-promoting diet-style.

Whole Foods Market : Company : John Mackey's Blog : May 2006 Archives

I regret that you did not engage in any serious research about how Whole Foods Market actually does business or you would have discovered that we support local and small farm food production all over the United States as well as in other parts of the world. Whole Foods Market, despite its size, does not operate as a typical monolithic corporation such as Wal-Mart (with which you associate Whole Foods Market several times in your book). Our company continues to operate on a decentralized model wherein each of our 11 regions, as well as each store, has a high level of autonomy. Differences in product offerings, suppliers, and seasonal availability result in a significant variation of items on our shelves from region to region and even store to store within the same city. However, our strict quality standards, the highest in the industry, are observed with every supplier and retail outlet. In other words, you may find a variation in the types and kinds of products, but each has been screened by our rigorous quality standards.

toddkelley.net: Does Whatever A Spider Can...

One of the coolest comics i've come across is Spider-Man. I've been back tracking through the past couple years (in anticipation for the movie) and i've been very impressed. These days, Spidey's hangin' out with Tony Stark (Iron-Man), and has reaped the fruits of their friendship, in the way of a new Spidey Suit.

Ultratart: It's Got Bite: She's So Neurotic²

I'm in bed, right? And I am not one of those people who just gets into bed and falls asleep. There's a lot of routine involved. First of all, I like to read something before I go to sleep. Second, when I am working, I can not fall asleep until I figure out what I'm going to wear to work the next day. Please note that I hardly ever actually wear what I planned on. I just like to have something in mind before I go to sleep. And then, with the Outfit I Am Not Going to Wear all picked out, I like to get in ten good minutes of day-dreaming. [Night-dreaming? Wool-gathering.] These are very elaborate fantasies, generally, with detailed sets and costumes --  hang on! This entry is not about THOSE kind of fantasies, so go no further down that road -- and they often involve:  a) a romantic declaration of love, b) a dramatic fight, in which I emerge the victor, or c) a tragedy requiring some kind of hat with a veil.

¹I can't believe that fans of The O.C. were up on José González before I was. I'm getting old.

²OK, Jessica's posts are always very good but this one is so incredibly enjoyable (and mildly disturbing...it has never occurred to me in 31 years of life to have deliberate plotted day dreaming. Maybe I should do that more) that I've read it five times over and smiled and laughed each time.

Who Shot ya?! - My New Place

"Girl, close your eyes. Let that rhythm get into you." - Michael Jackson, Rock With You



I'm all moved. I'm lacking internets and my phone decided to stop working yesterday so I can't even use the *gasp* phone modem. I also have no money. In case you ain't heard, moving is expensive.

We'll see how much writing I actually get up here in the next few days while earthlink shifts my DSL service but I'll be home catching up on my tivo backlog and enjoying my lush, comfortable seating.

Come visit. Bring food and drink and a lovely housewarming gift.

And if you don't come visit me, at least go visit Joz. She and her family would appreciate your good thoughts, prayers, kind words, sympathy and encouragement.

The Wayback Machine: All That Teeters Not Told

"I'm gonna make you wanna get with me tonight" - Mariah Carey, Your Girl

All That Teeters Not Told was originally posted on May 26, 2003.

First, a quick note that SXSW featured me and last week's Wayback Machine post on Monday. What topics would you like to see during next year's conference?

The female monk asked about humor. I remarked to Miss Jones and Miss Martini last week that I missed when negro please was regularly funny. So, here we are. I don't think this is the funniest thing I've written but I like it because it covers a time in the early part of my friendship with the two funniest people I know. It features dialogue, which I generally think I'm best at writing humorously. And, really, it's a story about breasts and that is always good times. Some other posts of note: My Sense of Humor and The Last Nigger on Hiatus.

So, after a discussion of herpes and a round of fisting, a man named Teeters told me that Jen had nice titties.

But let's begin at the beginning...

Jessica had a birthday party and Jen was invited and I'm her plus one so I got to tag along. Jen told me beforehand that Jessica was excited that I was coming, which immediately put me on edge. Should I wear a whacky hat or an arrow through my head and say wocka wocka a lot so as not to dissapoint? Do I have more than 5 minutes of material? This, really, is the most important question. In a room of clever people, can you put out your fair share of punchlines and witticisms so as to not be revealed to be a boring loser?

According to Jessica, I did okay. Arm over my shoulder she said, "I just want to tell you that you're such a good kid and you're so funny and you're such a good writer and I love your website and I would totally hire you to write."

Well, when you're right, you're right. She continued on, "And I just don't understand why we don't have boyfriends and girlfriends. I mean A) We're Hot; and B) we're intelligent..."

"And 3)," I suggested, "We're so hot."

Which is so true.

What is also true is that Jessica is the most complimentary drunk ever. I was feeling really good about myself and really special until I heard similar exchanges with several others. "You're such a good kid," she would say, "And you're so funny and fuck your boss." or something to that effect to just about everyone.

I asked for clarification, "But they're not as funny as me, right?"

"They are funny but, no, not as funny as you," she whispered loudly in my ear. And then she kissed me on the cheek.

And then she and Jen put their fists in their mouths and it all went downhill.

Or uphill, if your name is Teeters and you really like to look at my friend's teeters.

Where You At (and Where I Been)?! - 06.18.06 - 06.24.06

"Hey, pardon me, I'm giving you the west side story" - T.I., King Back

The Futureheads with French Kicks @ The Music Box
As the NBA Finals came to a close tonight, the World Champion Miami Heat were played out by Tom Petty. This is a kinder & gentler NBA where, despite Mark Cuban's manic mood swings, the players and coaches ended the season talking about love and faith and family and togetherness. I'm not sure I could stomach seeing Alonzo Mourning and Shaquille O'Neal clasping hands and singing Kumbayah but this is a basketball league your (white) grandmother could love. We've got David Hasselhoff in the stands and some classic rock guitar strumming during the commercials.

If it were my NBA, though, Flash and the gang would've rode out to The Futureheads. Frenetic guitar riffs and unpredictable compositions kept together by the long-worked at harmony of a band of young men. Brothers either by blood or choice. If we're going to forego the more natural rhythms of hip-hop and dance as the soundtrack to the Association then we, at least, need to rock out appropriately. As The Futureheads, showcased last night at the Henry Fonda, their music is about spirit, energy, us and them.

For all the pace and aggression in the way they play their songs, the band is...warm. They engage their audience as friends. While Barry Hyde is the lead singer, Ross is the master of ceremonies. They would probably never say this but it seems obvious to me that he is the leader of the group. He greets us. Thanks us for being there. Encourages us to sing and clap along because Jaff would really appreciate it. He lets us know it is alright to let go. It's okay. They may have brought us just to the edge of chaos with Hounds of Love and He Knows and Back to the Sea but The Futureheads are in control. We're free to let go.

There are no solos in a Futureheads show. As discussed in URB's great piece on them this month, it is part of their manifesto. Despite Ross & Jaff's strong guitar chops and Barry's kinetic performance, they are always as one. Their hour and fifteen minute set was filled with all their best work but it felt too short. Much like these NBA Playoffs, I wasn't happy that it was over. I wanted to savor it all the more. No need to skip to the end.

That photo by Media Eater is just for Anna.

tags: the futureheads | los angeles | nba

Sunday Random Ten: Missing Album Art Edition

"Oh, Two-Timer. Two-ooooh." - Madlib, Two-Timer (The Timer)

Happy Father's Day.

My mom wants to take my dad go-kart racing but I'm nursing a bad back so if we go, I'll just be on the sidelines watching. I can deal with that.

This week's random ten is from my best of 2006 playlist which currently stands at 263 songs. I'm really obsessive about album art so it is odd that a few of these tracks are without but they are either really random mp3s from music blogs or pre-release tracks from albums that aren't quite out yet. So with that pre-amble here's my

Sunday Random Ten

1. Revolution (Parts 1 and 2) - Nina Simone
2. Lo Mein - Georgia Anne Muldrow
3. Broken Biscuit - Sia
4. Murs Day - Murs & 9th Wonder
5. Radio Tokyo - Puffy AmiYumi
6. Revenge (Main Mix ft. Grap Luva) - Pete Rock
7. The Flute Song - Tha Alkaholiks
8. Touch Me - Spank Rock
9. Sometimes In A Fall - Phoenix
10. The Charging Sky - Jenny Lewis With The Watson Twins

Get up on that Spank Rock!

Hot Links & Gumbo

"It must've been the snares that got you" - Spank Rock, Touch Me

librarymouse: To Kill A Mockingbird

"Scout, I think I'm beginning to understand something. I think I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in the house all this time...it's because he WANTS to stay inside"

SLOSHED!: The Setup

You should spend money on your bar. This doesn't mean you should spend a lot of money on your bar, but think of it as an investment. If you are going to go so far as to develop an actual entity you are going to refer to as your bar, take some pride in it. This is an endeavor for you, by you, and you should work at making it worth your time.

You can set up a small, reasonable bar for a reasonable investment. I have heard before, and would agree, that a fair expectation for a "good" home bar will cost you somewhere in the neighborhood of $200-300, depending on your tastes. A bar on a smaller scale will, naturally, result in a smaller bill.

As to stocking your bar, the bargain basement selection I am willing to entertain in liquor is whiskey and gin. Most people will include vodka in this—and I won't necessarily disagree—but you can't call it a bar unless you at least have whiskey and gin.

Gallery of the Absurd: I'm Sick of Celebrity Babies!

What's this? Why it's the $36,000 platinum and emerald baby bottle created exclusively for TomKat's mysterious little spawn, Suri Cruise. Not only is this bottle used for feeding, it was also designed as a space ship allowing Suri to escape to safety in case the evil Xenu happens to show up in her nursery. She can also use it to escape from Daddy when he starts acting weird.

?uestlove's Record Library

Amanda Blank with Spank Rock @ Spaceland



MediaPost Publications - Hit ABC Shows Generating Plenty Of Hits--On ABC.com - 06/15/2006

ABC'S POTENTIALLY GAME-CHANGING MOVE LAST month to begin streaming episodes of hit shows at ABC.com appears to have contributed to a significant traffic increase on the site in May. The site drew 8.03 million unique users in May--a 69 percent increase over the same month last year, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. (ABC says the shows, which include "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives," were viewed over 11 million times on the site in May.)

Kevin Toney

Welcome to KevinToney.com!

So That Happened...: Can You Really Have 2 Much Booty In Da Pants?

The ability to dance = my gateway drug.

African American Environmentalist Association: Environmental Effects Of Slave Indoctrination Still Here

Don't forget you must pitch the old black VS. the young black males, and the young black male against the old black male. You must use the dark skinned slaves VS. the light skin slaves. You must use the female VS the male, and the male VS, the female. You must always have your black servants and OVERSEERS distrust all blacks, but it is necessary that your slaves trust and depend on us. Gentlemen, these kits are your keys to control, use them. Never miss an opportunity. My plan is guaranteed, and the good thing about this plan is that if used intensely for one year the slave will remain perpetually distrustful.

Who Shot Ya?! - José González

"Parents gotta parent they kids to keep them out of cages" - Outkast, Reset


Not me.

I took the red line from North Hollywood to Hollywood & Vine to catch José González do a free in-store at Amoeba Music. I left my camera in the car.

Here's what I missed taking a picture of:

• The guy who couldn't stop raising his eyebrows behind his sunglasses
• The clown in full make-up and costume with balloon animals getting on the train at the Hollywood & Highland station.
• The girl with "misery" written across the butt of her jeans
• The film reels that make up the ceiling and some walls in the Hollywood & Vine station
• The anti-big business billboard above Berber Luggage
• The hot purple, black and white Nike Dunks this girl was wearing with two-tone purple and white laces
• The Red Carpet premiere of Waist Deep at the Arclight
• The Croatian Basketball Team (™ Vidalia) standing front and center at Amoeba, blocking the stage for all the little people
• José González taking the stage and saying, "Hello, My name is José González and I'm from Sweden" while wearing a "Zaire '74" tee. That's multicultural, y'all.
• The inspiration for Jason Toney and the Tone Deaf's next acoustic album title - Bald Steadman
• The Single Guy
• Anna's creme brulee
• Our snotty waitress
• The mohawk guy
• No, the other mohawk guy
• The blond who walked too straight and swung her arms too wildly while walking
• The hot ass graf on the Hilton Family Hotel Billboard
• The smell going downstairs into the Hollywood & Vine station
• Big Blue Guy and the Tupac Book Reader looking inexplicably for something incredibly intently separately but in the same direction at the same time at the Hollywood & Highland station
• Mr. Airbrushed Jeans
• Another picture of the clown because really?

This Week In...Love

"You had I all need." - Zero 7, If I Can't Have You



This Week In...is supposed to be my weekly look into socio-cultural-political issues that matter to me. Less pop, more substance. I've been trying to get this launched on Wednesdays for the past two weeks and have run into to time roadblocks every week. I'm still behind this week as it is Thursday but hat-tip to that negrophile for the jumpstart.

Loving Day Recalls a Time When the Union of a Man And a Woman Was Banned

"We're talking about hundreds of years of history, laws from the Colonial era that extended even past segregation; Alabama didn't take their law off the books until six years ago. The idea is to build it into a type of Juneteenth celebration that people observe across the country."

That may be possible, says Jungmiwha Bullock, president of the Association of Multi-Ethnic Americans, a Los Angeles-based umbrella organization that advocates for multiracial Americans on such issues as categories on census forms and mixed-race adoptions. The organization sponsored several parties over the weekend, and will host a nationwide conference call this month to plan for a major national observation next year, on the 40th anniversary. "I don't know that people know about and understand the impact of that court case," Bullock says. "I mean, how many of us mixed-race kids would have been born without it? That's a pretty fundamental change in society."

The Loving case started in rural Caroline County, Va., about 100 miles south of the District. Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter were young people in love. She was just 18. She was black and he was white. They traveled in 1958 to the District, where interracial marriages were legal, took their vows, came home and, at 2 a.m., were arrested in bed by deputies. They were prosecuted and sentenced to a year in jail. Caroline County Circuit Court Judge Leon Bazile suspended the sentence -- so long as the couple left the state and did not return together for a quarter-century."Almighty God created the races, white, black, yellow, Malay, and red and placed them on separate continents, and but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend the races to mix," Bazile ruled.

The Lovings moved in exile to the District. And then they sued.It was not until 1967, 13 years after Brown v. Board of Education ended segregated schools, that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the law.

Black Men in Interracial Relationships

Observations from a Latina/Black woman: I am from a Spanish-speaking Caribbean island...in my case, that means I am both black and Latina. So, I feel that I have a special insight in this topic. This is because I have noticed again and again that when African-American men learn that I am not just black, but also speak Spanish and come from a different culture their interest in me increases exponentially. I just feel that African-American men feel like they have a "prize" in their hands if they are not dating a plain jane African-American woman, but instead someone exotic that somehow elevates their status. I have noticed that for them it's important to brag they are not just with a black woman, but also a Latina from the Caribbean AND who speaks Spanish...they are besides themselves!!!

Kellina Craig-Henderson: Very interesting what you refer to is the extent to which being "Black" in the US is undervalued, and even denigrated. One young man I interviewed for the book talked about the way that most of friends who were Black all seemed to feel obligated to qualify their ethnicity and racial status by pointing to ways that they were "mixed." There is something very perverse about a society that leads its people to feel bad about themselves so much so that it becomes important to be something other than who they may really be. So, I would agree, that for some Black men with "mixed" women there is a certain delight in vicariously being something other than just an African American.

village voice > people > The Interview by Rachel Kramer Bussel

What's the relevance of Loving v. Virginia today? Prejudice and racism are quite alive and well when it comes to interracial couples. People think it's a preference thing—as in, "I don't care what everyone else does but my daughter is not marrying a black man." Loving Day speaks directly to that.  The more interesting stories are where people are working through their issues. One woman is white, her fiancée's Asian, and her uncle is racist against Asians because he fought in the Korean War. Because he loves his niece, though, he decided he's going to have brunch with her future husband every Sunday until he gets over it. In America, we’re used to the black/white angle when you think racism, not necessarily Asian/white or Native American/white.

Loving Day
Loving v. Virginia
Loving vs. Virginia and Same-Sex Marriage
A Revolutionary Act
Halvsie

Inter-racial dating discussions on Negro Please:
my half becomes whole (04.01.03)
* (04.02.03)

Love is love is Loving.

One.

photo jacked from Carmina Gitana.

tags: Loving Day | Loving v. Virginia

The Wayback Machine: My Fruit Has No Root

"This is our life. This is our music. It's our minstrel show." - Little Brother, Minstrel Show Closing

My Fruit Has No Root was originally published August 2, 2002.

Wow. This is waaaaay back. I went back to this post this week because of the question of the day, yesterday, over at Vox. The genealogy question still bugs me on a personal level but a lot of the feelings I had in this post have changed or been tempered a bit. I could see someone like Barack Obama as President of the United States. I know a bit more about my family lineage. I'm a lot less angry and frustrated by it all. This is probably the first of the true identity blogging, identity discovery pieces on this site. The month or so that would follow would set the tone of the site for most of it's life. This is when the rest of the blogosphere started to take notice and about a month before Joe Boxer would put this site on the national map for a day.

But damn, did I ramble a lot back then. This is an excerpt of the original long ass post. It has been edited because the quality of writing makes me cringe.

The Friday Five - Ancestry

1. What is your lineage? Where are your ancestors from?
I have no idea. First of all, we're only going to deal with my mother's side of the family as I don't know my biological dad's at all (let alone his name but that's for another day) and for matters of ancestry my adoptive father, my real dad, as it were...well, his family doesn't count at least as it relates to me. I don't think anybody in my family knows for sure. Its never talked about so the assumption is that we are just 'of African descent.' We are people without a country of origin. I know that my great grandmother was half Cherokee American Indian. Its interesting to me, though, we never discuss that side of our family, either. I wonder if this is why (courtesy christianitytoday.com):

(History is always messy, as Startup observes: West mentions in a note on the Cherokee Constitution that it explicitly denied rights to blacks and mulattoes; many Cherokees were slave holders.)

Even when I'm hanging with the American Indian, I'm a nigger? Fuck me.

2. Of those countries, which would you most like to visit?
Hmm...can't answer since I don't know although I've always had a hankering to go to Senegal. Is there some residual connection hard-lined for me there? I have no idea.

3. Which would you least like to visit? Why?
Still can't answer.

4. Do you do anything during the year to celebrate or recognize your heritage?
I mock Kwanzaa and say 'Umoja' a lot because that's the only word I can remember.

5. Who were the first ancestors to move to your present country (parents, grandparents, etc)?
Sometime in the last 400 years, somebody got shackled and put on a boat. Alex Haley didn't write about my family so I have no clue who or when that was. This Friday Five struck me because it really goes to the root of something. Ex-Girl was Italian. She didn't even do the hyphen thing. Her family was fucking Italian ova here. She knew when her family immigrated. She knew that they were from Sicily originally and that, yes, there was some Mafia shit that made them have to leave the country. She hung her Italian flag with pride. She learned Italian in school because she wanted to be connected to her culture. It gave her an incredible sense of identity to be able to make those connections and know that history.

My grandmother on my dad's side and his sister joined a movement in New York that is all about living an African lifestyle. My aunt married some guy who pretends he's a prince. He might have several wives, we're not really sure. They eat this supreme vegan diet based on 'African' traditions and they are always talking about culture and heritage and what-not when they call me collect trying to figure out how I can hook them up with some shit because I am the MTV man. But it all seems so strained and fake to me. They are connecting to a continent but not a specific people that they come from. Are they Kenyan? South African? Do their people come from the Congo? Zaire? What?

It seems like bullshit.

I don't have any connection to Africa other than that I know that sometime somewhere somebody was yanked from the land and brought here. Maybe they were sold by their king. Maybe they were captured in nets and shackled disappearing like a kidnapped child today. I don't know. I can't make a connection to some anecdotal history on the hope that it applies to me. What connection do I have to this nebulous Africa. Fuck Africa. Tell me I'm Senegalese, Egyptian, Ethiopian. Find me a story that explains how my family couldn't afford their land so they sold a son or daughter to stay alive or how white men ran through their homes with guns and whips taking what they would or how the tribe elders exchanged people for food and liquor and spices and safe passage. Just tell me something that relates to me that tells me who I am because this surmising, hoping, "well, maybe" shit don't work. Amistad and Roots are nice stories but they are someone else's history and I need actual to know who I really am. Where I really come from.

I am a man without ancestors to celebrate.

And see this is the thing: All my life I've been told to just be a proud American, that the American history is my history. And I agree. African-American, Black, Negro history in this country is amazing. It is incredibly harsh but it is amazing. But it is also very short. And nobody else here is just 'American.' Everybody else hyphenates with a country and with a history and with a story. To me that African-American hyphenation might just as well read 'former slave' 'civil rights' 'pissed off.' It certainly doesn't read 'Family from Japan,' 'Made in Korea,' 'Probably Cooks a Mean Pasta Because Her Family is from Italy.'

...

tags: archives | genealogy | ancestry | african-american

Conspicuous Consumption: The Garden & Veneer

"Crosses all over can be on your shoulders" - Zero 7, Crosses

I was all set to talk about Grey's Anatomy, Season One this week. I thoroughly enjoyed the 9 episodes of season one. I have strong feelings about all the characters. I love that it is a rich, multicultural world they live in where race isn't forgotten but also isn't dominant. These are characters that could exist in the real world. I could go off on this topic for a good 500 words but then Binns, Hardaker, Sia and José González showed up and blew my mind.

I'm actually a little underwhelmed by Sia's performances on The Garden. 3 albums in and it isn't fresh anymore. It sounds more like work and less like her usual whimsy. Great work, mind you, but the emotional freedom of their previous collaborations isn't quite there. It doesn't matter, though, because this is José's time to shine. After having Crosses and Today and This Fine Social Scene and Dreaming on constant rotation for a couple days, I picked up Veneer and got even more wrapped up.

There's something infectious about his voice. It commands attention. It reminds me of another José. González performs with the same certainty in his voice that Mr. Feliciano has on his rendition of California Dreamin'. These are just men with their guitars singing songs from their hearts. It is raw and sensitive and beautiful. And I can't quite get enough of it.

But maybe my masculinity is ashamed of all this beauty as this week I'm obsessed with the gangsta rap of my youth and have taken to listening to N.W.A., Ice Cube, Compton's Most Wanted, DJ Quik and Eazy-E constantly at work.

But that's for next week.

This week, I also consumed:

1. Grey's Anatomy - Season 1
2. Capote
3. Morning

tags: all consuming | zero 7 | José González