Craigslist is an amazing marketplace, not just for goods and services (such as this used engagement ring (thanks Jessica Randazza for the link)), but for the creative textual expression hosted there. I was curious to see what sort of items had been posted related to Nelson Mandela when I came across this amazing assortment of characters.
Such an important literary work deserves deeper analysis and investigation, so I posted it over on Rap Genius under the Poetry section. Hopefully scholars with more expertise can I can add even more valuable interpretation to this contribution.
Some of my favorite NYC comics (including Luke Thayer and Dave Lester) combined forces to form hilarious Voltron and heap much deserved derision upon The Blind Side and all "It Takes A Village White Person To Raise A Black Child" movies.
Washington, DC—The National Council of La Raza (NCLR)—the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States—welcomed today’s report in the New York Times that President Barack Obama has made immigration reform one of his top priorities for this year.
So is President Obama the hardest working man to occupy the White House? I'm just saying, dude has got some hustle. I'm glad to see him following up on this pledge to engage on immigration. Obviously, he has a political/demographic interest in keeping the ball moving, considering the growing influence of Latino residents and voters in the country.
Yesterday's Ultimate Gossip Girl Summit IV at the People's Improv Theatre was amazing. Not only did we have funky cool panelists, but three actors from the series showed up (Jake, played Chuck 2.0; Matt, played Skull n Bones; Zuzanna, plays Dorota).
Sara Benincasa is a saucy and well, actually quite naughty summit host who gives out sex toys to guests and audience members alike. As the newly-minted "brownest" member of the summit panel, I explained that I spent all of 2008 working to get Barack Obama elected. Starting November 5th, I wanted to do the opposite of campaign for Obama. Gossip Girl fit that need perfectly, and I've been hooked ever since.
But the real highlight of yesterday's summit was seeing Mieka Pauley perform a song to Chuck Bass that we wrote together just hours before the event. Yes, we waited until the last minute. Yes, Mieka treated me like a joke factory all day long demanding I write more funny lines despite my fatigue, but I'm really proud of the collaboration.
Part of the fun of being here is the honor I have of helping tell the story of what's going down. It's 4am, and I need to keep this short and sweet. Will try to add more details as they become available. Meanwhile, set your Tivos and foreign friends' tape decks
Sunday January 18
10AM GRITtv with Laura Flanders. From Busboys & Poets on 14th & V St. Talking about what has paved the way for the first black president
Monday January 19
CHANGE TO 10:15AM 12:45PMCNN with Soledad O'Brien and John Hope Bryant Republican strategist Joe Hicks on the Obama Express Bus. Talking about the meaning of Obama's election and race.
1PM BBC TV World Have Your Say with my blog partner Cheryl Contee.
cross-posted to JJP
Hey team,
I'm here! This city is abuzz. Bus drivers are excited (and pissed about the added stress to there lives). Black folks are dressed in finery. The alcohol doth flow freely. It's a magical time to be in Chocolate City, and I'll do my best to share what I'm seeing with yall, wherever you are.
Notable moments from today:
Playing Rock Band for the first time ever. I'm staying with some friends who have three adorable, high energy children. I think all high energy kids should be enrolled in cross-country running, but that's another post probably on another blog :)
Getting the JJP media credentials. It was so easy, and the volunteers were very friendly.
Meeting a 23-year employee of the Department of Labor and asking her if she noticed a difference based on who the president was. "Absolutely," she said, adding that Robert Reich was her favorite Secretary because he really knew labor and "knew the numbers." This same woman told me that her 80-year-old mother and friends were addicted to MSNBC and CNN during the campaign and are back on during the inauguration watching every single moment of the whistle-stop tour.
Running into my cross-country coach from middle school at a cocktail party in Friendship Heights (where they had Sarah Palin toilet paper. I love my friends).
How many times can I use the word "blog" in the title of this blog post?
Anyway, I forgot to post this on my own site, so for reference and bragging rights, I wrote an oped at The Daily Beast about my life at Sidwell Friends, with advice to the Obama parents. It was shortly picked up by the Anderson Cooper 360 blog. Hooray for blogging!
Note, the comments on both sites really seem to have been made by people who are not that smart nor observant.
I also posted this to YouTube. Anjali and I voted at the same time. She lives in my building, and we've been neighbors for 14 months but never met until Election Day 2008. Here is a post-vote interview from the Dyckman Street subway in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan.
After the interview, I threw in some photos I and my boy Sozi Tulante (of West Philly) took at the DNC.