These campaigns don’t just lack scholarship or nuance. They are not bothered to seek it. -On Kony2012   Thursday, I woke up (from one of many naps, because my body imploded on itself like a dying star) to discover that the Internet had exploded.  (Again!)  This time, though, it was not owing to a KardashianRead moreRead more

I have not been posting much lately.  Sometimes, the world is a difficult place, and I just want to sit around and watch “Cougar Town” and eat delicious sandwiches.  (Expect a future post on “Cougar Town,” btw.)   Raising my ire most recently has been the general state of affairs RE women in America, whatRead moreRead more

From TNC: And I wonder if the problem of African-American History is that it so coldly and cruelly counters the American narrative. I have spent the past two decades thinking about that history and it’s ultimately made me more of a believer in the American project, not less of one. But that’s a relatively recentRead moreRead more

When cultural gatekeepers turn on one another, things can get ugly… or kind of interesting, as in this piece from n+1 on the history of Pitchfork.  (Is elitism additive, or multiplicative?)  I freely admit that my interest in the essay is motivated largely by selfishness, as I have tried for over a year to learnRead moreRead more

So, at long last: my final post on “Buffy”.  (Posts one, two, and three, for those who need a refresher.)   Before delving into any of the show’s politics, this much needs to be said: season seven – the show’s last – is terrible.  Not just mediocre, or bad, but truly, genuinely shit-tastic, such thatRead moreRead more

It is comforting to believe that we, through our sheer will, could transcend these bindings – to believe that if we were slaves, our indomitable courage would have made us Frederick Douglass, if we were slave masters our keen morality would have made us Bobby Carter, that were we poor and black our sense of Protestant industry would be aRead moreRead more

Generally, I’m a big fan of dialog – although I may disagree with a position, and vociferously so, there’s not a lot that someone can say that will cause me to shut down listening to that person altogether, particularly if they’ve already proven themselves to be a fairly rigid and compassionate thinker on the whole.Read moreRead more

Last night, buzzing on hot toddies (because I am sick, but seeing a “Twilight” movie while sober is a fate worse than death), I celebrated my Femikaze co-founder’s birthday as we’ve done for a couple years now: getting drunk and ruining the night for some Twi-hards.  The problems of “Twilight” are numerous – the storyRead moreRead more

I know my last post was a lengthy rant against so much attention paid to Occupy, but I am going to devote one more piece to the matter, for two reasons: 1.  I hate to shut up; and more pressingly, 2.  In that last post my main charge against Occupy was that protest is notRead moreRead more

Today, I lost my patience with #OO.   Occupy Oakland is news enough to have its own acronymous hashtag – taking up more than three characters will only stifle the flow of news coming out of Frank Ogawa Plaza.  (Which I am tired of hearing called “Oscar Grant Plaza.”  Yes, Oscar Grant is a tragicRead moreRead more