Uppity-Negro.com

From a fairly old E! Online interview with Joss Whedon (and if you don't know who Joss is, you're visiting the wrong site. . .)

Do you ever think the show's title has deterred some people from checking it out?

Yes, I think that's probably true. The network always said it would be a problem and desperately wanted to change the title. I believe that anyone who isn't open to a show with this title isn't invited to the party. I made the title very specifically to say, "This is what it is." It wears itself on its sleeve. It's sophomoric, it's silly, it's comedy-horror-action; it's all there in the title. Having the metaphor to work with makes the show better, and having the silly title makes the show cooler. At least to me.

I am never going to apologize for the name of this site again.

Ok, not that I was apologizing before, but. . .

Saw the quote in one of the essays in Fighting the Forces: What's at Stake in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which I've been reading off and on for a while now.

It's. . . well, it's a collection of fairly scholarly essays about a television show. I'm not sure there's any point reviewing such a thing.

I did, however, want to introduce it.

Foreshadowing: your guide to quality blogging.

Posted by Aaron at 9:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (13) | TrackBacks (0)

So, I found out a few days back that I qualify for the Illinois Veteran Grant Program, which "pays tuition and certain fees for either undergraduate or graduate study at all Illinois public colleges, universities, and community colleges."

Which is an open door that I'd not previously been aware of, or had forgotten about.

And now I'm wondering if it might not be in my best interests to go back to school for. . . something. I'm undecided about what. Er, and undecided about going back in the first place, as implied by the first sentence of this paragraph.

Are IT Certifications really any good for anything these days, or would it be better to try for something nice and reliable, like heating & A/C repair or a trucker's license?

What?

Defensive humor notwithstanding, I'm honestly not sure what's the best thing for me to do at this point. Obviously, graduate school and law school are also options, but I'm looking for something more short-term, and with more immediate possibilities. Any helpful advice would be greatly appreciated.

Posted by Aaron at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (17) | TrackBacks (0)

Funny how these things work out.

Ok, "funny" may not be the word I'm grasping for here.

From The Pittsburgh Courier During World War II An Advocate For Freedom - vvcampaign.org:

Shortly after America’s entrance in to World War II, The Courier launched "The Double V Campaign" (Double V). Under the theme of "Democracy: Victory at Home, Victory Abroad" The Courier remained patriotic, yet pushed for civil rights for blacks. It was very important that the campaign show loyalty towards the war effort, since the black press had been criticized for pushing their own agenda ahead of the national agenda.

And half a century later, we still haven't quite managed to get that "Victory at Home" bit working properly. Maybe next war. . .

Although, according to Barbara Ehrenreich, we did strike a victory for socialism in Iraq this last one.

Did I say socialism? Make that democratic socialism, verging on utopian anarchism. In President Bush's vision of the ideal state, there will be perfect democracy combined with a sweetly forgiving attitude toward wrongdoers. Already, Iraqis are free to demonstrate by the thousands, shouting, "Americans get out!" and even ruder things. Commenting on the looting that swept Baghdad in the first days of that city's invasion by U.S. troops, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld stated (defense lawyers please take note): "It's untidy. And freedom's untidy. And free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things."

That's not, I suspect, what Rumsfeld was saying after the rioting that followed the Rodney King decision.

Interesting comparision there. You know, an enterprising international affairs consultant could probably make good money doing a global search and replace on The Kerner Report, substituting "Iraqi" for "negro" and presenting it as. . . nah, that's crazy talk. Besides, any talk of plagiarism just opens the door for discussion of J*ys*n Bl**r, and nobody wants that.

Well, I don't anyway.

Want to know more? There's a brief bit about the Double V Campaign at World War II and the Origins of the Modern Civil Rights Movement: Outline:

The Double-V campaign was the response of African-Americans to World War II. In the aftermath of World War I, in which W.E.B. DuBois and the NAACP's call for African-Americans to join the war effort in hopes that they would be rewarded with increased civil rights upon their return, the NAACP and the nation's black newspapers urged blacks to simultaneously support the war against fascism and to work for racial justice at home.

Malcolm X's avoidance of military service is mentioned a bit further down the page. Today is his birthday, and it's mostly being observed in the traditional fashion of ignoring it altogether. I expect I should wrap this up with some fiery quote of his about fighting in the white man's war or somesuch.

Here I am, back in Mecca. I am still traveling, trying to broaden my mind, for I've seen too much of the damage narrow-mindedness can make of things, and when I return home to America, I will devote what energies I have to repairing the damage.

But I'd rather not, if it's all the same to you. That's from a letter to James Farmer, from the Malcolm X Speaks page at GilScottHeron.com.

Struggling against narrow-mindedness seems like a contribution to that ever-elusive Victory at Home.

Brief update, of a sort: Odd, that the editors at The Courier felt it necessary to very demonstrably "remain patriotic" and "show loyalty towards the war effort" while offering a critique of (some aspects of) American society.

Ok, "odd" may not be the word I'm grasping for here.

"Surprisingly contemporary?" No, that's two words. . .

Posted by Aaron at 9:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (1)

My sister, who has a job and therefore can waste more time surfing the 'net than I can at this point, sent along a link to Salon.com Technology | Rent-a-negro.com:

Eight months ago, damalia ayo, 31, an artist in Portland, Ore., had reached her limit of answering infantile "What is it really like to be black?" questions from her white friends and acquaintances.

"You can't put yourself in those situations anymore," ayo recalls her mother counseling her. "You can't just be everyone's Rent-a-Negro."

Maybe not. Or, at the very least, she could start charging for her services.

Launched on April 20, ayo's satirical site rent-a-negro.com, invites companies, nonprofits and individuals to hire her, "a creative, articulate, friendly, attractive and pleasing African American person" to attend their picnics, focus groups, or nights out on the town.

Well, I expect I could fake the articulate, friendly and pleasing bits while trying to steal customers. . .

The article, by Katharine Mieszkowski, notes that ayo has run into the same problem as those wacky kids at Black People Love Us!, a large slice of the populace that just doesn't get the joke.

Oddly, these are precisely the sort of people who should be purchasing her services. I'm not sure if this is Alanis-type irony or the real kind.

Posted by Aaron at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBacks (1)

In another life
You might have been a genius
In another life
You might have been a star
In another life
Your face might have been perfect
In another life
You'd drive a better car

In another life
All your jokes are funny
In another life
Your heart is free from fear
In another life
You make a lot of money
In this other life
Everything is clear

In another life
You're always the hero
In another life
You always win the game
In another life
No one ever cheats you
In another life
You never have to change

In another life
Your friends never desert you
In another life
You never have to cry
In another life
No one ever hurts you
In this other life
Your loved-ones never die

But this is the life you have
This is the life you have
This is the life you have
This is the life

In another life
You're always the victim
In another life
You're always the thief
In another life
You are always lonely
In this other life
There is no relief

In your real life
Treat it like it's special
In your real life
Try to be more kind
In your real life
Think of those that love you
In this real life
Try to be less blind

This is the Life, by Living Colour, from the album Time's Up.

Stop me, won't you, if you've heard this one before: I'm moving from Minneapolis back to Chicago.

Was there a betting pool on this? And if not, why not?

Kidding aside, this wasn't an easy decision, but it seems like the best thing to do right now. I could try explaining why that's the case, but a) I'm not comfortable discussing some of the reasons in public, especially given that other people are involved, and b) I'm still working this out myself.

It's a very long drive. Lots of time to think about things.

I'm borrowing Heather's copy of Loreena McKennitt's Elemental for the trip. So, I'll be back to return that at some point.

(Yes, I could mail it back, but where's the fun in that? And besides, I'm also kind'a leaving quite a bit of furniture, a stereo, probably a computer monitor. . . I know, I know, it's called a U-Haul, I'll look into it)

There may be an interruption in updates. Something else you've doubtless heard before.

Posted by Aaron at 6:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBacks (1)

Just found out about Girlamatic.com by way of Kris Dresen's site, because I suck.

Girlamatic describes itself thusly:

Girlamatic.com features webcomics (mostly) by women, (mostly) for women. It's not about busting anybody's, um, balls, though. It's about good webcomics. If you like good webcomics, you'll like girlamatic.com. And girlamatic.com will like you!

Reminded of Kris twice recently, by the preview art at Dwayne McDuffie's blog and the link to her livejournal over at The Comics Journal: ¡Journalista!.

I honestly don't remember the last time I bought comics, by the way.

Did read the Warren Ellis interview over at (ick) slashdot, linked by the man himself at Die Puny Humans. Bit worried about Nowhere Girl getting slashdotted, which is why that ain't a link. As I've mentioned before, it's well worth a look, but I have no idea how Justine is paying for the hosting.

(Is it worth noting that I managed to be totally unaware of Web Comics Awareness 2003 back on Cinco de Mayo? And Cinco de Mayo, come to think of it? Nah.)

Instead of comics or webcomics (except Narbonic, when I manage to remember it), recently I've been reading, um, Healing Anger: The Power of Patience from a Buddhist Perspective by The Dalai Lama, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf by Ntozake Shange and Building Wireless Community Networks by Rob Flickenger.

I mentioned the randomness in the title, yes?

Posted by Aaron at 10:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Used to write about that too at some point. The odd free software installation doesn't technically count.

Let's see, spent most of the week working at a M*rsh*ll F**lds warehouse on a temp assignment, unpacking the material displayed at their London Flea Market. There's something slightly surreal about unwrapping a china set worth more than you're going to be paid in a week and placing it on dusty industrial shelving. . .

That was meant to last the week, but self-defeating speed demon that I am, I managed to finish up around noon yesterday. Yes, there's a sense of accomplishment, but also a sense of screwing myself out of another day and a half of pay. Note to self: be a slacker while working, not while looking for work.

I emailed the temp agency letting them know I was Free (more or less), Black (more or less) and over 21 (more, definitely more), and let them know I'd be in today to drop off the time card and pick up a replacement check we'd discussed earlier in the week.

This would be the check they'd tried mailing, and which failed to materialize either here or back at the office for several weeks. They put a stop payment on it and cut a new one.

And, I was informed in an email reply, sent the replacement to me by mail before I could come in to get it.

I have not yet written back to ask, "You gotta be fucking kidding."

And the problem is, if the stupid thing doesn't show up, I can't afford the high explosives that obviously, desperately need to be planted in the temp agency office. And if it does, well, I still couldn't afford the explosives, the thing ain't that large, but then again I'd feel less need for massive property damage.

Huh. Again, no conclusion. Must be rusty at this stuff.

Posted by Aaron at 8:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

I did used to write about that stuff, didn't I?

Y'know, like I'd link to, say, Jim Crow revived in cyberspace by Greg Palast and Martin Luther King III, pointing out that I noticed the piece at BlackElectorate, and quote some relevant bit of the thing:

In the two years before the [November 2000] elections, the Florida secretary of state's office quietly ordered the removal of 94,000 voters from the registries. Supposedly, these were convicted felons who may not vote in Florida. Instead, the overwhelming majority were innocent of any crime, though just over half were black or Hispanic. We are not guessing about the race of the disenfranchised: A voter's color is listed next to his or her name in most Southern states. (Ironically, this racial ID is required by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a King legacy.)

[. . .] Voters whose name, birth date and gender loosely matched that of a felon anywhere in America were targeted for removal. And so one Thomas Butler (of several in Florida) was tagged because a "Thomas Butler Cooper Jr." of Ohio was convicted of a crime. The legacy of slavery -- commonality of black names -- aided the racial bias of the "scrub list."

And then add some snarky comment or other. An attack on Katherine Harris' makeup, perhaps.

I'm not saying this isn't a serious and very disturbing direction for the country to be headed in -- and the focus of the article is looking forward to the effects of the "Help America Vote Act," which might replicate the Florida debacle nationwide unless something is done about it -- but as the title of the article states up front, this is an old battle.

And given our current system, it's hard to work up much enthusiasm for fighting for voting rights. God knows most people in this country who have them don't bother using them.

The problem is, the old battle wasn't really won. I don't get the feeling that the civil rights movement was about racially integrating an otherwise-unchanged society, and I think I lifted that phrase or that entire sentence from a much better author, so please don't quote me, and if you can find an attribution, let me know.

And as usual, I have no conclusion for this, because I haven't made up my mind on things yet. There was much defeatist nonsense, edited out because it looked morose even to me.

Right. More coffee for me.

Posted by Aaron at 8:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (1)

Ok, just compiled a version of links with Javascript support, and am seeing if I can actually post using it.

These things never go well, so this entry may not appear, or may appear several times.

Update: Or, shockingly enough, it may work perfectly. Except for the extremely narrow text entry box, and the fact that I didn't compile in GPM support. Because I suck.

Oh, and I am not a geek. I'm just looking through the docs to see if I can set up Emacs as an external editor because, um, I'm curious about these things.

And adding GPM support meant installing libgpmg1-dev on top of everything else. . .

Plus, running through wwwoffle brings up the problem of edits not showing up, and I'm really not looking forward to tweaking the settings for that so either my own site doesn't go through the proxy, or it just bypasses the cgi directory. . .

Why are you looking at me like that?

Closed captions for the friggin-old computer impaired:

• links is a text (and possibly graphics) mode browser
• wwwoffle is, well:

  a simple proxy server with special features for use with dial-up internet links. This means that it is possible to browse web pages and read them without having to remain connected.

• GPM is:

  a mouse server for the console and xterm

• And Emacs stands for Eight Megs And Constantly Swapping

Aren't you glad you asked?

What's that

You didn't?

Oh.

Posted by Aaron at 1:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Seeing as someone who shall remain nameless -- unless you wanna chime in in the comments -- forwarded me a note ages ago about the Trump Tight Bid Whist Tournament, taking place June 6th through 8th at Pocmont Resort & Conference Center.

Won't be attending myself, because I suck, but perhaps someone out there is interested.

Or there's a number of other tournaments coming up that might be closer to home for some visitors.

Or not.

I'm marginally better at Bid Whist than I am at Go, but this really isn't saying a hell of a lot.

Posted by Aaron at 10:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ok, doing the searching-old-entries-and-hitting-links thing, a sure sign that I should not be at the computer. Did see that Nerdbait.com was updated fairly recently, after getting to The Nerdbait Forum by way of the brought-back-April-1st-and-I-missed-it Warren Ellis Forum.

Oh, and a link there to some Buffy Wrap Party photos. There is Amber Benson-y goodness, which the world needs more of.

Mind you, that last link took me to Ghosts of Albion:

London, 1838. As Demons swarm across the land, William and Tamara Swift must fight to find the wound in the Heart of London - using magic, intelligence, and the help of some long-dead friends.

Written by Amber Benson (Tara Maclay in Buffy) and Christopher Golden, Ghosts of Albion features a stellar cast, including Jasmine Hyde and Rory Kinnear, plus cult legends like Anthony Daniels, Leslie Phillips and Emma Samms.

Ghosts of Albion is our first fully animated webcast. It was animated by Cosgrove Hall - the people who brought you classics like Dangermouse.

If you recognize the name Anthony Daniels and you fondly remember Dangermouse. . . well, I just described myself, so I guess I can't insult you too badly. But still.

Anyone watched any of the episodes? Don't think I'm in the right frame of mind for the thing right now.

Update: Saw a brief article in Girlfriends (the issue with some Buffy cast members [including Amber Benson] on the cover and Heather in an ad on the inside) noting that Hothead Paisan is back as a comic strip, but cannot find anything about this online. Odd, that.

Also, today's Boondocks made me laugh like a hyena.

That is all.

Posted by Aaron at 9:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Not just for the employment and room-for-rent ads, but for the TV section. Then I wouldn't read about things like this after the fact:

Kids'WB! has revealed that the Static Shock episode "Toys In The Hood," guest-starring Superman, will air on May 3rd, 2003.

[. . .] And don't forget, Static Shock's on twice May 3. At 9:30am (ET) there's a rebroadcast of "Hard As Nails," guest-starring Batman, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. The same day, at 10:30 am (ET) it's the all-new "Toys In The Hood," guest-starring Superman and Toyman.

That first bit is from an article at Toon Zone, and the last from Static creator Dwayne McDuffie, who switched over to Anil Dash's employers' system for his news page, which is a neighbor of Shock and Awe, something else I should be reading more often.

Managed to forget to check Christopher Priest's blog for a while, too. He recently posted an essay explaining why chriscross is one of the greatest comic book storytellers alive and why dc & marvel are wrong about him. Which, for those of us who enjoyed the man's work on Blood Syndicate (put aside your prejudices and give the book a try despite the name; back issues should be dirt cheap if you can find 'em), is something that doesn't need explaining.

A man of enormous mirth and enormous proportions, Cross is also a man of deep and inspiring religious conviction who has waited patiently-- too patiently-- for his moment in the sun. Regrettably, in this business, the cards are somewhat stacked against him, with the race card being fairly near the top, and the You've Been Around Awhile But Haven't Had A Big Hit card being likely at the very top.

But he felt it needed to be said, and does a great job saying it, so have a look.

Also noticed on Dwayne's blog that today is/was Free Comic Book Day. Well, I missed last year, too.

Posted by Aaron at 6:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

Mind you, a cloud went across the sun just as I typed that sentence. . .

Any road up, Qwest/MSN to the contrary ("Operating system: Mac OS 8.6 and higher but not Mac OS X," they claim), you can use OS X with MSN DSL. Which is how I put together this very entry, and had a nice AIM chat with Michelle and the gent who runs Soul Solid, which I just added to the links over yonder.

What they probably mean is that their techs will be utterly useless if you call in with a problem setting up OS X. Seeing as they seem to be utterly useless no matter what, and that even I managed to get the thing working (hell, I managed to get it working with Debian with minimal effort'n'research), this says more about the quality of their support personnel than anything.

Before I head out, there's a longish Chomsky piece up at Znet:

The question is wrongly put: they do not “hate us,” but rather policies of the US government, something quite different. If the question is properly formulated, however, answers to it are not hard to find. Forty-four years ago President Eisenhower and his staff discussed what he called the “campaign of hatred against us” in the Arab world, “not by the governments but by the people.” The basic reason, the NSC advised, is the recognition that the US supports corrupt and brutal governments and is “opposing political or economic progress,” in order “to protect its interest in Near East oil.” The Wall Street Journal and others found much the same when they investigated attitudes of wealthy Westernized Muslims after 9/11, feelings now exacerbated by US policies with regard to Israel–Palestine and Iraq.

Nothing new to anyone paying the remotest bit of attention.

Hmm. This needs editing. Unfortunately, I need sunlight and fresh air more.

Posted by Aaron at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Not sure if it's my bookmarks being wonky or their site not caring for lynx, but it's been a while since I've been able to read MediaChannel.org | News Dissector Web Log:

Happy May Day. If you are a worker outside the United States in many parts of the world (save China this year because of SARS) this is a holiday you mark by marches and meetings It was an actually a holiday birthed by activists and anarchists in the US in the 1880’s as part of the fight for the 8 hour day which is now being eroded.

Like many a progressive innovation, May Day was soon negated. Labor Day at summer’s end was conceived as a safer substitute to replace the whiff of insurgency in the streets with the smell of barbecue at back yard picnics. And then in 1958. May Day itself was officially proclaimed Law Day by President Eisenhower after being lobbied by the American Bar Association. And this year, we go higher, keeping with the evangelical spirit of the Messiah in Chief, Congress has proclaimed today NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER.

The History of Mayday page at the May Day 2003 site (which is in Canada, naturally) features a link to May Day - the REAL Labor Day by Jackie Dana:

All of the privileges workers enjoy today—a minimum wage, safety laws, and even an eight-hour workday—came about only with the sacrifice of the workers who came before us. Although the government prefers our collective amnesia, workers on this May Day should remember our past and realize that we too are part of an ongoing struggle to bring about an end to the exploitation of labor around the world.

If you wanted to know more.

Not sure what it means that the sole item on my schedule for today is taking a test at a (if not the) temporary agency.

Perhaps it means nothing, and I worry too much.

Had a quick look at Africana for an entry on May Day. There doesn't appear to be one, but it was a quick look. They do list the following events under This Day In Africana History:

1805: Virginia requires freed slaves to leave the state.

1925: Opportunity magazine presents its first literary awards. Reflecting the creativity of the Harlem Renaissance, prizes go to Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, and Zora Neale Hurston.

1950: Gwendolyn Brooks receives the Pulitzer Prize for poetry for Annie Allen, the first African American to win this recognition.

Among others. All of which deserve more time and attention than I'm capable of giving them at the moment.

Correction: than I should be giving them at the moment. Giles notwithstanding, attending to this site ain't exactly a lucrative income-generating way to spend the day. . .

Posted by Aaron at 8:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)