Coin-Money Mile-ionnaires

It is a few months later, and my colleagues at the Wall Street Journal have written an adendum to my post "A Coupon Clipped is a Coupon Earned."

Miles for Nothing: How the Government Helped Frequent Fliers Make a Mint
Free Shipping of Coins, Put on Credit Cards, Funds Trip to Tahiti; 'Mr. Pickles' Cleans Up

This article tickles me. If I had the patience and time to pull off one of these schemes, I just might... but I can't help but wonder how many people start things like this -- endless rounds of free teeth whitening trials, toll free numbers, and get-now-pay-later "arrangements" -- and end up with -$234,097,234 in the bank from automatic free-trial-payments or by just forgetting to deposit the money they bought from the mint!

Well, more power to ya, Mr. Pickles, cuz it seems like sweepstakes nowadays aren't what they used to be!

More on CBS Cares and their wild gift ideas to come! Read more!

An Extended Metaphor:

I've gotten into a lot of arguments with my friends about "Free Tibet" clubs in colleges here. My case is this: Allowing Tibet to be its own sovereign nation would not harm China in any conceivable way beyond stinging a few egos, so it really should not be this much of a problem to let the Tibetans have their independence. That's plain fact - Tibet as a region does not provide China any sort of significant economic advantage, people are not flocking there to settle down and create new job markets - in all honesty, the region is largely destitute in terms of capital.

However, where do you as a (usually white) American undergrad come off demanding China concede to your stentorian will? Have you seen what's going on in your backyard, or was the steam coming off of your chai clouding your vision? Before you get all hoity-toity about how Obama's betraying progressive morals by "snubbing" the Dalai Lama in his visit to DC, consider the following:

Imagine you're living on the second or third floor of a high-rise (called Earth). Now, twenty stories up on the opposite side of the building, there's this big man with a huge family who's been helping you get through a rough patch, money-wise. For years he's been giving you cash with the guarantee that one day you'll pay him back.

By this point in your lives, everyone in the building has heard about your relationship with this big man. And everyone (including you) knows that you're not going to be able to repay him any time soon, and that, if he were to ask you for the money now, you would have to sell your apartment (and just about everything else you own) to him and his family, and then some.

Now, say this guy has this one nephew nobody in the apartment talks about. Like your financial dealings with the man, everyone knows the story about the nephew but doesn't talk about it - he's been beaten over the span of several decades and is slowly starving to death. He has the sympathies of every single tenant in the building, for sure, but nobody is certain of what to do.

Out of the blue, the man says he's coming over to your apartment to see how you're doing the following morning. That night, the nephew appears in your living room and asks if he can stay for the weekend. Would you hide him in your bathroom when his uncle comes by, or bring him out to the living room for coffee?

That's all I'm saying.

Item two, to return to my former point, is that you don't see Chinese undergrads holding up banners to "Free Lakota." Who speaks for the dying tribes of First Americans that have been relegated to third-world conditions in the US? Nobody in any college rally I've been to, walked past, or heard about. Why don't we fix that before we get on China's case? But then that would be too practical...

If there's any reason to get on Obama's case, it's his appointment of Larry Summers as director of the National Economic Council. What is that about? But that's a rant for another day.

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A Coupon Clipped is a Coupon Earned

When I was younger, I never understood stories of my grandfather continuing to enjoy watercress and onion sandwiches or a timeless goose-grease sandwich long after the depression was over. But now as more and more people are inventing ways to save money, that are quite resourceful, I can’t help but think that maybe these practices are just common sense ways to conserve, that we may overlook during times of plenty. And I am enjoying that these methods are making the news more and more because I get to admire how people stretch a penny, and am constantly entertained by those who attempt to cut the penny in half, paint it silver and get 20 cents out of it.

Much of the advice for saving money is still common knowledge. Don’t spend too much. Know your cost of living. Organize receipts. Make shopping lists and adhere to them. Budget your money by listing how much you want to spend each month and compare that to how much you do spend to know where to cut back.

Some ideas start to push the limits of intuition. Like, if your bar of soap is getting really small, instead of throwing it away, you can stick it to a new bar of soap. And voila! Fewer trips to the store to buy more soap because you use each bar to the end. One site I found recommended saving your junk mail and making note pads out of the paper you would have otherwise thrown away.

Conserving is not the only way to save money. There are accounts of a woman who whitened her teeth, a process that can cost a lot of money, for free just by using free trial after free trial of long term whitening methods. And depending on how readily you can print coupons (perhaps on the back of some saved junk mail?), you can always go to fastfoodcoupon.com to get exactly what the name advertises. They have an entire page of their website devoted to links for Kentucky Fried Chicken.

However it is possible to take it too far. Recently, authorities have reported a spike in auto fraud like they’ve never seen before. In hopes of collecting insurance money, car owners have taken radical measures. “SUV’s have been found ablaze in the Nevada desert, cars have been dumped in a Miami canal and a BMW was discovered buried in a field in Texas. Some vehicles have been parked in the path of a hurricane.”

These practices are instantly flagged as suspicious, prompting further investigation and several arrests. “The New York Alliance Against Insurance Fraud says the number of people arrested statewide on suspicion of making false auto theft reports jumped from 96 in 2007 to 130 in 2008.” And in Dallas County it is estimated those reports have increased another 12% this year. (i recommend reading the full article here...)

So, by all means, cut the toothpaste tube when it gets to the end (evidently there’s another week’s worth of dentifrice in there. All you have to do is squeeze!). And I won’t judge if your 2009 planner is made of AOL leaflets and the envelopes to the sweepstakes you may or may not be in the running for. But if you’re planning on burying your Mercedes Benz, or torching your 1995 Camry, I say, don’t do it! Or at least make sure you've turned off all the lights at home and shut your leaky faucets. You’ll need money to pay your fine.


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What happens after?: A Discussion on the Post Racial

At first, I was astonished that there were so many people named Henry Louis Gates Jr, living in Cambridge. Not that “something like this” couldn’t happen to Henry-Harvard-Louis-Professor-Gates-African-American-Scholar-Jr, but getting arrested on your own porch for being suspected of opening your front door, whether with your key or your shoulder, seemed bizarre. Stupid, if you will.




And not just because it was his own house. There are plenty of situations in which you can, and should be arrested in your own home. Situations which warrant the time and attention of those who are in charge of serving and protecting. But this wasn’t one.

So what intrigued me was not that he got angry, or got arrested for being angry. The abuse of power, as an expression of racial superiority, is nothing new. It was that this situation became a symbol of the death of our burgeoning post racial society that caught my attention and begged the question,

what post racial society?

I have never enjoyed conversations about post racialism. On the one hand, it is hard to have a conversation about an idea where there are so many conflicting definitions. On the other, it is hard to accept an idea as new if it operates within the model of time conflated with progress, and overlaid on race, that has played a huge part in entrenching racism into our present racial society. On the third hand, when is this post racial society supposed to begin? And how far beyond our borders does it expand? On the fourth hand, who is in charge of removing all the race traces from the present _ _ _ _ _ _ society? The FCC?

How many hands do I get?

But in an effort to give post racial society a chance to defend itself, I went on a hunt for some definitions. One of the most interesting things I found was how frequently President Obama was linked to it – either as a symbol of its success or its imminence. One article defined him as the “documentation of change that has already occurred,” stating, “It is exactly because America has made such dramatic racial progress that whites today chafe so under the racist stigma.” The author goes on to say that the president “tapped into a deep longing in American life – and presenting himself to a majority white nation – Obama knew intuitively that he was dealing with a stigmatized people.”

Another article cited David Duke’s “nonchalance” about Obama’s candidacy as evidence of a blossoming post racial society saying, “we've come an awfully long way when a white Supremacist sees past race.”

Neither of these arguments supporting our post racial society inspire much confidence in me. A single person’s tepid feeling towards Obama, while he still maintains that Obama is “a racist person,” does not seem like a radical change from whatever previous racial society we just left. And using Obama, by virtue of his blackness, to absolve generations of unmitigated institutionalized racism, does not seem like a reversal of much besides who's getting which adjectives. It is hard to resolve that our post racial society is supposed to be, “an America where all groups are equal recognized for their achievements, but where all people are free to be distinct individuals,” at the same time it is thought to represent a heightened period of our already unrestrained “pro-nonwhite, anti-white policies and beliefs.”

Not only does the wording become impossible to follow as the very definition of a post racial US doubles back on itself, I begin to wonder what post-racial theory was before Obama. It seems that the entire society hinges on the function of one (1/2) black man to absolve, victimize, empower, protect, destroy, and preserve whiteness. All at the same time. And for a role that is supposed to bring about a time where we can all be “over race” there’s a lot of race in that job. Which brings to light the fact that the way race operates in the United States is much more nuanced than racial guilt or anything else that fits neatly into post-racial theory.

It therefore comes as no surprise that when Obama comments that the police acted “stupidly,” it is assumed he could only mean that the stupid act extended only to the profiling. And, in referring to race, has brought our delicately constructed post racial world crumbling down.

The reaction to his comment make more sense when taken as a measure of how instantly we rely on ingrained ideas of race relations. Gate’s race and gender in combination with the accusation of robbery distracts us from the idea that with another combination, one may focus on the idea that the police department may need a refresher course on what constitutes grounds for arrest instead. Or that profiling as a practice happens all too immediately, and may function to keep even those who work against racism blind to all its mechanisms. For those who were shocked or upset, what was it about the situation? Notions of Black masculinity? That it overrode age or physical ability?

Take for example, Richard Aoki. Imagine, Aoki, a Japanese-American man, only slightly older than Henry Louis Gates Jr, and a scholar on race and ethnicity, were arrested in the same situation. How would the press have reacted? What would have been the highlights of their story? How many people would have understood Obama’s comment to mean, the police shouldn’t have profiled Aoki and assumed as an Asian-American man in the US he had an inherent tendency towards violence – they handled the situation stupidly. How many people would have thought Aoki, at 58, capable of threatening the police officers to the extent that it would have warranted his arrest? The notions of East Asian masculinity promulgated throughout our present day society make it difficult. Is that what was so upsetting before? These are the same notions that make any idea of a post racial society impossible. If we are unable to interpret situations for more than they seem, post racialism is a dangerous place to arrive.

*********

Richard Aoki was a member of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense. He was the only Asian American man to hold an official leadership position – Field Marshall. Aoki passed away in March of 2009. A documentary of his life and activism is set to be released this year.


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Disney in the Bayou... and LA and NY: An Update

Back in December, I wrote an article called Disney in the Bayou that focussed on Disney's newest feature film, The Princess and the Frog. The article really focussed on Disney's rocky history with characters of color and whether this film may fit into that history. Then, the bulk of available information was a teaser trailer, several outraged focus groups, and the ever important fact that history (and Disney especially) tends to repeat itself.

Recently, Disney has released a full trailer that shows us more characters and gives us an idea of their unique take on the fairy tale. 

And while I'm not sure about their decision to go from "Huh-huck, i' look like dis might take some tiiiime!" as the closing sound byte of the teaser to, "Dis gon'be goooood! Heh heh heh heh!" in the full trailer, I'm more interested to know your thoughts and opinions.

There will be a limited release in NY and LA November 25th, and the movie will be in theaters everywhere December 11th.

To see the teaser trailer and for the original article, go here: Disney in the Bayou.

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A Fine Line

Today's dinner discussion topic:

Your thoughts, dear readers? Read more!

When Things Are Taken Too Far:

It's that time of year again, when the religious disappear for a day, sandwich shops have an excuse to close extra-early (or never open, much to my frustration), children collapse in paroxysms of chocolate-induced giddiness, and the rest of us scratch our heads and ponder questions like:

"How did we get from an already dubious story about a Jewish zombie to a rabbit laying colored eggs in the dirt?"

...and other such cognitive chasms.

Fear not. I present, to use a Wikipedia term loosely, a disambiguation of (most) things Easterly.

To begin, where does the name "Easter" come from? It doesn't appear to have a Hebrew precedent, and that's because it stems from Germanic lore. In the same way that "Saturnalia" (the Roman festival observed around the winter solstice) was appropriated by Christians to garner pagan converts and establish a set date by which to observe the birth of their Messiah, "Ostern-monath" ("Ostara Month") was appropriated to represent the day Jesus punk'd the world and stopped being dead for a minute.

Ostara, also known as Ēostre (the spelling should be starting to get familiar now), was an ancient Germanic goddess of fertility, springtime (the two often go hand in hand in mythology for obvious reasons), the dawn, etc. The sunrise she brought to the Old English hills was allegedly carried in by hares, and she is commonly depicted with a hare hovering by her side (amongst a bevy of similarly adorable woodland creatures).

What is the significance of the floating bunny? Legend has it that, to amuse the young children of the land, Ostara would turn one of her favorite pet birds into a hare, and this hare would go around laying brightly colored eggs.

...Wild, isn't it?

Obviously, the poetic implications of a certain Mr. Jesus O'Nazareth rising from the dead when the deciduous world awakens from winter and blooms into life would have been foolish to pass up, and thus, Ostara's month (April), aka the weeks following the spring equinox, seemed like the perfect time to celebrate and thus, "Easter" as a holiday was institutionalized. Once again, like Saturnalia:Christmas, aspects of the pagan ceremonies were maintained (in the case of Saturnalia, gift-giving is one prime example), and thus, somehow, the magical rabbit perservered.

As a final cherry on top, the last section of this article suggests that Ostara herself may have had zero historical precedent, and may have been invented by the Venerable Bede, a famous monk whose writings are the first mention of Ostara in connection to Ostern-monath. Prior to his book, all mention of Ostara disappears. Thus, the Venerable Bede (side note: best name/title combo ever?) may be the Old English answer to Stephen Hillenburg (he of "Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?" fame).

What does it all mean? For this humble, secular and chocoholic citizen, this particular Easter story suggests that for centuries we have been celebrating an unreasonably well-crafted practical joke on all counts - w/r/t Jesus, the bunny, and beyond. But what else is new?
(History: Eerily repetitive since the dawn of time.)
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ùbúntú

The 8 Millenium Goals:

As ambassadors from IINOI, Grambo and I went to the Millennium Development Goals Awards on Tuesday, held in the UN General Assembly. The objective of the Millennium Goals, agreed upon by 189 countries at the 2000 UN Summit, is to "free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty, to which more than a billion of them are currently subjected."

And to do it by 2015.

But as we learned from an extraordinarily entertaining and inspirational celebration that night, it is not so unrealistic…

[I have to admit that I knew very little about the program for the night, and had no idea what to expect, besides some speeches and musical performances – pretty standard elements of any formal event. But it turned out to be so much more than that, it would take me hours and hours to describe my reaction to or impressions of every unexpected detail. Like the fact that every member of the MDG Awards house band has won several Grammy’s in the course of his musical career. Or how hilarious Desmond Tutu is. Thankfully, the whole ceremony was webcast here. If you do not have the time to watch the whole thing, I would suggest watching the 4th and final section. You’ll at least see Tutu’s acceptance speech and a performance by a very interesting artist named K’naan. But for now, I want to focus my reflections on what I felt was one of the most important elements of Tutu’s speech: the concept of ubuntu.]

You and I were made for one another.

It’s hard not to think of this phrase as a Hollywood cliché (or more recently, as one of the cutest Frito-Lay ad campaigns ever). But at the MDG Awards, this was the definition Tutu gave for the term ubuntu. And thinking about what it can mean on a larger and probably non-romantic scale, it is the simplest way to describe how our society functions every day.

Take language as an example. Many consider the ability to speak one of the only characteristics to definitively separate us from animals. It is our vehicle to transmit moral concepts, preserve histories, develop technology, or have any opinion at all about anything. And yet, it is a known fact that human beings who grow up outside of a society, isolated from other human beings, never develop language and rarely acquire it even after being introduced into a community. But at the same time, any infant from any part of the world, if moved to a different society with a different language, would have no trouble at all obtaining fluency in that language as he or she matured into a child and then an adult.

It is the social, not necessarily biological, element that allows language to be the characteristic that can separate us from animals. And in that sense, you and I were made for each other. Without others, we would not exist as the same human beings we are now because we would have none of the markers we use to establish our identities as shared or dissimilar. It is the concept, as Tutu went on to describe, that “a person is a person through other persons.”

Applying that logic globally does two things simultaneously. It strips away the campy, kum-ba-yah feel of saying all humans are part of the same family. And it heaps a load of responsibility for the conditions of others’ lives on us.

If we couldn’t identify the markers that made us alike or different because we were all feral and isolated, then it seems like the importance we put on those same markers is rather arbitrary. We need each other in order to push each other away? But if we choose society over isolation, then we accept that a person is a person through other persons and must equally accept that a person’s conditions are a certain way because of our own. If you ever had a job, it is because your boss had a job and received whatever training or qualifications he/she had from whoever’s life was such that they could provide them. Examples like this can be crafted for every aspect of human life. So it follows that if to meet all eight Millenium Goals in 15 years will require $50 billion in aid per year, but governments spent $300 billion in 2003 alone on arms and weapon development, something has to be re-evaluated.

For many, the reaction to that may be the argument that much of that money was spent in a war against terror. And perhaps anticipating this, Tutu, in a very poignant and sobering prediction said, "We will never win a war against terror as long as there are conditions in the world that make people desperate.” If we take responsibility for those conditions, it is a war we had a significant part in starting and we are fighting against ourselves.

If you don’t know how you can contribute to this effort, my suggestion is to learn more about it and its various branches. And if you still don’t know what I mean about Desmond Tutu being hilarious, my suggestion is that you watch the webcast of the extraordinary ceremony.

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NCAA® March Madness®

Baller. Also y'all should watch the live video by checking our post below this one!! IT'S MADNESS!!!

Get Ready for the Best Time of the year... when madness represents something more than your organizational skills. I did y'all a favor and got the live video feed from CBS so that you can indulge in your most marvelous March Madness^® mania mayhem... ehh, you get the point. Tell your people to just hit us up: not-of-it.blogspot.com to get your updates and to watch the tournament at work or on the go.

Because... we care. haha.

Click Here if you want that goodness known as NCAA^® March Madness^®.

Enjoy the tournament!! You probably won't here much from your friendly neighborhood Perf until after April 6th!
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NBA Pre All-Star Weekend Finals Prediction

So for the last two years I have been priding myself with correctly predicting the NBA Finals teams and the result. Last year, I even managed to predict the number of games in which my C's murked the Lakers. The trick is that I have to do it before All-Star Weekend... and lucky for y'all, it's the first day of All-Star Weekend in Phoenix.

There's no formula, as a friend asked me the other day when I told him that I've done this in the past, there's no money down, hell... I don't even tell people that I made the prediction. But I thought that I would put myself out there this time and see if I have a knack for seeing how this game unfolds. So let's do a mini analysis of the top 3 teams in the East and all top 9 teams in the West.. because let's be honest, no other team has the chance of making it to the finals stage. There will be no 1999 8th Seeded Knicks repeat this year... unless the Jazz are the 8th seed, Boozer comes back 125% and they can torch the likes of the Lakers/Spurs/Hornets/etc.

Let's start with the easy part, the West. Sounds funny that the division that has 9 contenders is the easy part but it is. For one simple reason; Kobe Bryant. All of these teams are good and you can make a case for all of them going to the Finals but they have to get by Bryant's Lakers. The Lakers that are one of the most dominating teams to play the game. I mean, they're nothing like the Jordan-Pippen-Rodman Bulls but pretty close; Jordan/Kobe and a bunch of really good role players. The West standings right now are in this order: Lakers, Spurs, Nuggets, Trailblazers (whaaaat?!), Rockets, Hornets, Mavs, Jazz, Suns. First of all, I can't believe young man Brandon Roy is leading his team right now to a home playoff game --in the first round?! Baller, to say the least. But if any of these teams have a chance to derail the lakers, I'll say the Spurs. They know how to control a game and just demoralize a team. Most Likely Lakers-Spurs again... Lakers in 6...?! Who knows.

Now the tough part. The East. Any of these top 3 teams can go to the Finals. The top 3 being the Celtics, the Cavs and the Magic. The Magic took a big blow when Jameer Nelson was injured putting him out for.. probably the rest of the season. He's neccessary to the Magic if they plan on making it to the Finals. They're a good team without him but they are championship caliber with dude. So what will probably end up happening is that the Cavs murk the Magic in 5 games without Nelson.. if he's there, 7 games. Looks like a repeat Eastern Conference Finals with the C's and the Cavs. The Cavs are hungry this year.. very much unlike they've been in the past. Watch when Delonte West comes back from his injury how well they play and they will probably steel the top place in the East from the C's for more than half a week. Ultimately, however, the C's will reclaim 1st place and home field advantage. The Cavs also have All-Star point guard Mo Williams and are not relying on young dude with the bad haircuts Daniel Gibson as the point guard. Making it really, really hard for me to say that they upset the C's in 7 games. :-(

Dude needs homies to tell him that his
hair ventures are not ok. smh.

The Finals are set, Lakers v. Cavs. Let's not get too much into it but let's just say one future hall of famer does not get another ring and one future hall of famer gets his first. This time 6 games.

I'm telling y'all. The Cavs are hungry. And even if Bynum makes it back for the playoffs, which is highly unlikely, Big Z will give him a clinic.

two times.
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Daily Diversion:

Click this button:

Visit cornify.com to do this to your own website. For whatever reasons you might have. Read more!

Role Models

If there's one thing that Michael Phelps, Alex Rodriguez, and Chris Brown can teach America's youth, it's this: get rich then get in trouble, and let your agent or spokesperson handle the dirty work.

Has anyone else noticed that 2009 has exposed more phonies than Playboy? I mean, from the jokers who spend $50 million on private jets (American jobs, yes, I know) and $200 million to name a stadium, to those "performance enhancing" athletes (whether it be testosterone or that gold medal kush), to those allegedly abusive "squeaky clean" R&B artists, who are parents supposed to trust with their kids attention these days? Never before in my lifetime have so many cheaters been exposed in such a short period of time. And it seems to be more and more difficult for them to come clean and look sincere...

Personally, I think that cheaters should never prosper (see Marion Jones), but at the same time, everyone should be given a fair shot at forgiveness. I worry about the kids who will watch this unfold (most likely from a video podcast on their brain-melting iPhones) and think that if they haven't been carted off to jail, or kicked out of their sport or their jobs, then it's not all that bad. I know nothing about parenting, but I imagine I would have a really, really tough time pitching the morally high road to my kids. Unless that high road had an exclusive agreement with Fruit by the Foot and Apple Jacks, and the low road only had brussels sprouts and cottage cheese. Read more!

Job Fairs: Get Hired

The economy's rough. You need a job. Check one of these fairs that I found in this morning's copy of amNewYork.

Tuesday - Feb. 10th
Virtual Engineering Fair
Location: careerbuilder.com
Time: 9am-8pm
To register: Free registration at careerbuilder.com. Click on the Advice & Resources link and scroll down to the Career Fairs section.

Wednesady - Feb. 11th
Advertising Industry Diversity Job Fair and Leadership Conference
Location: NYU Helen & Martin Kimmel Center for University Life, 60 Washington Square South
Time: 1pm-530pm
To register: Preregistration closed. Onsite registration available.

Women Job Fair
Location: Affinia Manhattan, 371 Seventh Ave., at 31st St.
Time: 10am-3pm
To register: Free registration at Womenjobfairs.com

Friday/Saturday - Feb. 13th/14th
Japanese-English Bilingual New York Career Forum
Location: Penn Plaza Pavilion, 401 Seventh Ave.
Time: 9am-7pm
To register: Free registration at careerforum.net.

Ongoing
Village Voice Virtual Career Fair
Location: villagevoice.com/microsites/career-fair.


two times.
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Oh Hell No! Diddy gets confused

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words... sometimes it's only worth one word...

I got this pic from Thisis50.com, one of my favorite websites to keep track of hip hop with. Diddy is like 'What the hell is this? Looks like the rest of these but different.. hmm..'

Also the 50 cent and Rick Ross beef is probably one of the most entertaining things in the news.. so if you don't know, find out..

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Montana Syndrome: Or, the Popularization of Not Giving a Shit About Asian America

Confession: The same thought I usually have when I see this poor girl's name in the news crossed my mind when I read this headline: "Ignore it. She is a child. Who goes by Miley. Because that is an improvement on her actual name. Which is Destiny Hope (not kidding). She is nothing to you." But how could you resist a header like "Miley Cyrus Denies She's Racist" and just move along with the rest of the drivel about the latest butthurt Republican salt lick? Really, I'd like to know, because I couldn't. And I'm not sure if I'm a better person for reading the article or not.

There's a problem with the photo in question - one that kills me every time I try to discuss the topic of racism in a multiethnic America, particularly with regards to "Asian-Americans" - namely, the second kid (from left) in the photo.

I'd be interested to hear his thoughts on this whole situation, because I imagine it's all to do with his being there in the first place. Because the fundamental question that needs to be asked in this kind of a situation is: would you pull something like this if a person of East Asian descent was in the room?

Now in a normal, educated setting, the answer would of course be a resolute "no." But that's not what we're talking about here. I would not endure friends like these for very long, and because of my own personal experiences, I read a slight measure of discomfort in that poor guy's face. But I could be totally mistaken. The boy could be fine with it. He's friends with Miley Cyrus, after all.

Which is the crux of the matter, when it comes down to it. That a pop starlet (regardless of what you think of her talent, that is her objective position in society) could so blithely and earnestly deny the inherently offensive nature of that gesture speaks more to the environment she comes from than her character - again, she's a child. Read part of the statement she made earlier today:

I definitely feel like the press is trying to make me out as the new `BAD GIRL'!

To this I say: think a little more carefully, Destiny. You cannot deflect this, or place it amongst the sundry misbehaviors of your teenage-pop-star predecessors. When the press singles out a "bad girl" (take any example you prefer), it's generally because she provides a recurring string of incidents involving profound substance abuse that are fun to photograph. However, at the end of the day none of those photos reveal much of anything in particular about the person in question. Even in the dawn of show business, it was rare for celebrities to be seen en masse as moral compasses, and especially now, women in their 20's who don't like to party are pretty hard to come by. Being a "bad girl" never did and still does not have a thing to do with, to provide another example, hanging out with your One Black Friend and deciding it'd be fun to take pictures of you sitting next to him/her with shoe polish and lipstick on your face.

Why, Destiny, is that "goofy" face you and your friends are putting on not so goofy to your one East Asian friend? Is he just not as funny as you are? Is that it? Just to provide some 101, this is the sort of thing that goofy face originated from:































I could honestly talk about this issue for hours. I have. I hope for a day when the term "Asian" isn't even part of the culture, because it's as meaningless as calling Miley Cyrus "North American." But stories like this remind me that the 20th century is going to be tough to shake, and all I can do for now is declare my objections and then hunt for another glass of wine to cherish and hold close.

Good night.
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Obama defeats McCain....again...Two Times Two Times!!! What A Game!!!

I'm not talking about a presidential debate or the election, because we all know Obama won those by a landslide. I'm referring to their predictions for the winners of the Superbowl. Last night, I witnessed one of the greatest Superbowl games ever; it was very entertaining. Here is a little recap of the game



I cheered for both teams because I wanted to see one good game. However, Senator John McCain was rooting for his hometown team, The Arizona Cardinals. Well, guess which team Obama picked to win...hmmmmm...you guessed it, The Pittsburgh Steelers. Crazy how the young black president chose the team with the young black coach to win. Coincidence...I think not. Sorry John McCain, maybe you should try Connect Four or something.


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5 Thoughts on How To Jump-Start the Economy:

1: The Big 3's designs to make cars that require less oil are short-sighted. Just make flying cars the goal, and you bypass the need to rethink the entire Industrial Revolution altogether - nobody is going to object to having a diesel engine if their car can fly. Plus, considering how inefficient a flying car that runs on diesel would be, it'd take at least a million engineers to figure out how to make it work. Can you say "job creation?"
2: Speaking of creating jobs, hurry up and legalize drugs. Not only the ones that don't cause any more harm than cigarettes or alcohol. All of them. People who use don't do it because it's illegal, and they will continue to use if the drugs are legalized. But they will have to pay taxes. Taxes for meth = serious money. And people who don't use because certain drugs are illegal also probably have better reasons than lawfulness (empirical evidence comes to mind). If it's good enough for Michael Phelps, it's good enough for America. Plus, it'll help cull the rich.
3: Stop deporting international students who graduate from the American higher education system. I'm actually serious about this one.
4: America needs a high-speed MagLev train. China has one. America doesn't. What. NY to LA. 3 hours. Also, Manhattan needs a monorail system. At once. Get on that Gotham City prontosaurus. Minus the explosions.
5: Next time we feel like declaring war, do it on Canada. Much easier to bring troops home after that's over. They can just walk back. Read more!

Michael Steele elected as the Chairman for the RNC

Shout out to Juice for this one! Trying to be one of the first on this crazy internet to holler about this. Michael Steele has just been named the new Chairman of the Republican National Committee. Now I thought this year was astonishing already with, you know, a black man being elected president... but this is truly unbelievable.

Well, I guess the Republicans were much more in favor of freeing the slaves and etc. in the old days. However, as time has passed in this 'great' country of ours, the needs of blacks have begun to align more and more with the Democratic party.

This is historic and still very hard to believe right now. I'm sure the editors and writes for the Black Republican Magazine are going to have a field day and probably a commemorative issue or something along the lines.

I'm not hating on Republicans... I just simply can't believe it.


two times.
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Inauguration Report

There are three sets of numbers that sum up my inauguration experience in Washington, D.C. last week: (4x36)+(8x24); 5000+: 2,000,000; 1. I'll give you a second to try and figure that out.

For as long as I can remember, I have been looking forward to Inauguration Weekend. I reserved couch space at a friend's dorm at Georgetown the day of the election. I was able to secure swearing-in and ball tickets for the event through a trusty campaign organizer and friend. I bought overpriced handwarmers. You get the idea. I was ready to go. I couldn't imagine a bigger day in my life, and I wanted to make sure that I enjoyed the whole thing.

The day before I left for DC, I spent some quality time with my dad, who gave me his 1975 (or so) Canon AE-1. He said that he thought it would be really cool for me to have the opportunity to take some timeless photography with a timeless camera for a timeless event such as this. Honored, I took up the charge. Upon arrival to DC, I was a madman with the photography. I bought black-and-white film, color film, extra batteries for the flash, and read the 80 page manual front-to-back. I took hundreds of photos. Notably, I got three shots of Jesse Jackson, right before I shook his hand, Newark Mayor Corey Booker, right before I shook his hand, former President Bush's Chopper as it flew away from the Capitol, and countless shots of Kanye, Kid Rock, Usher, Fall Out Boy, and the Obamas as they danced to "At Last", as performed by a military marching band. In the end I took 336 shots, and I couldn't have been happier. Until I took the photos to be developed. I got a call around 10:30pm from the lab technician asking me if I gave her the right film. What kind of question was that, I thought. She explained to me that all of the rolls were blank. All of them. As if they had never been used. Not one exposure. Not one shot. She asked me if I wanted to come pick them up. I was demoralized. All that time, that effort, those memories, gone. In a flash, so to speak. (4 b/w rolls x 36) + (8 color rolls x 24) = 0 photos

That would have been fine if we actually were able to make it into the swearing-in ceremony. If you have any friends who struggled to make it into the now-infamous "Purple Gate", you already know what I'm talking about. It would have been one thing if we had made it there late, and we ended up stuck in the 3rd Street Tunnel with the other thousands of people who couldn't hear or see a thing as the clock raced towards noon. We were up by 3am, making the pilgrimage toward the mall by 4. With us in the pre-dawn mist were campaign volunteers, donors, and the families and supporters of Congressmen and women who eventually would get stuck with us. So much for those coveted tickets. After hours of jostling and standing and waiting and confusion, my friend and I were twenty-five feet from the entrance gate when they finally closed it completely at 11:45am. Beside me, a young boy, whose grandfather was the first black state Supreme Court Justice for a state whose name escapes me, was sobbing. "The Police are gaylords!!" he screamed into his mother's arms. Behind us, the howitzers were exploding. Barack Obama was officially President Obama, and the 5000+ of us were some of the few people in the world who missed this historic moment. Dejected, my friend and I dragged our feet to a dump truck. The driver was listening to the speech, and he opened his window to let a few of us listen. It felt like the 30s. We were so close, but so far. We walked away with the faint roar of 2 million people somewhere in the not-too-distant distance. (5000+: 2,000,000)

So, one could argue that my inauguration experience was, well, sub-par. But the one thing that keeps me going, most likely the one thing that prevent those thousands of people from rioting and mobbing their way into the Capitol, was that President Obama is now the President of the United States of America. That one thought alone eases the bitterness I may feel toward Capitol Police, Sen. Diane Feinstein, and film photography.


I stopped by the deli near my work this morning to pick up some fruit for the day. I got to the register and noticed that the woman was looking at my Obama pin, emblazoned with that iconic Shepard Fairey image and the words, "Yes We Did, January 20, 2009". She said, "Hey, you kinda look like our new President!" and gave me a big smile. I don't really, but for a person of color in the United States, that compliment has only existed for seven days. Think about that for a second. All because of one man's vision of the potential of this nation. "Yeah, I guess I kinda do," I replied, as I grabbed my orange and V-8 and headed upstairs to my office.

Cloud, obvious. Silver lining, blinding. (1) Read more!

A Digression: The Argument from (Graphic) Design

I think there was a very significant element of President Obama's (I do relish every opportunity I get to say that) campaign that generally went undiscussed, and yet, in this humble blogger's opinion, contributed in immeasurable ways to his complete takeover of the youth vote. Barack Obama, his staff, and the David's (who really deserve their own category) understood the importance of good design online and in print.

Consider the respective campaign stickers of Obama and McCain. Because I truly loathe Blogspot's image uploader, I will simply provide links for your convenience:

Obama: Here
McCain: Here

Before I examine the two stickers more closely, a basic primer on type:
There are, in the most basic terms, two different types of fonts: Serif and Sans Serif.

You can notice the obvious differences. "Serif" is just a fancy word for the useless little nibs at the end of each stroke that make a font like Times New Roman look "official" and, objectively speaking, "old." You've seen ancient English or Chinese calligraphy - it's all about the small details and fancy swooshes you could add. It doesn't help readability, but it looks opulent, fancy, and, again, official.

Logically, a "Sans-Serif" font is a typeface that doesn't have any of the useless squiggles and nibs. As opposed to serif fonts, sans-serifs appear "clean" and "modern." You see these most prominently in signs ("STOP" or "23rd Street Station") because of the simple fact that they're easier to read.

Now look again at the stickers. McCain is using a subtle serif font (you can tell mainly because of the C's). I don't know what it is, but I know that I don't like it. If you look up other examples of the sticker in higher quality, you'll notice there are weird dips at the edges of each character. The font also remains consistent in advertising McCain's website, making the URL (as well as the candidate) seem implicitly antiquated.

In contrast, Obama's website is written in a very clear sans-serif. It's how we're used to seeing websites advertised - refer to the Ebay, Amazon, and MySpace logos as examples. In fact, nowadays (and especially if you use a Mac), the only program you'll find yourself commonly using serifs in is Microsoft Word. This makes sense because the output in Word is print, and unless you're in Europe, most if not all printed material you consume is printed using serif fonts. When older folks complain about disliking reading too much information on the screen, it generally has to do with the fact that sans-serifs simply appear foreign to them. Because of the lack of serifs (the aforementioned "nibs"), it's more difficult to gain a context of where a word literally ends. Sans-serifs compel you to continue reading on and on and on. Like on this blog (I'm amazed you got this far).

Obama's actual name, of course, is written in serif. Again, it's official. Politicians love it. Had to be done. As an interesting tangent: Notice that in 2004, Kerry was the one using ugly serif fonts, and Bush threw serifs completely out the window - even his name was in an enormous, bold sans serif. Conspiracy? Wink wink.

Really, looking at the design elements of Obama's campaign is looking at a masterful execution of balancing sans-serifs with serifs. "CHANGE" was always in that bold, easy-to-read, modern lettering. Of course when Shepard Fairey got his hands on the font and pulled out the "HOPE" poster, he took it to a whole new level. Which brings me to my next point:

McCain's sticker has no relevant symbol. It has a star, which has more to do with America than McCain, and those yellow arrows that symbolize...I don't know what (The Golden Years?). Obama's symbol, on the other hand, is now the stuff of marketing legend. The "O" reminding you who it's all about, mapped out to appear to be a re-imagining of the flag. It's also very familiar, because we in America drive past Bank of America branches all the time.

All of this is really just a ploy to direct you toward the new White House website. Prior to Obama's election I think I ended up there once. On accident. But seriously. Check it out here. It's clear whoever was behind President Obama's campaign website was hired again, and even though it's full of serifs (they've got to look official, remember), look out for where their modern counterparts are applied.

Also, the White House now has a Youtube Channel, where, among other things, you can check out the President's Blog and watch Weekly Reports from Pres. Obama himself:

I really do love the 21st century.
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Commemorative Moments

In the hallway of my grandmother's apartment, there is a portrait of Martin Luther King Jr that I have been obsessed with since I can remember. Partially because of his expression. He is staring past the right side of the canvas, looking very serious and reflective and a whole host of emotions I couldn't identify as a 7 year old. The other reason was that it was painted in rich browns and purples on a sheet of black velvet. I was enthralled. In my look-and-don't-touch world, the idea of paint applied in long smooth curves and small spiky details across velvet presented the most exhilarating texture I could have ever imagined.

But even back then, I knew the picture held too much importance to just put my sticky fingers all over it. The image of Martin Luther King Jr. was not something to play with. For many, he was the face of the Civil Rights Movement. The image of non-violent protest in the United States. A symbol of racial advancement and equality. Of potential. Of the impossible overcome by will and passion.

And of the extreme sacrifice that accompanies that mission.

The power wrapped up in this icon continues to enthrall me to today because of the very process one must undergo to become an icon. It is easy to think that had blogging and Wikipedia and paparazzi existed then, we would have remembered a more complex man. Perhaps we would have had a clearer image of the pre-India MLK that was not so staunchly committed to non-violence. Or the obscurer parts of his speeches where he decries the aggression and arrogant expansion of the US into the Third World. Or his refusal to distance himself from other Civil Rights workers who were openly gay.

10 Other Things MLK Said, from IllDoctrine

But it is clear from looking to our present-day icons, both the "heroes" and the "villains," that to be remembered, much will be forgotten and actively left out. On the other hand, it is important to consider whether our icons hold so much meaning because of how accurately their image can recount an event, or how well they can symbolize the feeling in an experience.

So in the last few minutes of Obama-Eve, it is exciting to imagine what kind of icon we will require Obama to be for us, what image of these days we will piece together later, and how tightly we will tie them to past traditions.

It has been 45 years since the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. 23 years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. Day was first observed as a federal holiday. And 2 and a half months ago, was certainly a time to celebrate...

a video on euphoria

and shout out to all the IINOI writers in D.C. right now!!

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Transit Cop Murders Oscar Grant

I usually have really tough skin. I can take the worst of news and remain cool and calm about it. But sometimes you feel like your buttons are getting pushed just a bit too much. When people are viciously murdered by those that are meant to protect them, then my tough skin weakens.

I'd like to big up Julius for sending this out to a listserve so that people are aware of this hidious crime. I am much more upset than usual with the wrong being done to make this post funny or to even continue writing much more so instead I'll quote the e-mail the website sends.

It reads:

Dear friends,

On New Year's Eve, Oscar Grant was shot execution-style by a transit
police officer in Oakland, California. He was shot in the back while
face-down on a subway platform--unarmed and posing no threat.

Twelve days later--despite several videos showing exactly what
happened--the officer who killed Grant hasn't been arrested, charged, or
even questioned. He quit the force and has refused to speak. The District
Attorney has done nothing.

It's time to demand that California Attorney General Jerry Brown take over
the case and arrest Grant's killer, and to ask that the US Department of
Justice launch an independent investigation into the conduct of local
authorities. Please join me:

http://www.colorofchange.org/oscar/?id=1406-653707

Oscar Grant is the third man murdered by BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)
police in the past 17 years. All three victims were Black and none posed a
serious threat. In each case, BART and county authorities have failed to
hold the officers accountable.

In the previous cases, BART's internal investigations concluded that the
officers felt threatened by the victims and were justified in pulling the
trigger. It's unbelievable given the circumstances of the killings:

- In 1992, 19-year-old Jerrold Hall was shot in the back by a BART officer
as he tried to leave the parking lot of a station. The officer was
responding to reports of an armed robbery and said he suspected that Hall
and a friend were involved. The officer tried to detain the two, Hall ran
and then the officer shot him in the back and killed him. Hall was
unarmed, but the officer said he thought Hall was on his way to get a gun
and return for a showdown.

- In 2001, a mentally ill man named Bruce Seward was the next victim of
the rogue force. Seward, 42, was naked and had been sleeping on a bench
outside the BART station when an officer approached him. Seward did grab
the officer's nightstick at one point, but there were several options for
subduing him. Instead, the officer shot and killed him.

In addition to BART's internal investigation, Alameda County's District
Attorney is also investigating Oscar Grant's murder--but the office's
record on investigating police killings is horrible too. In both cases
just described, the District Attorney bought BART's argument that the
officers felt threatened. As a result, the cops were cleared of any
wrongdoing.

In the case of Grant's murder, the DA has already let 12 days pass while
doing essentially nothing--the officer who killed Grant is able to travel
and leave the state, and he's free to talk with other officers and attempt
to construct a story to justify his killing of Oscar Grant.

The problem with Alameda County's DA goes beyond BART police murders. In
the past two years alone, there have been 11 fatal police shootings in
Oakland (not including that of Oscar Grant). When asked, the officials at
the District Attorney's office could not remember a single case in the
last 20 years where an on-duty cop had been charged in a fatal shooting in
Alameda County. It gives the clear appearance that the District Attorney's
office just doesn't have the will to prosecute police crimes.

California's Attorney General needs to step in now and arrest Oscar
Grant's murderer. And the US Department of Justice should investigate the
failure of the authorities in Alameda County to act. It's the first step
towards justice. After that, we will push for systemic changes to create
public accountability for BART and other police departments. Creating
those structural changes will be a much longer fight, but Oscar Grant's
tragic death is a wake-up call that should give us a real chance to help
prevent this from happening again.

Please join me in demanding justice, and then ask your family and friends
to do the same:

http://www.colorofchange.org/oscar/?id=1406-653707

Thanks.

--

Please check out www.colorofchange.org to receive more information on this crime and to sign up for the petition.

WARNING: Please use your own discretion when viewing as the video shows Oscar Grant being killed.

two times. Read more!

Black People Love Cadillacs, Obama No Exception

I'd like to send a warm iinoi welcome out to our new Post-est with the mostest... or something corny, yet from the heart... to Genghis!! We're trying to keep y'all entertained with fresh material from unheard voices so check out his articles here and here. Dude can write. I might have to call him Genghis Hemingway. Now, on to Obama...

If you guys couldn't tell by now, I am obsessed with Mr. Obama and have reason to believe that the guy feels pretty ok about me too. I mean let's look at the vitals... Dude fills in for Ted Kennedy 3 days before my graduation and becomes our speaker and my girlfriend won that very unlikely Inaugural ticket pool in, of all states, California (the biggest one). I'm saying once Obeezy, as I so lovingly call him, found out that your boy Perf was involved, he probably made a call to California Senator Feinstein and was like 'That's my boy. Let him live.'

When Senator Feinstein had heard our President Elect laud me too much she gave in and granted my girlfriend the tickets. I too had entered my senators pool for tickets but Obama tries to speak to my senator as little as possible (ahem, Hilary Clinton, ahem).

After that call, Obama decided to call his boys up in England and get the most baller car ever made. Shout out to Jen for this heads up article. You can read the car's description here and by viewing the photo above so I won't really get into it. How about your president's blood in the passenger seat's door?! Crazy! Yet safe. And I have nothing against keeping this man safe!

Here's some Luda for your entertainment:

I can see Obama nodding his head to this in the back of his Caddy.

two times.
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Unmentionables, Pt.2: Some Thoughts on Class

I finally did it. It may have taken me a week, but I finally did it. I watched John Ziegler’s interview of Sarah Palin. I was loath to do it, but now it’s done. All near-ten minutes of it.

So that you don’t have to suffer any extra time with Mrs. Palin (though if you’re in a masochistic mood, the video’s been provided below), I’ll skip to the quote that I’d like to explore, spoken after Ziegler asks if Palin believes Caroline Kennedy will benefit from a dose of the infamous “liberal media" bias:

“I’ve been interested also to see how Caroline Kennedy will be handled, and if she’ll be handled with kid gloves or if she will be under such a microscope also. It’s gonna be interesting to see how that plays out, and I think as we watch that we will perhaps be able to prove that there is a class issue here also that was such a factor in the scrutiny of my candidacy versus say, the scrutiny of what her candidacy may be.”

If there’s one thing John Ziegler deserves credit for, it’s that he got Palin comfortable enough to dish out this kind of blasé ignorance. The interview as a whole reminded me of that brief interview in Bowling for Columbine when the world got to see Marilyn Manson (formerly known as the anti-Christ) in a vulnerable moment; just one weirdo (I say that affectionately) sitting across from another weirdo (Michael Moore, the anti-Ziegler*), trying to make sense of the senseless. The only difference is that in the case of Manson, when all was said and done a lot of people seem to have thought the same thing: Perhaps we’ve underestimated this one – whereas with Palin, one almost lets out an involuntary sigh of relief, suggesting that one’s calculations were just right.

I do agree that Kennedy hasn’t been particularly well examined, and I question her motives and timing – but there is a fundamental difference between Caroline Kennedy and Sarah Palin that does have to do with class, though certainly not the type that Palin seems to be implying, that makes Kennedy’s candidacy in higher office far more palatable.

There are some macroscopic concerns about Palin that have been repeated ad nauseum and require paltry amounts of scrutiny to discover. That she is deaf to these issues says more about her than it does about our wretched “society” she goes on about in the Ziegler tape (whatever happened to always being proud of America?). Caroline Kennedy graduated from Columbia law school and is a member of the NY & DC bar associations. Palin majored in journalism in a spectrum of institutions and, when pressed, could not summon the name of a single news publication she read at the time, though now in the Ziegler interview she breezily says that she pores over the local Alaskan papers (again, without naming any), snubbing Couric as a self-indulgent and ambiguous interviewer.

The questions Couric asked, if you recall, were rather straightforward:

KC: What newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped [to be McCain’s running mate] to stay informed and to understand the world?
SP: I’ve read most of them, again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media–
KC: But like, what specifically?
SP: Um, all of them – any of them that have been in front of me over all these years…
KC: Can you name a few?
SP: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news too – Alaska isn’t a foreign country…

It takes a certain amount of huevos rancheros to pass that kind of an abysmal performance off as a narrow-minded denizen of the Lower 48 taking advantage of a helpless Alaskan, but Palin seems to be attempting to do just that. Classy? I think so.

I’m sure the mudslinging over Kennedy will reach its crescendo in the coming weeks – a la “she’s getting a free pass because she’s an elitist from an urban center with a famous name” – but I don’t really care. She’s an intelligent, very evidently capable person who has made her views on policies plain. She doesn’t kill unsuspecting animals from helicopters, or attend a church spearheaded by a monster (though who knows – in this I may be speaking too soon, if the ’08 campaign was any indication). If you think getting a leg up in politics for being wealthy or a brand name is an unfair surprise, you clearly haven’t been reading your American (or world) history.

So no, maybe it’s not the most just electoral process we could conceivably ask for, but I think New York can take care of its own and would much rather prefer the “you knows” of a Caroline over the “gosh darn its” of a Sarah. You know? (No, but seriously, I’d like your thoughts on the subject.)


---
*Both, however, are documentarians in the same way I am Mongolian – in a very flimsy, distant, and approximate sense of the term (Korean-American, for anyone who’s confused now). Despite this, Moore is certainly the more entertaining of the pair, and although he does have a habit of lapsing into polemical hissy fits, he also seems to ask more challenging questions, if the Palin interview is any indication.
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Culture of the Week: Gallim Dance

This week's COTW has actual events associated with it! If you are in the New York City area, do yourself a favor and try to see this Dance Company at the Joyce SoHo this week until the 18th! I have the details of the event, in addition to a complete schedule after the jump.

I'm no Baryshnikov, but I know good dance when I see it. I think you all would be doing yourself a solid (thanks, Juno) by making your way to these shows. Here are the details, from the company manager:

Gallim Dance returns to Joyce SoHo with two full-length programs, January 9-18, 2009!

Jan. 9th 3pm - I Can See Myself in Your Pupil

Jan. 9th 8pm - Blush + Post-Show Reception hosted by Joyce SoHo

Jan. 10th 10am-1pm - Gallim Dance Student Workshop: Intermediate level (Includes class with the company and repertory from Andrea Miller's I Can See Myself in Your Pupil from 10am-1pm at Baryshnikov Arts Center, a ticket to the 8pm performance of Pupil, and a Post-show discussion) $45 There are still spaces available!

Jan. 10th 3pm - Blush

Jan. 10th 8pm - I Can See Myself in Your Pupil + Post-Show Discussion: Meet the Dancers

Jan. 11th 3pm - Blush + Post-Show Discussion: Meet Andrea Miller

Jan. 11th 8pm - I Can See Myself in Your Pupil

Jan. 12th 7pm - Gallim Dance Gala/Blush (Includes pre-show cocktails starting at 7pm at Joyce SoHo and the 8pm performance of Blush) Tickets: $65 -- Visit www.gallimdance.com/support for tickets.

Jan. 13th 8pm - Blush + Happy Hour at Botanica Bar from 6pm-8pm + After Hours hosted by Ashleigh Leite after the performance (free refreshments and snacks!)

Jan. 16th 8pm - Blush + Post-Show Discussion: Fashion and Dance with Jose Solis

Jan. 17th 10am-1pm - Gallim Dance Student Workshop: Adv./Professional Level (Includes class with the company and repertory from Andrea Miller's Blush from 10am-1pm at Baryshnikov Arts Center, a ticket to the 8pm performance of Blush, and a Post-show discussion) $45

Jan. 17th 8pm - Blush + Post-Show Discussion: Meet the Dancers, moderated by Larry Keigwin

Jan. 18th 3pm - Blush


Tickets are available at www.joyce.org/calendar_soho.php or 212.352.3101. Tickets are only sold at the theater starting 30 minutes before showtime and only for that specific show.

Read more!

Ambassador Plumber*: or, Oh Good, That's What They've Been Missing

Zip up those pants, puppies - In It Not of It has a brand spanking new writer who goes by the name of Genghis, and he's a godless liberal (/gourmand); hide your children accordingly. 

In recent weeks I've been away from the US of A, and the first thing I like to do when I find myself in the outer reaches of "international-dom" is watch the news.  Nothing symbolizes vacation for me quite as much as CNN & BBC International.  Their priorities actually synchronize with mine, so I can switch off the analytical faculties of my brain for a bit and just consume instead of having to sift through what, at the end of the day, is about 90% data that wouldn't even impress at a proverbial cocktail party.  Like I said, vacation.

For example: When watching CNN in the States, I learned more about Governor Blagojevich than I care to know to this day.  I am concerned that a part of my brain is now irretrievably occupied with the knowledge that the man's first name is Rod and he jogs in a black tracksuit.  At the same time, had I stuck to taking my news solely through the TV, I would probably be completely ignorant of how our nation's enormous bailout package is being divvied up, or that the civilian population of the Ukraine is largely without heat due to a dispute with their neighbor, chubby Russia.  Why is the populace more interested in Rod's scandal in the face of all the other potential stories they could be discussing?  It's a curious blend of celebrity/pop journalism and Americentricism that now inhabits every porous second of a 24-hour news cycle nobody needed or asked for, and these are the sorts of questions I ask myself to stay on top of it.

Call me a cynic, but in that context it's almost nice to watch Gaza footage, considering the alternative is learning terribly useful things like the fact that Joe (who is actually Sam) the Plumber (which is apparently the new English word for "unemployed") is now a war correspondent for an internet-based news organization called Pajamas Media.

Somehow, I can't perceive Mr. Wurzelbacher's presence in Gaza as particularly welcome.  He claims that his "mission" is to commune with his "average Joe" peers and get their stories, but considering the fact that Israel has disallowed foreign press from entering Gaza, I fear those pedestrian tales with all be rather one-sided.  He also possesses a self professed Christian bent, which, in this writer's humble opinion, is precisely what the region needs: just one more religious nut to spice up the combustible stew that is Israel, sitting around, doing, for all intents and purposes, absolutely nothing.

One would hope that the average Joe's of the world might consider adopting "Humanitarian Aid Worker" as their occupational labels, but then one would be seriously underestimating the average Joe's desire to be seen on TV, which was how the U.S.'s fixation with monosyllabically christened menial laborers probably began in the first place.  There is also another discussion to be had about how the GOP's idea of "inexperience" figures into this little situation.  But we'll save that for a rainy day.
---
*The irony does not escape me that in decrying the continuing proliferation of stories about Mr. Wurzelbacher, I have increased his media presence. Thus, in an effort to ensure that his celebrity stagnates, atrophies, and is amputated from the international subconscious as quickly as possible, I solemnly swear to never mention his name again, unless his is struck dead by firepower from which he claims to be quite confident his god will spare him - and I can assure you that such an occasion will merit a much shorter post.

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Red Shirt, Blue Shirt: Verizon acquires Alltel/ Gators Make Sooner Gumbo

Hello all. I haven't written anything in a while but I realized that the deadline I need to meet for my job by today should not affect my passing of knowledge to you great people. So I return to you this new year devoid of unkept promises that many of you made over the beginning of the New Year.

So those Alltel commercials are coming to an end?! I don't really care too much about Alltel and Verizon's takeover of the smaller company. What I, like many of you, am wondering is how will this merger affect the Alltel commercials?! I don't even watch tv that often but in an era full of 'nice try but no dice' ads (ahem, Gatorade's G ads), the Alltel commercials get by with a passing grade.

I don't really know much (at all) about advertising but I do know what entertains me. Swiffer is going to have to win that award because their commercials with Player's 'Baby Come Back' are hilarious. If you disagree, you're a loser. Just kidding. You're at least not as cool and intellectual as I am however.

Ask Grambo about that advertising stuff. I'll stick with College Football. And yeah, I was right: Florida picked apart the Sooners. Though, I may end up wrong about him going in the NFL draft. Most teams can't even take the time to convince Tebow to enter the draft as they are in search of a coach.

And honestly, if you just won the national championship as a junior, was arguably the best athlete in college sports and went to UF, would you leave?! I'll go out on a limb and say that dancing on the beach and being the best at what I do would be more attractive to me than signing contracts and paying taxes and all that grown up stuff that will still be there in a year.

Tebow, Please Stay! You were College Football this season.

two times.
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