two new things

Brittney Cooper is my favorite news commentator.

She spoke at the Y a few weeks ago, and they taped it, so I watched it.

Two (of the) things I learned from her:

(1) The sexual-abuse-to-prison pipeline.  I knew that many, many people who are incarcerated -- especially women --- are survivors of sexual abuse, but I'd never heard that term before, and I think it's a brilliant way of naming that reality.  Naming is so important.

(2) The critique of intersectionality coming from scholars arguing for assemblage as a more helpful construct.  I don't exactly understand the distinction, but now I want to.

Also, at 59:30, she gets asked about the 2016 election, and the way she responds is so YEAH YEAH EXACTLY YEAH.

still kinda sad

This is one of the few reasonable (albeit fairly angry) tributes I've seen to MJ that didn't strictly consist of clips of his videos and performances. (Which do speak a lot for themselves, I must admit.)

Soulja Boy is back on this blog.

sent to me from Buckles:

Dancing in movies will never get old.

I want to be able to dance like this. I feel as though it is the good-dancer version of my particular style of dance, the style for which I, of course, have the bad-dancer version. I just like all the flailing!



This would also be acceptable for me:

This one might have something to do with my crush on Lauryn Hill. I'm particularly impressed with the moves that emerge at around 2:42 in this clip.

Why is this happening to me?

Most nights as I'm falling asleep I listen to NPR podcasts. (I'm such a tool.) And one of my favorite shows to listen to is called Radio Lab, from WNYC, New York City's local NPR. I really like this episode, titled "Pop Music," in which they seek to answer the questions, "Why do some songs mercilessly stick in our heads and repeat themselves over and over? What makes these hooks so hooky?"

Anyway, right now, I've got this little diddy (embedded below) running through my head. And I just want to know, why? This song was song by the members of the junior chorus at my high school for our junior ring ceremony. That's the only time it was in my life. I wasn't even in chorus. So why am I being plagued by this crap?

Although, I will say, it's kind of fun and funny to sing it aloud with an exaggerated lisp. Especially that first line in the chorus: "Friendth are friendth forever if the Lord'th the Lord of them!"

I can't believe how much I really love it that Jill Biden is a teacher.

The title of her dissertation is Student Retention at the Community College: Meeting Students' Needs. Pretty cool.



Gets good at around 14 minutes. Like really, seriously good.

But, I should add, Senator Obama, that it really annoys me when you talk too much about the need to reform our education system in terms of our ability to compete in the global economy. What about my students' personal need and right to experience self-actualization? To develop empathy? To ask critical questions of those in power?

But whoa, whoa, whoa. McCain's proposing the closure of the Department of Education? As in, not necessary anymore? Um, what.

Hilton/Damon '08!

too much blog-worthy stuff, hence the lack of blogging

The first two days of school went really well. I. am. excited.

Suffice it to say it does not look like this:


(but it would be funnier if it did)


In other news, the Nas and Talib Kweli show was pretty cool. A whole shitload of people singing along, "Yes we can change the world!" I'm sappy. I know that.

still laughing at this

"They believe... anything I say. It's amazing... it's incredible."

good clean fun

emphasis on the fun

R.E.M.:


James Blunt:


Tracy Chapman:


Feist:


Spin Doctors:


Alicia Keys:


Chris Brown:


Norah Jones:


Goo Goo Dolls:


Hootie and the Blowfish:


India Arie:


Cab Calloway:


Smokey Robinson:

Can I get some first amendment up in here?

I was at the library near my parents' this morning, getting some stuff done for work, and was unable to check through all my friends' blogs. I got this:

I got over that, but then when I wanted YouTube, I got:

What the F? What is this, censorship? Are not libraries supposed to be bastions of free speech? When I inquired, the librarian assured me that this was not usual, and that she really had no idea why these sites were blocked. She said they block things for kids on the library's own computers, but that adults and laptop users shouldn't have any filtering going on. Color me suspicious.

Thank you, pituitary gland!

It's a YouTube bonanza!

This reminds me of the time when our flight home from Shannon got seemingly eternally post-poned, and some guy on the flight who'd gotten drunk got a hold of the gate's PA system for long enough to say, "ATA's a bunch of cocksuckers!"



from the front page of YouTube:



"Sita is a goddess separated from her beloved Lord and husband Rama. Nina is an animator whose husband moves to India, then dumps her by email. Three hilarious shadow puppets narrate both ancient tragedy and modern comedy in this beautifully animated interpretation of the Indian epic Ramayana. Set to the 1920's jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw, Sita Sings the Blues earns its tagline as 'The Greatest Break-Up Story Ever Told.'" This was directed, written, produced, designed, and animated by the daughter of the couple who lives across the street from me, I'm told. It sounds pretty interesting.

pretty cool

more sweet stuff

Thank you, KBros:

I want to like this,

but it feels a little too second-wave-y for my liking. Or something. Your thoughts?

Happy Women's Month, by the way.

Not unrelated, I re-watched Roman Holiday this past weekend, and I was struck, during this scene especially, with a tinse of regret at not haven taken any film classes at UIUC. I just want to sit around and talk about this scene, and the one before it, all day. Maybe I'll watch it with students one day.

"Be more constructive with your feedback, please!"

Why is the intersection of White people and hip hop so funny? "Did Steve tell you that perchance? Steve!"

yowsa

I mean seriously. I am actually giddy right now.

weekend theme song

Roommates gone for the weekend. Apartment to myself.

The Simpsons poll closes

I do wish that I could say that I'm too mature to think, "I'm a stupid moron with an ugly face and a big butt and my butt smells and, uh... I like to kiss my own butt," is funny. But I'm not. Gets me every time.

Mom, see what you did to me? If you would have let me get it out of my system in the '90s I'd be so over this.