Uppity-Negro.com

I do not know how to lead them from despair
to a spring of fresh water, clean clothes
and songs to send them brightly
on their way.
Maybe I am speaking of a nation
who does not know
how to mourn the dead
and is too numb or crazy to be aware
of its own dying.

Like the title says, from Forgetfulness, one of the poems at Joy Harjo's Web Log.

Only looked her up and noticed the blog -- which hasn't been up all that long, really -- because I'd quoted another of her poems, I Give You Back, 'bout a year ago.

She'll be at the South Dakota Book Festival early next month, according to her schedule. You know, I'm almost tempted. . .

And it's nice to see there's some good coming out of all this self-indulgent navel-gazing.

Posted by Aaron at 4:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Ok, since I actually had to close comments in an old entry yesterday, the new new site policy is that people arriving here from certain links may find themselves redirected to a page consisting solely of this:

Any questions? Comments? Curse words?

Update: I do realize this might be seen as a bit harsh.

Now ask me if I care.

I'm getting in touch with my Inner First Evil.

Update 2: Okay, I like the utterly disturbing effect of combining these two. Maybe I should lay off the cold medicine.

Posted by Aaron at 2:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBacks (0)

Realized when I read over this that I never linked anyone as Warren. Guess there's no one I dislike so much that I'd both give 'em that name and actually link to their site.

Haven't used Xander or Spike either, come to think of it. Maybe I can auction off the rights. . .

Spike: The thing is. . . I had a speech. I learned it all. Oh, God. She won't understand, she won't understand.

First Evil (Warren): Of course she won't understand, Sparky. I'm beyond her understanding. She's a girl. Sugar and spice and everything. . . useless unless you're baking. I'm more than that. More than flesh. . .

First Evil (Glory): . . . more than blood. I'm. . . you know, I honestly don't think there's a human word fabulous enough for me. Oh, my name will be on everyone's lips, assuming their lips haven't been torn off. But not just yet. That's alright, though. . .

First Evil (Adam): . . . I can be patient. Everything is well within parameters. She's exactly where I want her to be. And so are you, Number 17. You're right where you belong.

First Evil (the Mayor): So what'd you think? You'd get your soul back and everything'd be Jim Dandy? Soul's slipperier than a greased weasel. Why do you think I sold mine? Well, you probably thought that you'd be your own man, and I respect that, but. . .

First Evil (Drusilla): . . . you never will. You'll always be mine. You'll always be in the dark with me, singing our little songs. You like our little songs, don't you? You've always liked them, right from the beginning. And that's where we're going. . .

First Evil (the Master): . . . right back to the beginning. Not the Bang. . . not the Word. . . the true beginning. The next few months are going to be quite a ride. And I think we're all going to learn something about ourselves in the process. You'll learn you're a pathetic schmuck, if it hasn't sunk in already. Look at you. Trying to do what's right, just like her. You still don't get it. It's not about right, not about wrong. . .

First Evil (Buffy): . . . it's about power.

From Lessons, the Buffy 7th season opener. And it started out so well, too.

Might work better on DVD; towards the end the scheduling was kind'a effed up (new episode, two weeks of reruns, new episode, rerun. . .), which might work fine with standalone episodes, but since there was an arc stretching across the lot. . .

Or I'm babbling.

Or this is similar to how I didn't really care for The Kindly Ones arc in Sandman, since I was still picking the book up monthly rather than reading it as trade paperbacks, and even Neil admits the story (and individual issues) were paced for collection.

Or I'm babbling.

Re-reading the older entries and (particularly) comments around here -- which feels oddly like revisiting a text, considering I wrote a lot of the crap -- I was bound to run into something unpleasant that I'd forgotten about.

And I have no idea how to do a post-mortem on the D*rr*n M*d*g*n invasion without sounding incredibly bitchy. Even for me.

Or, again, I'm babbling.

Posted by Aaron at 10:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBacks (0)

Or, for us low-tech types, there's the transcript:

Democracy Now! | His Holiness The Dalai Lama Speaks Out On U.S. Foreign Policy, Against the Invasion of Iraq and 9/11

AMY GOODMAN: the Dalai Lama speaking in New York this week about September 11th, about the invasion of Iraq, about the issue of freedom of speech. He also talked about Saddam Hussein and how it was important to understand how Saddam Hussein came to power and maintained that power. This is the Dalai Lama:

DALAI LAMA: It is unfair to blame everything on Saddam Hussein. Saddam Hussein without this powerful army he can't be dictator. Without military sophisticated weapons it's impossible to build a powerful army. So, these weapons are not produced there, but come from the West. And one time when the Lebanon Civil War was going on, I met one French lady. She told me in one city, one site people, innocent people killing. One site some business making business selling weapons, bullets. If you truly analyze how this dictatorship developed, from many causes, many conditions, including western nations’ own contribution. So that's my view. Since it's such a complex, it is easy to eliminate one person or small group of people, but unless very sort of carried that message realistically without emotion possibly more compassionate, more wisdom, eliminate ten people it creates hundred people. Hundred people eliminate thousand people. This would go.

So the real method is personal contact, person to person, face to face. Talk. At that time I also expressed Bin Laden also have lot of reasons to complain. Listen to his view. What's his complaint. Terrorism is a sort of mutual suffering. They’ve also suffered. Therefore, lead, listen, talk, and try to find way to solve that which is causing their complaint. That's the humane way. Therefore, after the Iraq war started, and before the war started some people from Europe also America asked me, should go to Baghdad and do something. And I thought, a Muslim capital -- a Buddhist monk go there? I don't know.

(Laughs)

Ok, think there were two reasons that event with him and Rev. Sharpton didn't get much press. He's saying the wrong things too.

None of that seems terribly controversial to me, but I also can't imagine the ideas being expressed in the mainstream media. One of the reasons I've been avoiding it for a while. And unfortunately (for me), Democracy Now! doesn't seem to be available on the air here in Chi.

Actually, now that I've checked, NIU's station broadcasts DN! and Pacifica News. Wonder if I can get that here. . .

Posted by Aaron at 8:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

He was the Last Black Blogger standing, after all.

Another flashback, because I'm still thinking about the What Does It Mean to Be Etc. Etc. thing, this time to the Great Joe Boxer Flame:

I didn't write about that Joe Boxer/K-Mart ad. Only saw it once, and it didn't make much of an impression.

George mentioned it, although he covered other material in that entry, as is his wont. Jason wrote about it a bit as well, but again it wasn't the sole focus of the entry. Only j. brotherlove dedicated an entry to it, and it was fairly brief.

That was accidental. I swear.

So, Rob Walker at Slate did an article on the the thing, and linked those three blog entries.

And I thought tourist season around here was bad. At least I only get one at a time, usually.

The tone is about the same, though. They must have all been in the same frat.

Update: Since traffic from Jason's seems to be picking up, again I paraphrase Maggie Estep. I don't got a problem with white people. Just stupid white people.

Also, Warren Ellis says to give Maggie Estep money. Sage advice, that.

Off to dig out my copy of No More Mister Nice Girl.

And the discussion continued in a thread oddly titled Yep, the horse is still dead:

George doesn't have comments permalinks; the material below which isn't linked is from the, er, discussion at his place. Probably saving quite a bit of space doing that at this point. And I imagine Jason is either going to trim more of the things (do I want to know what was in the ones you removed?), or delete the lot. A few weeks back, with much less provocation, I was strongly tempted to delete this entire site and take up knitting.

What provocation? The accusations, mostly.

Of Anger.

If black people are angry that the commercial somehow demeans them, those of you who are offended, bothered by it need to stop making everything about race.

And of Hatred.

Quit hatin'! Get some therapy or have a drink or something... Let dat shit go! Oops, I used ebonics.

OH MY GOD! It's people like (most of) you writing here that make the world so hateful. I LOVE the commercial and would have never thought anything racist was going on there.

Then there's the ritual invocation of Confusion.

Maybe I'm failing to see the issue here [. . .] I am a straight white male

I am somewhat confused as to why people would have a problem with the Joe Boxer commercial. I am white, so maybe that is the problem.

I don't understand why people have to see this as a RACE issue. I'm a white male, and maybe I don't GET IT either.

I don't want to sound like Pollyanna here...but WHY do so many people look for hatred where none exists? I just don't understand. I'm a white girl, from the suburbs

And much, much Offering of Unsolicited Advice.

Get a life. This is an underwear ad for heaven sake.

Get a clue it's an ad doing exactly what it was meant to do, and very well I might add.

Man, lighten up!

The comments I've read are making it a race issue and it shouldn't be. The sooner this sort of complaining stops, the sooner we'll be finished with race issues. We live in America and we are "one people, indivisible" as the Pledge ofAllegiance says. Who cares what color our skin happens to be... we should just all relax and enjoy each other's company.

But seriously, dont try and use racism as a card in every thing you see. The white man is not tryng to keep you down. Its far past time for the black community to do some constructive work on its image and role in society. The thug look and speech does very little to enhance the black image as a productive society member. I live in Atlanta and ride public transportation everyday. I am most times the only white man on the bus and notice that at least 50 percent of the black men onboard are trying to imitate (at least in dress and speech) this weeks favorite thug style rapper. You can't even understand what they are saying anymore, and I laugh my a-- off when they're pants fall off.

Hugh asked why I demanded original thoughts around here, and suggested that some ideas reappear because there's a grain of truth to them. Perhaps, but the lack of originality in the above quotes, and there's much much more if you're bored, isn't really moving any conversations forward, and I'm failing to see any truth in any of them.

Luckily, the angry black guys (to use John Hawkins' phrase) who post here are too closed-minded (to use Hugh's) for such chatter. Darn it all to heck.

On the other hand, we usually have discussions. Most of those posts are talking at some figment of the poster's imagination, rather than to either George or Jason. Those last links are to the afterset parties, which probably won't get nearly as many visitors. The ones in the original threads don't seem bright enough to figure their way around.

Perhaps there's something to be learned from all this, other that that Slate readers are by and large ignorant cracka-ass crackas, but I ain't seeing it.

Not sure about the full-quote links in some of those, especially with how the style sheet handles 'em. Guess I could play with that. Or try some inline style for them. Or delete this entire blog and start on making scarves for my relatives as Kwanzaa gifts.

Update: slightly altered links to comments at Jason's site. After demonstrating the patience of several saints, he finally turned the things off.

At this point, George Kelly is the Kwisatz Haderach.

Noticed that I've been thinking about this in terms of how explicitly stated Blackness affects other people's perceptions, rather than what it means for me, personally, to be a Black Blogger. Which is probably revealing in and of itself, but I still have a head cold and am thus incapable of higher-level thought.

Posted by Aaron at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBacks (0)

Saw a preview last night for Radio, which apparently features Cuba Gooding Jr. as the Magical Nigger du Jour.

Who keeps green lighting these things? Because it's almost to the point of being a fucking genre. . .

Apropos of nothing, really, notcoming.com - The Controversy of Race in Spike Lee's Bamboozled:

Lee's satire envelops a larger scope, as collective black pop culture is also targeted in Bamboozled. Commenting on the current trends in motion pictures, Lee cites the "Super Magical Nigger," exampling "The Green Mile" and "The Legend of Bagger Vance" as support. These "Super Magical Niggers use magic to help white people but can't help themselves." Later, in a dream sequence, Delacroix wins an award for the show and proceeds to do a dance on stage, a parody of Cuba Gooding, Jr.'s dance after his famous Academy Award win for Jerry Maguire. Lee addresses blacks in entertainment in general by saying, "It's the same bullshit. They bring us back, dress us up differently. Same old, same old. Like we made progress. Everything's alright."

Well, I suppose it's wrong to judge the film just from the previews. I'm sure it will defy my incredibly low expectations, and be all heartwarming and shit.

Yep.

Posted by Aaron at 10:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)

Right. Commentary. I should comment on this.

Today's topic, Chicago Tribune | No TV, book deals for this stoic hero, which may also require registration. Deal with it.

Jessica Lynch is the celebrity soldier of the Iraq war. Pfc. Patrick Miller, a member of the same company captured with her, is one of its unsung heroes.

When their convoy mistakenly drove into Nasiriyah and they were ambushed by Iraqi fighters, Miller single-handedly attacked an Iraqi mortar pit, according to his comrades.

The 23-year-old Army welder from Kansas was the sole member of the unit, the 507th Maintenance Company, to receive the Silver Star for valor. Lynch and other members of the 507th received Bronze Stars, a notch below the Silver Star.

Lynch has a $1 million book deal and will be the subject of a made-for-TV movie. Miller earns $25,000.

"His actions may have saved my life," said Army Spec. Shoshana Johnson, who also was captured in that March firefight, in which 11 Americans died and six were taken prisoner.

And up until that point, I thought they'd forgotten Shoshana Johnson.

The really funny bit is, when I saw the headline in the print edition of the paper this morning, I though the article was about her. I was initially disappointed that it wasn't, actually.

Eh, Vegas gave her the key to the city. Maybe that should be enough.

Moving beyond the knee-jerk racial conspiracy theory, the article is worth mentioning for rather completely debunking the Jessica Lynch Mythology. It doesn't attack the woman herself, and I hope I don't come off as doing that.

Point being, the article which does this is on the front page, above the fold, in the Chicago Tribune.

If I remember my Chomsky a'right, when the flit hits the shan stories that might normally not run manage to get past the ideological filters of the media. And although the Jessica Lynch Mythology has been debunked before, don't think it's been done so prominently in a major newspaper.

And you have to appreciate that they did so in a positive way, describing the actions of the guy who really did do the stuff attributed to Lynch.

Because it's also a not-so-veiled attack on the Pentagon propaganda system.

Between this, renewed interest in the lies leading up to the invasion of Iraq and the Valerie Plame affair, I might have to start following the news more closely again.

It looks like things are about to get interesting.

Update: extremely minor edit. Blink and you'll miss it.

Posted by Aaron at 9:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

But as I mentioned earlier, I'm not reading warblogs anymore. Improves my mood, my outlook, and I think my skin is clearer.

From Inga Muscio's Writing vs. Desperation: The Afterword to “Cunt”:

The day after Arundhati Roy broke my heart with her words, I went to a (locally owned, independent) bookstore where Robin D. G. Kelley was reading from his new book, Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination. This proved to be one of those instances where the universe decides it’s time to save my ass from utter despair.

[. . .] We’ve been getting shafted for a long time now. We have fought, and the freaky little white men have prevailed. The stories of our fights are glossed over in the freaky little white men’s history, which is partly how they have prevailed. Now they are poised to kill the earth, and this is not about signing petitions and attending protests. This is about eradicating fascinations with celebrities who contribute nothing to our imaginations. This is about telling our stories, poetically employing our imaginations in the actions of our every day lives. And this is about loving each other.

Which is up at Pop and Politics. Maybe I should start ripping off mining that for material instead.

Still haven't picked up the book, because I suck. Oddly, I don't give a second thought to reading something with that title in public. Well, maybe if there are children about. . .

In a similar vein, C.L.I.T. -- Chicago Lesbians Invading Taverns -- is having a second anniversary get-together this Friday. I know this, because I'm on the mailing list. I'm on the mailing list because. . . you know, that's a damn good question, because I'm certain I didn't sign up for it.

Of course, even if I wasn't on the list, an announcement also came up under the bulletin board listings on my Friendster page.

I'm seriously torn between not going and not going.

Update: Added link to the C.L.I.T. site.

Posted by Aaron at 11:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

I do wonder what the posters advertising this looked like. . .

From Sharpton Keeps Dalai Lama Waiting, Then Charms the Crowd, a probably-registration-required NYTimes article:

"As I grew older," Mr. Sharpton said as he began his remarks, "I began to understand that we are programmed to think that those with money and those with the power to execute violence are those that we should look up to. But as I got older and began to understand that Dr. King — using the love effort, using the power of forgiveness, using the power of sacrificing oneself for a great calling — did more to change America for people like me than anybody who had money or military power. Yet we don't talk about that."

That was his first big round of applause. The audience was wide awake now, and paying attention, not quite like the Sunday church audiences that usually holler back as Mr. Sharpton preaches, but getting close.

The Dalai Lama is ending a 20-day trip to the United States. He has met with politicians and community leaders and has greeted the public at workshops and seminars. He spent yesterday at Town Hall holding a series of dialogues aimed at promoting what he calls an "ethical revolution."

In his remarks, he told the audience he thinks that Americans sometimes behave childishly, "especially politicians making empty slogans."

Then, with a shrug and a golly-gee smile, he said, "Sorry."

But that was before Mr. Sharpton spoke. By the time he was done (and had told the crowd that he had made mistakes and had changed, that he was carrying on the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., that he was offering a moral vision for the future), the Dalai Lama smiled broadly, put his hands together in a prayer position at his forehead and gave Mr. Sharpton a deep bow. The crowd nearly rose from their chairs.

Found at Negrophile, which I have gots to stop mining for stuff at some point.

Did a search at Google News, and this was the only article on the event that came up.

Sharpton wasn't the only Democratic hopeful in attendance -- Kucinich was there too -- and it's not like the Dalai Lama drops by the states that often.

So one wonders why the event seems to be getting so little coverage.

Yep. Why on Earth could that be?

If you're worried that it portrays Sharpton in a flattering light, don't worry. There's a quote at the end bringing up Tawana Brawley, just in case you'd forgotten about that.

Say, did Andy Rooney ever apologize for. . . no, never mind. Forget I mentioned it.

Shouldn't be hard. It's rarely brought up, after all.

Nope, no double standard here, boy. None at all.

I got your "golly-gee smile" right here, mickey fickey. . .

Posted by Aaron at 10:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (1)

I only read about his passing yesterday evening. I don't really follow the news as closely as I used to.

Well, Edward Said probably puts it better, but he's so damn wordy:

Most people are principally aware of one culture, one setting, one home; exiles are aware of at least two, and the plurality of vision gives rise to an awareness of simultaneous dimensions.

From Reflections on Exile and Other Essays, 2000.

From an entry from way back in August of last year, See the Chris Tucker quote from Rush Hour. That one also has the kabuki/race discussion comparison Jason probably had in mind in the thread over at Cobb's.

Where there's also a finer tribute to Edward Said than I'm capable of writing.

Bit emotionally drained today, and not very good at eulogies even when I'm not.

Part of me wants very much to have a look at the warblogs to see what they had to say about the late Professor Said, and I know that a year ago I wouldn't hesitate to do exactly that.

Times change.

9/28: Edit to correct a link.

Posted by Aaron at 4:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Minor detail, really.

For the stories in the print editions, the Chicago Tribune simply uses the word minority, while the Sun-Times places the word in quotes.

I say they're sneer quotes, and I say to hell with 'em.

As usual, I'm much more interested in how people discuss these issues than in the issues themselves. And I realize that my participation -- or rather, the addition of my domain name -- has a distorting effect on the discussion, which prevents me from actively. . .

Hi, my name is Aaron, and I was up entirely too late last night. I also have a head cold. I will not be making much sense today, and may start babbling about discourse analysis for no particular reason. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Anyway, the actual events/story/topic, from that Trib link:

The politically connected Duff family used its matriarch and a trusted black associate to pose as fronts for phony women- and minority-owned businesses in a massive, dozen-year fraud that garnered more than $100 million in contracts from the city of Chicago, a federal indictment charged Thursday.

[. . .] "Yeah, I know them," [Chicago Mayor Richard] Daley said of the Duffs. "You know that. They're hard-working people. This is an unfortunate incident."

"Unfortunate incident."

Words fail me.

Although the races and genders of the fronts are obviously given in the story, I must have missed the bit where they explicitly mentioned that James M. Duff, the brains of the operation, is a white male.

Probably votes Republican, too.

I'm just speculating, of course. Head cold. Not thinking clearly.

9/28 Update: Slight edit. Head cold.

Posted by Aaron at 2:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Ok, much to the relief of the people in the neighboring cubicles, I've finally stopped belting.

Why, you may ask?

I love David Bowie, I swear, love him love him he is a god and he didn't even write that song, it was Iggy, who was married to Suchi or Sushi or Sukiyaki or whatever - he had that yellow fever, but every time I listened to it, that shit made me feel like there was something that I was doing wrong. I wasn't exotic and I never thought about wearing a little black linen pants and a shirt that closed with frogs instead of buttons. It made me feel oddly inferior and superior at the same time, like here is the face of me, supposedly a symbol of faraway lands where the food is as mysterious as the sex, so I am the embodiment of the ancient Chinese secret, but in truth, I am an imposter, because if I am so exotic why I am sitting in front of the TV watching Underdog and listening out for my mom's car so I can turn it off fast enough and pretend I was doing my homework while my brother works on a Revell model of an army truck as we both get high off the fumes?

Because The Tin Giles let me know that Margaret Cho has a blog.

Of course, now I'm doing the "It is a good day, for there is Margaret Cho" dance, but at least that's quieter. . .

Posted by Aaron at 2:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

When I wake up in the afternoon
Which it pleases me to do
Don't nobody bring me no bad news
'Cause I wake up already negative
And I've wired up my fuse
So don't nobody bring me no bad news

If we're going to be buddies
Better bone up on the rules
'Cause don't nobody bring me no bad news
You can be my best of friends
As opposed to payin' dues
But don't nobody bring me no bad news

No bad news
No bad news
Don't you ever bring me no bad news
'Cause I'll make you an offer, child
That you cannot refuse
So don't nobody bring me no bad news

When you're talking to me
Don't be cryin' the blues
'Cause don't nobody bring me no bad news
You can verbalize and vocalize
But just bring me the clues
But don't nobody bring me no bad news

Bring some message in your head
Or in something you can't lose
But don't you ever bring me no bad news
If you're gonna bring me something
Bring me, something I can use
But don't you bring me no bad news

Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News, a reprise from yesterday. Because it's another one of those days.

That song isn't sung, by the way. You want to do that, you gots to belt it out. Don't worry if you ain't got Mabel King's pipes. Just do it with feeling.

Posted by Aaron at 10:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Everybody look around
'Cause there's a reason to rejoice you see
Everybody come out
And let's commence to singing joyfully
Everybody look up
And feel the hope that we've been waiting for

Everybody's glad
Because our silent fear and dread is gone
Freedom, you see, has got our hearts singing so joyfully
Just look about
You owe it to yourself to check it out
Can't you feel a brand new day?
Can't you feel a brand new day?
Can't you feel a brand new day?
Can't you feel a brand new day?

A Brand New Day, from The Wiz. No clue why that's stuck in my head, but I thought I'd share.

And for those of you not making with the clicking on the link in the lyrics, thebrotherlove.com [ j.ournalogue ] is Reloaded.

And it's too damned pretty.

Light/nonexistent posting from me today.

Cause I wake up already negative
And I've wired up my fuse
So don't nobody bring me no bad news

Ah well, may as well surrender to my destiny. Mental note: stop at Doc Wax and see if they got a copy of the Wiz soundtrack. . .

Or hell, look for the DVD. Ain't seen the thing in a month of Sundays.

Posted by Aaron at 9:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (1)

Christopher Priest has changed his blog over to Movable Type. Dunno about black bloggers generally, but MT does seem to be the choice for black comics writers who blog. Priest. . . Dwayne McDuffie . . . Warren Ellis. . .

What?

Speaking of whom, this is just damn touching. No quote. Go see.

Meanwhile, Priest has spoken out on the cancellation of The Crew, and if you're asking, "What's that?" then you're part of the problem.

Don't worry, I'm asking the same thing. Haven't seen an issue yet.

Heck, last time I was in the shop (which was also the first time I've been in a shop in ages), the only books I picked up were Planetary (which is highly recommended), Global Frequency (which I shouldn't have tried jumping aboard with issue 10 of 12. . .) and the Vertigo X sampler.

I'm not Warren's bitch.

Honest.

Most of his work is published under Wildstorm, not Vertigo.

Update: added some links, changed some wording.

Posted by Aaron at 2:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBacks (0)

President Bush has delivered his address to the General Assembly of the United Nations. From Bush Makes No Apologies, Asks U.N. Help on Iraq , a Reuters UK article:

President Bush asked a skeptical U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday for help in Iraq reconstruction and said it was time to set aside past differences over the U.S.-led invasion.

"Now the nation of Iraq needs and deserves our aid -- and all nations of good will should step forward and provide that support," Bush said, six months after the United States and Britain abandoned diplomacy and went to war without U.N. backing.

[. . .] So far Bush has not found many takers among other foreign leaders willing to send cash or troops to Iraq, but U.S. officials insist they have not yet really tried with a donors conference coming up in late October.

Bush said he recognized that "some of the sovereign nations of this assembly disagreed with our actions" but said unity remained on the fundamental principles and objectives of the United Nations.

"So let us move forward," he said.

Hard to do snarky commentary when the article already has it built-in. . .

One part of this does sound familiar; "you disagreed with us, but we're willing to put that aside in the name of unity and move forward."

Black folk get that one a lot.

The one where what you disagreed about doesn't actually get addressed at any point.

And just in case you thought undercutting Cheney a few days back represented a step forward:

He held out the possibility that the promised weapons of mass destruction might yet be found.

"The regime of Saddam Hussein cultivated ties to terror while it built weapons of mass destruction. It used those weapons in acts of mass murder, and refused to account for them when confronted by the world," Bush said.

"We are now interviewing Iraqi citizens and analyzing records of the old regime, to reveal the full extent of its weapons programs and long campaign of deception," he added.

You thought wrong.

Odd phrasing, though. "Promised weapons of mass destruction"?

Posted by Aaron at 12:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

From the Animerica review of The Second Renaissance: Part One:

Lacking both dialogue and a main protagonist, "The Second Renaissance" immediately stands apart from the rest of The Animatrix shorts in two respects. Liberated from the basic requirements of narrative, the short story format is traded in for an ambitious god's eye view of how the hellish man-versus-machine world of The Matrix came to be. Framed as a historical document from the Zion archives, "The Second Renaissance" unfolds in metaphors and dream-like transitions facilitated by a glowing goddess female figure who narrates in cold mechanical fashion. Both parts begin and end by visually referencing the eastern religious art tradition of the mandala, a symbol used to evoke wholeness, completion, and eternity. But this spirituality is immediately contrasted by a parade of shocking images that deliberately invoke the social ills and traumas of the 20th century, such as Vietnam (the famous execution of a Viet Cong prisoner by South Vietnamese general Nguyen Ngoc Loan is replayed with humans and machines), race riots, and Tiananmen Square (here, a lone robot is crushed under the treads of an unrelenting tank).

More information on mandalas, and sample images, may be found at The Mandala Project.

Even if the name is not familiar to you, you've probably seen the photo of Nguyen Ngoc Loan executing a prisoner.

The image from Tiananmen Square, likewise, should be familiar to everyone.

I am uncertain if the filmmakers received complaints for adapting/reinterpreting these images in the short. I vaguely recall a complaint about a similar use of The Picture from Kent State in a later issue of TRANSMETROPOLITAN.

Vaguely. That was some time ago, on the WEF, and I'm not jumping back into that glorious time sink looking for the reference.

Half-formed notion about this treatment of images resembling Kathy Acker's treatment of texts, but I'm way too fuzzy-headed to even think about writing that one up. . .

Posted by Aaron at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

From Colorblind Racism by Sally Lehrman:

The racial hierarchy established over the middle of the 20th century has largely held fast because one generation builds on the accomplishments of the last, Duster explains. Like interest on a bank deposit, children collect economic potential for themselves from the property and social status of their parents. Just as directly, he argues, disadvantages such as barriers to well-paying jobs, segregation in housing and discrimination in lending reverberate from parent to child. "The past becomes relevant to the present as personal wealth and assets are reproduced from generation to generation," agrees Barlow. His new book on globalization makes a similar argument about the historical underpinnings of U.S. racial stratification. Furthermore, privileges in housing, jobs, education and other arenas reinforce and augment one another, he says.

And far from lessening over time, Barlow argues that the disparities built into American society are becoming more entrenched. In the 1960s and '70s, business regulation, low-income housing, job training, public health and other social programs successfully began to compensate for long-term economic advantages held by white people. But starting in the 1980s, the growth of the service sector and technology information jobs, the mobility of businesses, and policy changes such as deregulation and the curtailment of taxes reversed the trend. As industry extends its global reach and creates large pools of investment capital in developed countries, whites are clinging tightly to their privileges, he says. "A greater disparity in income and growing inequality makes more and more of the middle class experience a sense of crisis, so they try to buffer themselves," says Barlow, who describes himself as a civil rights activist as well as a sociologist. "We need to think about racism in a new way."

Link found at Negrophile.

The article also discusses the lack of a genetic basis for racial categories, while stressing that "[n]ot everything 'real' is genetic, and we use racial categories to interact with each other in ways that have significant consequences."

Arguing that the question of what it means to be a black blogger is meaningless because race is only a social construct is to miss the point rather spectacularly. Which is why I'm fairly certain someone has argued precisely that; I've been avoiding the discussions for the most part.

Been there, done that.

Bored now.

Posted by Aaron at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (2)

From The Price of Dignity, by Anita Roddick:

Right now, in Nicaragua and Honduras, factory workers report that management is telling them to get ready to work harder and longer for lower wages, because there are 1,000 people in China lined up and ready to take each of their jobs. If they don't like it, the company will just have to shut down the plant and leave.

Multinational companies sourcing production in China are having an enormous impact on the global economy, lowering wages and rolling back labor rights. Workers in China assembling healthcare products for companies such as Viva and Sport-Elec are being forced to work 16 hours a day, seven days a week (with just 12 days off a year) for 16 cents an hour. There is no overtime premium. The workers have no health insurance and no pensions. If they try to organize, they will be fired, perhaps even beaten and imprisoned.

[. . .] One thing is certain in the new global economy: workers struggling for their rights cannot succeed if there is not also simultaneous pressure on the corporations in their marketplaces. I am not talking about a boycott. It must be the very opposite: what is needed are campaigns to keep jobs in the developing world while at the same time working to guarantee respect for worker rights.

This is where the consumer comes in. We in the developed world hold the key to ending child labor and sweatshop abuses. If enough of us care, and if enough of us act, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

The difficulty is that once corporations become aware that consumers are basing their choices on how workers are treated, they will simply lie.

Thus, Nike vs. Kasky:

The argument between Nike and Kasky boils down to whether Nike was engaging in commercial speech or constitutionally protected "free speech" (implying corporate personhood) when it responded to attacks with misrepresentations about its business practices. The Supreme Court, therefore, will decide only whether Nike's responses (including a production pamphlet, postings on Nike's web site, a press release, a letter to the editor of the New York Times, and several other documents) are "commercial speech" or "free speech." If Nike's representations are considered commercial speech, Nike will be subject to California's false advertising law.

If the Supreme Court decides Nike has a right to free speech, like a human being, Nike will not be subject to that law. Since it appears that Kasky can show that Nike lied in its statements to the public, the question then remains whether Nike has a constitutionally protected right to lie.

Parellels may be drawn between this and the buildup to the invasion of Iraq, as noted in the piece Bush 9/11 Admission Gets Little Play:

So when President George Bush admitted on Wednesday, for the first time, that there was "no evidence that Hussein was involved with the September 11th" attacks, one would assume that would be big news and an opportunity for the press to make up for past failings.

And according to some newspapers, it was a big story. The Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune (both owned by the Tribune Co.) ran front-page stories on the revelation Thursday. But an analysis of most major American newspapers found the story either buried deep within the paper -- or completely absent.

Of America's 12 highest-circulation daily papers, only the L.A. Times, Chicago Tribune, and Dallas Morning News ran anything about it on the front page. In The New York Times, the story was relegated to page 22. USA Today: page 16. The Houston Chronicle: page 3. The San Francisco Chronicle: page 14. The Washington Post: page 18. Newsday: page 41. The New York Daily News: page 14.

The New York Post and The Wall Street Journal didn't mention it at all.

Without accurate information upon which to base their decisions, even the most moral of individuals may unknowingly commit immoral acts. And we must all deal with the consequences of those decisions and acts.

Not immediately, perhaps.

But eventually.

Update: Today at ZNet, Nike Gets a Pass:

[E]arlier this month, Kasky settled his claims against the shoe giant.

Under the terms of the settlement, Nike agreed to make a payment of $1.5 million to the Fair Labor Association (FLA) in Washington, D.C.

A joint press release issued by Kasky and Nike says that "Mr. Kasky is satisfied that this settlement reflects Nike's commitment to positive change where factory workers are concerned."

Sweatshop activists last week expressed outrage at the settlement, pointing out that the FLA is controlled by Nike and the shoe and apparel industry.

"Nike and its corporate buddies basically run the FLA," said Andy Eisen, a student at Lake Forest College and a member of United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS). "It's governed by and for the corporations that it's supposed to monitor."

From the Fair Labor Association website:

The Fair Labor Association (FLA) is a non-profit organization combining the efforts of industry, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), colleges and universities to promote adherence to international labor standards and improve working conditions worldwide.

From Sweatshop Watch:

In 1996, President Clinton and Secretary of Labor Robert Reich created a presidential task force whose goal was to work towards eliminating sweatshops. Known as the White House Apparel Industry Partnership, the task force consists of companies, trade unions, human rights and religious groups. For two years, the Partnership has been meeting to try to create an association that would set workplace standards for the industry and a means of monitoring compliance with those standards. When the companies could not move labor and human rights groups from their position that a living wage must be part of the standards, the companies, along with some human rights groups, met in secret.

In November 1998, a subgroup of the Partnership announced that they had come to an agreement to form a Fair Labor Association (FLA). The two unions (the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union) and the ecumenical Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility refused to sign the agreement because of its bias in favor of the companies. However, the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, the National Consumer League, the RFK Memorial Center for Human Rights, and the International Labor Rights Fund joined Nike, Reebok, Liz Claiborne, Phillips-Van Huesen, Patagonia, L.L. Bean and Business for Social Responsibility to support the FLA. While the President called this agreement an historic event, it is more accurately described as an historic sell-out. A close look at the standards and the monitoring plan show that the Fair Labor Association will not guarantee real improvements in workers' lives.

The issue, of course, is not making "real improvements in workers' lives." It's to reassure consumers. In this, the organization may yet prove successful.

Posted by Aaron at 8:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Ok, I'm feeling like hell today. Yesterday, got the feeling somebody hadn't so much walked on my grave as commissioned a piece and contracted the Alvin Ailey Dance Company to perform the debut on my grave. That eased up, but now my throat and head are complaining about mistreatment. So I'm keeping quiet today.

Luckily, there's new suggested reading is up at Giles' place, and Dru writes about seeing Michael Franti, among other Really Good Bands.

And about some effed-up stuff I don't feel capable of addressing. Except by calling it effed-up stuff.

Oh, and Warren Ellis has posted a rough draft-y sort of excerpt from his upcoming novel at his LiveJournal (which Gunn was kind enough to point me to a while ago). It's good, but you knew that already.

Might come back and edit this into coherence at some point, when I'm capable of determining what coherence is.

Nah, then it wouldn't match the rest of the entries. . .

Posted by Aaron at 1:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Mental note: do not go out with Redpac on days ending with "day." Since the day after that will be spent regretting it.

Wasn't all bad. We watched some Strangers With Candy (and did not play the drinking game -- remember people, beer then liquor. . .?), then went to the bar with the irresistably cute Lisa. Who responded to Redpac's pathetically transparent attempts to hook the two of us up by smiling her angelic smile, and saying, "No, Aaron is old and busted, and I'm looking for the new hotness." Then she pointed at me and said, "Old and busted," then scanned the room and added, "A'ight, ain't no new hotness up in this mug, but if it was. . ."

I put up one hand open-palmed in her direction, in the universal sign for "Ok, I get your point, please for the love of god stop talking."

Well. . . in my universe anyway. Amazing how often I have to use that one.

He also insisted that our waitress was giving me the eye. Even before him and Lisa asked her if there was anything on the menu for a vegan, and she suggested the chicken wrap. Then immediately caught herself, "No, right, chicken," and started listing the other ingredients.

Incidents like this are why I drink heavily when I'm out with him. . .

np: What else? Kellis, Caught Out There.

Posted by Aaron at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

From A Conversation with Kathy Acker:

KATHY ACKER: You can't get to a place, to a society, that isn't constructed according to the phallus. You're stuck with a lot of loneliness, so how do you deal with that isolation and loneliness? The third part concerns that issue. Also I'm looking for a myth. I'm looking for it where no one else is looking. That's why I'm so interested in Pasolini.

ELLEN G. FRIEDMAN: The myth never surfaces?

KA: The myth to me is pirates.

EGF: Pirates is the myth?

KA: Yes. It's like the tattoo. The most positive thing in the book is the tattoo. It concerns taking over, doing your own sign-making. In England (I don't know if it's so much true here), the tattoo is very much a sign of a certain class and certain people, a part of society that sees itself as outcast, and shows it. For me tattooing is very profound. The meeting of body and, well, the spirit--it's a real kind of art, it's on the skin. It's both material and not material and it's also a sign of the outcast. So that's what I'm saying about looking for the myth with people like that--tattoo artists, sailors, pirates.

EGF: They represent the outcasts?

KA: Not just outcasts--outcasts could be bums--but people who are beginning to take their own sign-making into their own hands. They're conscious of their own sign-making, signifying values really.

You have to love her.

Well, the memory of her.

Don't remember when I first read this account of her death, but the quote from Kathy has stuck with me since then:

The trip to Mexico was surreal. We rented a big van and hired an RN (this after I had my lessons in injecting K with morphine & oxygen equipment etc - very relieved not to have to do that...); she was very cool, 6'1" Minnesotan lady who lives in Berkeley, a Buddhist who spent years working in Cambodia with landmine victims etc. The first time Kathy wanted to pee Judith suggested that she pee outside, on the ground - since she's been in a hospital room for so long. K loved this (of course). After she peed she wanted to sit in the sun, where she was squatting with just her shirt pulled up over her waist. Then dream-like she said, "the sun feels so good on my cunt!" And the nurse, still rather midwestern & proper, smiled and said "oooo girl!"

Which probably tells you way too much about her and me, but there ya go.

And I hit post too soon, so this is an update:

She's one of those authors -- Samuel Delany is another -- where I think my life would have been better, or at least more interesting, if I'd been exposed to their work when I was younger.

I like to think lots of things, though.

Not sure her comments about the tattoo serving as a sign still hold true today in the US. They seem pretty common across lines of class and identity. You can usually tell the people using them as a (fairly) disposable fashion statement from the ones actually saying something with them.

This is a very half-formed notion, so please don't ask me to explain it. I can spew empty pseudo-intellectual bullshit with the best of 'em, but try to avoid doing it here.

Why are you laughing?

Posted by Aaron at 3:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Reposted from July 28th of last year, because it fits the theme of the day, I think.

The thing to remember about traditional/folk songs is

Grey Funnel Line
There was a time my heart was free
Like a floating spar on the open sea
But now that spar is washed ashore
It comes to rest at my real love's door.

The Female Rambling Sailor
When her lily white breast in sight it came,
It appeared to be a female’s frame,
Rebecca Young was the name,
Of the female rambling sailor.
May the willows wave all around her grave,
And round the laurels planted,
Roses sweet grow at the feet,
Of the one who was undaunted.

White Squall
But I tell these kids a hundred times "Don't take the Lakes for granted.
They go from calm to a hundred knots so fast they seem enchanted."
But tonight some red-eyed Wiarton girl lies staring at the wall,
And her lover's gone into a white squall.

The Fisherman's Song/Lament for the Fisherman's Wife
For she has come down to condemn that wild ocean
For the murderous loss of her man
His boat sailed out on Wednesday morning
And it's feared she's gone down with all hands

they tend to be depressing as hell.

Then again, so are the blues. Hence, the name.

The title is another Kathy Acker reference. No bonus points for figuring out how it relates to the songs.

Update: One hint -- the linked, fairly negative review of Pussy: King of the Pirates criticizes the book for not doing what the reviewer wants it to do; settle down, develop a plot and characters, and behave like a proper linear narrative. Which seems a bit odd, as the reviewer demonstrates familiarity with Kathy's other work, and should have known what s/he was getting into. . .

And yet another update: Another review. Guess I could also link the cd with the Mekons. Oh, right, I just did.

Arrrr!

Posted by Aaron at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

With cat-like tread,
Upon our prey we steal;
In silence dread,
Our cautious way we feel.
No sound at all!
We never speak a word;
A fly's foot-fall
Would be distinctly heard--

Not very pirate-y, in my worthless opinion. . .

Lyrics ganked from the World's First Web Opera, The Pirates of Penzance (or The Slave of Duty):

Welcome to the first Internet "Web Opera" -- a full Gilbert and Sullivan Opera, with all the music, lyrics, and dialogue! This Web Opera is yet another example of the tremendous ability of the Internet to both inform and entertain. See for yourself how much fun a Gilbert and Sullivan opera can be. This Web Opera includes almost 1½ hours of music, which you can come back to again and again as you sample this delightful opera.

Or you can rent either The Pirates of Penzance (with Kevin Kline and Nubian goddess Linda Ronstadt) or The Pirate Movie (with, um, Kristy McNichol). I recommend neither, but if you gotta, go with the first one.

No, I'm not sure why I've seen both of those either. . .

Posted by Aaron at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm askin' only because me buxom beauty Emira mentioned that the second issue of Herbivore is now available f'r order.

Apparently, there's an article on vegan grog.

Beer. I meant to say beer.

Sorry, I'm just not very good at this. Think I'll make like P6 and take the easy way out. . .

Posted by Aaron at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

It's Neogrammarian's birthday today. And as a gift, I'm not writing this entry like a pirate. But you could run it through the translator if you really feel the need (link from This Modern World, but it's probably all over the bloody place today. . .)

And, apropos of nothing, anyone read any good comics lately? Something in a nice, tortured, melodramatic Gloomcookie or Jhonen Vasquez sort of a vein?

Or Finder. I'm flexible.

Further apropos of nothing, except the comics obsession, ¡Journalista! (which I seem to be reading a lot these days) linked to yet another Kyle Baker interview. Finally, I said to myself, I can find out something about . . .

TO: What is your connection to Birth Of A Nation (the graphic novel written by Aaron McGruder and Reginald Hudlin)?

KB: I'm illustrating Birth Of A Nation, which will be published by Crown Books next year. I'm not sure how much of the story I'm allowed to reveal at this time, but I can tell you it's funny. Crown has a bunch of graphic novels planned for next year, and Birth Of A Nation will be the first. I'm having a ball working on it. I think it's scheduled for spring 2004. My deadline for finishing the book is September 2003.

. . . never mind.

Well, except for the release date. And it's funny. Kyle says so, and the man who wrote and illustrated Why I Hate Saturn knows the funny when he sees it.

Not that I'm suggesting anything.

Wait, yes I am.

Happy birthday, love. Hope Julie shows the same amount of restraint that I have here.

Posted by Aaron at 8:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (1)

I am resisting the urge to write this in pirate lingo. Be thankful.

There's no better way to observe Talk Like a Pirate Day tomorrow than by enjoying the story of Snatch the Scarlet Marauder and Prudence the, um, Piller of Virtue(?) in Heather's Shiver Me Timbers gallery. Honest. Arrrr.

Sorry, slipped a bit there.

Not a member? You can easily rectify this.

And as the woman herself says:

A portion of your membership fees go to help support Scarleteen.com, the net's independent sex-positive sex information and education resource for young adults.

Or you can always donate to Scarleteen directly, but, y'know, pirates.

Now, I've seen my access logs. I know some of you bastards are clocking tall Yanqui dollars. If my broke ass can toss some treasure (sorry, sorry) cash their way, y'all certainly can.

But, y'know, pirates.

Either way, it's all good.

'course, as a subscriber, you can also see (among other things) me, Heather and Elise in an interracial bisexual blacks-on-blondes-on-redheads-on-blondes-on-blacks sort of thing, the making of which I expect I should write about some day when I no longer want to be able to reach my own site from my job, as well as. . .

Oh, just go check it out already.

And pray I don't decide to re-write this tomorrow, matey.

I only took the Scarleteen donation graphic down because it didn't really fit the redesign. Hey, neither did my own tip jars. I'm working on it.

I work slow, okay? Which will also come up in describing that shoot. . .

Posted by Aaron at 6:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Anyway, so. Had a nice, vent-y conversation with Neogrammarian last night, and am now even more in her debt. Although this is partially balanced by the fact that, thanks to her, I can never think of Happy Fluffy Bunnies again.

Don't ask. Just. . . don't. You do not want this in your head. Lord knows I don't.

But I shall have my revenge. Oh yes.

Or rather, arrrr.

Walking into work this morning, one of the security guards pulled me over. While I was racking my brains trying to figure out a) what I did and b) what a good alibi would be, she told me that someone who works in the building had asked her to ask me if I was married.

"Um, no. . ." I replied, too relieved to give the matter much thought, and made a hasty retreat.

Coming in from lunch, she pulled me aside again and asked me, on behalf of whoever the hell this is, if I was seeing anyone or otherwise in a serious relationship.

"Um, no. . ." I replied, wondering what the fuck kind of Degrassi Jr. High hell I'd found myself in.

Or maybe it's Parker Lewis Can't Lose. . .

np: Corporate Slave, Snog, from Neo's mix cd.

Update: Also worth a look, The Fire This Time audio cd, linked from the IMCC.

And who are they?

The IMCC is a multi-national, neo-global, conglomeration, created for the purpose of disseminating mind control materials and solutions. In short we have answers for your life's problems.

There ya go.

Posted by Aaron at 3:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Note to self: Do not go out with Redpac on a weeknight. Or a Sunday, which lesson I learned last week. What can I say? I'm a slow learner.

And reading the Hamilton's Lounge review up at Centerstage Chicago:

Do you miss the old frat house? If you do, check out Hamilton's on any night of the week. Hamilton's is a another one of Loyola's college bars, though it is often frequented by Northwestern students as well. The atmosphere is loud and friendly. There are a lot of students dancing and flirting.

I now understand part of my recent foul mood. Frat rats. I fucking hate those guys.

And yes, the Past Sound of Chicago mentioned in the title is an accurate description. I only take responsibility for feeding money into the jukebox for Patsy and the Sex Pistols. The rest is either the bartender or the karaoke in the other room.

What?

In other music news, Lauren mentions that Meshell Ndegeocello has a new cd out October 14th.

Also (and this has been all over the place, but Redpac ain't keeping up with the news, apparently):

Rumours of a Pixies reunion have been widely reported across the internet. Although 4AD represented Pixies when they were an active band and continue to release their catalogue, the label is not involved in their current activities so stop buggin' us for news!

Thus sprach 4AD, anyway.

soundgenerator.com is more definitive:

The rumour, it seems, was sparked by a spokesperson for the band recently told MTV news that the band have resolved their differences and are now on speaking terms. A possible tour for Spring 2004 was also mentioned as being in the works.

However, speaking more recently to Billboard, Frank Black's (aka Black Francis) manager was more sceptical:

"I have received an offer for the Pixies to perform in April. That said, over the past 10 years, I have received dozens of offers for the Pixies."

Yes, they need a copyeditor. So do I, but supposedly they would have money to pay someone. . .

And couldn't find anything more recent about Slick Rick than this mention in an article in ithacajournal.com (scroll down):

[Former nightclub impresario Peter] Gatien, who pleaded guilty in 1999 to tax evasion, was ordered removed [from the United States] under a clause in the 1996 federal Immigration and Naturalization Act, which says any immigrant convicted of an aggravated felony can be deported.

The same act is being used in the case of rapper Ricky "Slick Rick" Walters, who is being held in Bradenton, Fla., while the government attempts to deport him over an attempted-murder conviction in a 1990 shooting, for which he served six years.

Haven't done enough digging to confirm that he's still being held. I'd like to think that he's not, seeing as it's been more than a year.

I like to think lots of things, though.

Posted by Aaron at 9:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

I don't react well to being condescended to.

Me and the rest of the human race, yes, but it seriously gets under my skin.

One time occurence, I'll let it slide. Maybe a few, depending on the person doing it and the situation. But somebody regularly talking to me like I'm a small, dull child?

That's gonna make me get effnic.

And that ain't exactly productive.

So at that point, when the words, "You know what, though? Fuck you" are constantly at the tip of my tongue (or fingers), I'll let the person know, as gently as possible under the circumstances, that their behavior is working on my nerves.

At this point, they can either a) change the behavior or b) keep doing the same shit.

And at some point, option b is going to put me on an express train past effnic and straight on to nigga.

Which really ain't productive.

And that takes us to a Jae Ha Kim piece I mentioned way back last October:

Sometimes you’ve just got to dump your friends. It’s like spring cleaning for the soul.

Dumping your friends is different from losing touch. The latter is passive action that happens because one of you moves away, or he gets married, or she has a baby and is too busy to listen to you harp about a Kate Spade handbag that you absolutely have to have. Eventually, you run into each other again, exchange new numbers and addresses and make an effort to renew your friendship.

Breaking up with a friend is a pro-active decision.  When you break up, you have no intention of reuniting again. It takes guts, because sometimes they’ll confront you. And then you have to be prepared to say four of the most difficult words in the English language:  “I don’t like you.”  Make that five.  “Anymore.”

I have way too much trouble making friends to go dumping 'em at the drop of a hat, but when you're spending more time and effort biting your tongue in response to their words than enjoying their company. . .

Anyway, that's my deal right now. Meanwhile, in the real world:

More and more females are being made to quit work or school or college. I spent last month trying to talk a neighbor's mother into letting her 19-year-old daughter take her retests in a leading pharmaceutical college. Her mother was adamant and demanded to know what she was supposed to do with her daughter's college degree if anything happened to her daughter, "Hang it on her tombstone with the consolation that my daughter died for a pharmaceutical degree??? She can sit this year out."

That's from Girl Power and Post-War Iraq, currently the top entry over at Baghdad Burning. Had the effect of reminding me that it's folks who would be thankful that the worst of their worries was whether or not to kick a friend to the curb.

And who knows? Maybe the friendship can survive one or both of us going nigga.

If it can't, must not have been that strong to begin with.

Posted by Aaron at 7:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

It's a shame, really.

Cobb writes a perfectly sensible post regarding that whole what does it mean to be a black blogger? meme from Formica, and because the comments start getting into linking, all I could think of was this discussion from back in January, when I very politely asked for some links to be removed because I didn't like the crowd they were bringing in.

Ok, maybe "politely" isn't the word I'm grasping for here.

Jason described it as "super-villainy," in fact.

I'd contribute some thoughts on these issues, or a post-mortem of the whole Mac Diva / Blogcritics thing, but really don't feel the urge to.

Well, maybe this: being a black blogger means (sometimes) being put on the defensive for statements you didn't make and beliefs you don't hold. Although one could argue that that's just part of the human condition, and we just luck out with having to deal with it a bit more frequently.

Had to pull this entry from Google's cache; no clue how it got deleted. Probably ridding it of comment spam using Links or something equally foolish.

Posted by Aaron at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (17) | TrackBacks (3)

But my first reaction upon hearing of the death of Indiana Governor Frank O'Bannon was wondering how this would effect the Darnell Williams case. According to an article in the Northwest Indiana News:

Mary Dieter, the governor's spokesman, said she expects [Lt. Gov. Joe] Kernan will have to make a decision on the clemency case of Darnell Williams, whose death sentence for the 1986 slaying of a Gary couple was delayed for DNA testing by O'Bannon.

"Governor Kernan doesn't have to do anything overt because the Supreme Court won't set a date without his order," Dieter said.

Another piece in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette adds:

Williams' 60-day reprieve will be up the middle of this month, and the state is still awaiting DNA results in the murder case.

Fortunately (and I'll explain this in a bit):

Kernan declined to speculate on a time frame for how long he would take the role of acting governor. He also said the experience would not change his decision against running for governor next year.

I figure if he's not running, he doesn't have to worry about an opponent charging him with being soft on crime for allowing the testing to go forward, or commuting Williams' sentence.

It's equally ghoulish to think that political considerations would play a role in whether or not someone dies, but from what I've seen that's how our system works.

Posted by Aaron at 8:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I just ain't gonna talk to her that day is all.

Talk Like a Pirate Day only comes once a year (on September 19th), this year it falls on Friday. On talk like a pirate day, everyone talks as if they were a pirate.

Yes, Talk Like a Pirate Day! When I know I won't going by Jason's place either.

In fact, I may just avoid the 'net entirely. All a ya'll some scary mugs.

Come to think of it, I maybe should turn comments off for the day, too. . .

I'll just go catch a movie instead or something.

Yeah, it'll probably be Pirates of the Carribean, but Jason was saying just the other day that Orlando Bloom is a damn fine man, so, um, yeah.

Had lunch at the Heartland yesterday. Listened to the Johnny Cash they were playing and realized I've heard far too little of his music. Ran into the hotness that is Nina X. Am now heading out for lunch with the fam.

Please do not make me regret not closing comments early.

Posted by Aaron at 1:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Anyone seen (or heard much about) Millennium Actress? Think there was a time I'd have known about a new anime hitting the US before the release. . .

From the synopsis:

As her story unfolds, [reclusive former actress Chiyoko Fujiwara] seems to transcend time and space, traveling freely through the corridors of fictional movies and reality. Chiyoko was born when the Great Earthquake hit Tokyo in 1923, as war is looming in Imperial Japan. At a very young age, she is discovered as an actress, and soon becomes one of Japan’s most popular stars. Over the course of her career, her movies and her roles encompass all the epochs of Japanese history, bringing her and her audience back more than five hundred years, and then moving chronologically through the centuries to the present and beyond. Chiyoko’s first major role finds her in the Warring States Period of the 15th and 16th centuries, where we see her as a princess in a burning castle tower. Her movies swiftly carry her into the Edo Period (1603 – 1868), when the Shogun ruled the country. In one moment, she is portraying a ninja fighting against samurais, but another role transforms her into an innocent local girl who confronts a group of elite samurai guards. She runs away, only to find herself being arrested in a scene set against the backdrop of Japan’s Meiji Period (1868 – 1912), at the dawn of a new era when the power of the Emperor was restored. Chiyoko escapes, but in her next movie, we find her in the pre-World War II and war-torn decades of the Showa Period (1912 – 1945). As Chiyoko chronicles her life and career, we come to learn that not only was Chiyoko an icon of the Japanese cinema, but her roles also represented feminine icons of Japanese history.

it sounds interesting enough, and most of the reviews at Rotten Tomatoes are positive. And seeing as it's in limited release, I might have to go by those instead of word of mouth. Ah well.

On the other hand, there's always Frodo-A-Go-Go:

Unite with elves, dwarves, wizards and all sorts of peculiar characters as they take their death-defying (and unscripted) journey into a land where evil reigns and creepiness lurks around every corner. Is adventure in your blood? Or do you cower in the comfort and safety of your Hobbit hole? Join us for this "flight of fantasy" as our adventurers seek The One Thing that can save the world from evil in a land bounded by the limits of the audience's imagination.

Wouldn't even consider it normally -- I still haven't read the books or seen either of the films -- but this is the last weekend the regular cast is joined by Babes With Blades:

Babes With Blades was originally conceived to give women in Chicago an opportunity to showcase their training and talent in Stage Combat. Although, across the United States, women are in the majority in Stage Combat classes, their opportunities for work in the field once they receive the training are practically non-existent.

The preconception in both the theatre world, and the minds of the public at large, is that women have never truly wielded weapons, and therefore the dearth of representations of female warriors on stage and screen was excusable and justified. But merely scratching the surface of history reveals a very different picture. Women have been bearing arms, either for personal or patriotic aims, in every culture and every time period on record. In dueling societies, on pirate ships, in jousting competitions, in standing armies, and on every revolution's roster, women have an historic martial presence that is repeatedly denied and ignored.

Babes With Blades is our attempt to revive and revitalize the archetype of the Woman Warrior, the Amazon, and to show the theatrical world the wonderful resource of combat-trained women available to fill that archetype, a resource that remains regrettably untapped.

Since I missed seeing (some of) 'em in Xena Live! a while back, due to my sucking.

You know, between that and the Unused Audio Commentary By Howard Zinn & Noam Chomsky, Recorded Summer 2002, for The Fellowship of the Ring Platinum Series Extended Edition DVD:

Zinn: And what does Gandalf tell Frodo about the ring? "Keep it secret. Keep it safe."

Chomsky: "Let's leave the most powerful object in all of Middle Earth with a weak little Hobbit, a race known for its chattering and intoxication, and tell him to keep it a secret."

Zinn: Right. And here we receive our first glimpse of the supposedly dreadful Mordor, which actually looks like a fairly functioning place.

Chomsky: This type of city is most likely the best the Orcs can do if all they have are cliffs to grow on. It's very impressive, in that sense.

Zinn: Especially considering the economic sanctions no doubt faced by Mordor. They must be dreadful.

I might have to break down and at least see the movies so I can get the jokes.

Or not.

np - Kathy's Song, Apoptygma Berzerk, on Neo's mix cd.

Posted by Aaron at 9:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

Changed the links over yonder for RedHeadDread and Interesting Monstah, finally. And have probably forgotten something else I'd meant to update, due to sucking so much.

F'r instance, I'm fairly certain that Ushi link next to Hanne's is broken, but can't check, since The Man won't let me access her site at all.

She has a piece in the current Baltimore City Paper, by the bye. Which I cannot quote, since I can never do that for people I know for some reason.

Oh, that's right. Because I suck.

It's about Chick Lit. You know, novels where sucky men like me are the source of misery for women who should know better.

Why yes, I am going to keep doing this all day. What else do I have to do, seeing as I was so sure I was meant to be meeting someone for dinner tonight rather than yesterday. . .

Also of note, and noted at ¡Journalista!, is a QA at Silver Bullet Comic Books asking the musical question Why Don't "Black Books" Sell?:

Kyle J. Baker: “Why aren't there more mainstream titles that feature minority characters in prominent roles, and why don't "black books" sell??”

Doesn't the second question answer the first one?”

And there's a hideously ill-informed answer about Milestone that I can't even bring myself to quote.

Right, should do some actual work today. . .

Update: Oh. Right. Meant to add Cobb to the links list, because he's just That Damn Good.

Sorted.

Posted by Aaron at 8:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (1)

It's been a while since I suprised myself with my suckastity. The ambient level of suck has been at such a consistently high level, after all.

But yesterday, I managed to surpass myself.

When I managed to completely blow someone off for dinner.

No, it wasn't deliberate, but still, when you manage to stand someone up, intentions don't matter.

All that matters. . . is the suck.

Yes, I am wallowing in self-pity. This is another example of my suckiness.

Especially as I'm now 2 for 2 on meeting this particular person in a sucktastic way. Feel free to chime in, by the way. Or not, if you prefer to avoid the public humiliation of being associated with my suckiness.

So this is the Official Aaron Sucks thread. As opposed to the rest, which merely note the suckosity in passing.

I'm tempted to turn on anonymous posting for this entry, so random strangers can comment on the suck. . .

Posted by Aaron at 8:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBacks (1)

Because I'm not doing one. I was just looking over Arundhati Roy's article ZNet | Foreign Policy | The loneliness of Noam Chomsky:

After the September 11, 2001, terrorist strikes in New York and Washington, the mainstream media's blatant performance as the U.S. government's mouthpiece, its display of vengeful patriotism, its willingness to publish Pentagon press handouts as news, and its explicit censorship of dissenting opinion became the butt of some pretty black humour in the rest of the world.

Then the New York Stock Exchange crashed, bankrupt airline companies appealed to the government for financial bailouts, and there was talk of circumventing patent laws in order to manufacture generic drugs to fight the anthrax scare (much more important, and urgent of course, than the production of generics to fight AIDS in Africa). Suddenly, it began to seem as though the twin myths of Free Speech and the Free Market might come crashing down alongside the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.

But of course that never happened. The myths live on.

And thought I'd mention it.

No one talks about the anthrax attacks much anymore, do they? I'm a bit ashamed to admit I don't even remember how many people were killed, in contrast to the total fatalities in New York, which have been drummed into my head through relentless repetition. . .

. . . and that's getting perilously close to what I've already said I'm not doing.

Posted by Aaron at 2:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

One day I'm sure I'll regret letting several opportunities to see the man pass me by.

Guardian Unlimited | World Latest | Dalai Lama Assesses Iraq, Afghan Wars:

The Tibetan Buddhist leader, who is on a five-city, 20-day tour of the United States that is timed to coincide with the Sept. 11 anniversary, called on Americans to channel their lingering grief ``into a source of inner strength.''

``Big, unthinkable tragedies happen,'' he said. ``Now, instead of keeping that and developing hatred or sense of revenge, instead of that, think long-term. The negative event, try to transform into a source of inner strength.''

He likened the terrorist attacks to Tibetans' struggle to reclaim their country from Chinese rule. Communist troops took over Tibet in 1951, and the Dalai Lama fled in 1959 during a failed uprising. He now lives in India.

``In my own case, many experiences of unthinkable situations have happened, but we never lose our hope. We never let negative emotions (rule), so that's immense benefit - including my own health,'' said the Dalai Lama, who was hospitalized last year with stomach ailments. ``More peace (of) mind, more calm mind, more compassionate mind - very good for my health!'' he said with a hearty laugh.

If I was going to do a 9/11 remembrance post, this would be it.

This latest tour started in San Francisco earlier this month, followed by the stop in Bloomington mentioned in the title, the current one in D.C., and has "final stops will be Boston and New York."

Interesting bit from a Voice of America piece about the meeting:

The meeting with the Dalai Lama was a late addition to President Bush's public schedule, and was formally announced only one hour before it took place.

Anyone want to bother speculating about why?

Didn't think so.

Posted by Aaron at 9:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

So I'm writing an entry about an illustrated version of Heather's short story Swell appearing in this month's Penthouse, right? And figured I'd mention that it's also in the collection Shameless: Women's Intimate Erotica, edited by the lovely and talented Hanne Blank. Thought I'd link to where you could order a copy direct from the editor at her site, but trying to visit from work, I got a Very Stern Warning that her site violates The Man's Internet Usage Policies, and access was de-nied.

Was a bit confused by this, showing either how naive or how jaded I am. I'm honestly not sure which.

So yesterday I tried Heather's.

Stop looking at me like that. She assured me it was safe.

Nope. Same warning.

Damn. Black man can't even visit his porn star dyke girlfriend's web site at work. What is this world coming to?

Anyhow, due to circumstances beyond my control, I can't tell you for sure if there's still a sample image from the Penthouse version up at her journal; check the recent archives if it ain't there no more.

Me, I've been meaning to pick up the magazine, but my hippy impulses insist that I support an independent bookseller rather than getting it at the local White Hen Pantry or something. So I guess I'll head into Women and Children First after work and ask the woman behind the counter if they carry Penthouse.

Liz found this notion amusing when I mentioned it to her last Thursday. No idea why.

Figure the best case scenario is me doing a historical reenactment from "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." And the worst case is tomorrow's Sun-Times running a story about how the mangled body of a Negro was found in the dumpster behind a local bookstore.

"Somebody fucked his shit up," said the Streets and Sanitation worker who discovered the victim.

Posted by Aaron at 9:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Which came up in my referrers for some reason yesterday. Them things frighten me.

One of me favorite bands, Over the Rhine, has a new double-cd out, OHIO. They're touring to support it, or, I dunno, maybe they just like playing live. Two shows here in Chi at Schubas the 20th and 21st, followed by one at the Fine Line in Minneapolis the 23rd. And, you know, a few in Ohio itself, including one at Beachland Ballroom in Cincinnati on Thursday the 18th. But not one in Columbus, blowing a perfectly good excuse to go visit Neogrammarian. Unless that's close enough to conveniently hit. Not that I should be taking two days off from work this soon after starting, but that's the advantage of temping, ennit? Calling in unavailable for no particular reason, other than not wanting to be bothered?

Okay, probably a bad idea. Seemed worth a try.

np - Good Dog Bad Dog: The Home Recordings, Over the Rhine, natch.

I'd try to describe their music, but readily acknowledge my suckiness at such things. There's some mp3s at their site. Go have a listen.

Oh yeah, and remind me to change the name of the site soon. Also found out from the logs that searching Google for Michelle Jones brings me up first at this point, and despite the fine Blog Body Shop skills on display here, I don't think anyone really wants that. . .

Posted by Aaron at 3:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBacks (0)

Noticed this at Google News while, um, waiting for something to do -- China asks Japan to deal with abandoned chemical weapons:

Beijing, Sept. 3. (PTI): Chinese Defence Minister General Cao Gangchuan today urged Japan to take concrete steps to solve the issue of chemical weapons abandoned by Japanese military in the country during World War II.

"The chemical weapons left behind by Japanese invaders still pose a serious threat to Chinese people's safety and living environment," Cao, also vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission told visiting Director-General of Japan's defence agency, Ishiba Shigeru.

And, digging a bit deeper, Japan to pay victims of mustard gas leak in China 100 million yen:

Japan will pay 100 million yen to victims of last month's leak of mustard gas from barrels abandoned in China by the Imperial Japanese Army, a government source said Tuesday.

Part of the money is intended to cover victims' hospital fees and provide a token of sympathy, according to the source.

The gas leak killed a man in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang Province, and sickened more than 40 others.

[. . .] China has demanded Japan pay money as part of compensation in connection with World War II.

But the Japanese government is unlikely to meet the demand because it says China abandoned its right to claim damages related to Japan's invasion of China when the two countries normalized ties in 1972, according to the source.

Haven't seen anything to indicate that the (current) Japanese government was aware of the location of the leftover Weapons of Mass Destruction. Then again, this is the first I've heard that there were any in China in the first place.

Good thing the US doesn't leave stuff like that around in countries we've liberated. If you don't count unexploded land mines, cluster bombs, depleted uranium. . .

Posted by Aaron at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Not that I'm not interested in the main piece of info in the article, Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder signs with Sony for TV, feature projects:

(Variety) - "The Boondocks" creator Aaron McGruder and partner Reggie Hudlin have signed with Sony to take the edgy comicstrip beyond the funny pages.

Sony will simultaneously develop TV and feature projects based on the strip, now seen in 350 newspapers nationwide. McGruder and Hudlin have been charged with writing a pilot script and hammering out an animated feature treatment.

Be nice if it's on broadcast tv, so I don't have to either rent or buy the show on DVD long after the things air, but just because it's in development doesn't mean it'll ever actually get made. I'm going to keep from getting my hopes up too much.

Besides, the really interesting bit is way at the end:

McGruder and Hudlin, who are both repped by Writers & Artists, met four years ago. Hudlin, who wrote and exec produced the animated feature "Bebe's Kids," as well as directed features such as "House Party," "Boomerang" and "Serving Sara," quickly became a mentor and partner to the young cartoonist. Since then, the duo have collaborated on projects such as "The Broke Diaries" at Fox. McGruder and Hudlin are also working on the graphic novel "Birth of a Nation," which Crown will release in 2004.

Not just The Broke Diaries, which I still haven't managed to pick up because I suck, but also that "Birth of a Nation" graphic novel. Kyle Baker is also involved with that somehow; he very casually mentioned it in an interview with Rich Johnston a few weeks back:

Since I am in demand and have the luxury of choosing, I tend to take high-paying, high-profile jobs like TRUTH, PLASTIC MAN, or BIRTH OF A NATION, my upcoming collaboration with Aaron McGruder and Reginald Hudlin from Crown Books. I had to mention this project somewhere in this interview. I'm not doing this interview for fun, I'm doing it to sell product! And you're doing it for money, so now we're both happy, Rich. This simple understanding is why you and I have maintained a successful professional relationship for many years now. I work only with people who will help my career and make me some money. I think that's a healthy attitude, don't you?

You have to appreciate such an honest, forthright manner.

Tossed in a link to the Rotten Tomatoes page for Bebe's Kids up there, for anyone who has no idea what that was. Does the name Robin Harris mean nothing to you?

Anyway, I'm going to work under the possibly-dangerous assumption that even though the tv and movie projects may never come to see the light of day, that the graphic novel is a dead certainty.

Mind you, I am a bit concerned about that title. . .

Posted by Aaron at 2:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (18) | TrackBacks (0)