New Dopeness

1. If you've yet to say a prayer, donate, and encourage your network to do the same for the people of Haiti. Stop reading, and do so now. I'm not spewing all my thoughts in this entry.

2. http://blaxidermy.wordpress.com/about/ This is fire.

3. The wonderful music and culture site RBMVibes (www.rbmvibes.com) is looking for writers. If you want access to free albums,have insight on today's music scene and love to write, shoot an email to RBMVibes@gmail.com. If you don't want to write, but would like to keep up with the updates, also check out the site to sign up for the newsletter.

4. RIP Teddy Pendergrass. I unfortunately hear a little TPain in my head everytime I hear your name. I blame college.

5. I'm ALIVE!!! *Hi* (waves, blushes, sighs).

Coloring in the Fashion World

This cover for Life Magazine was taken in 1969. It's almost forty years later, and while some people may feel like the fifty states and white house make up for the forty acres and a mule, obviously some of the same conversations are occurring and the changes may seem cyclical to those that have come off of the election high. Ebony proclaimed earlier this year that "Black is Back" but this is also the same publication that cautioned me when I was younger, pointing out that black representation in government post-Civil War and even through Redemption was at an all time high before falling again in the 20th century. History doesn't have to repeat itself if the nation remains vigilant and aware. There seems to be better work at that nowadays.

Fashion isn't the purview of this blog. Neither is it my area of expertise, but I have written about it from time to time. (This is part of my blog focus complex. Click here for references) This does not mean that I do not follow the fashion world and like to note what is going on. As I traveled the internet world this evening while enjoying Teen Jeopardy and ignoring the never ending job search I was pleasantly surprised to note that some things are changing in the fashion world besides for Ciara wearing ankle purses.

Magazines and ad campaigns are getting colored! You can check WWD and Style.com for industry written reports as well as the more entertaining and accessible pieces written by two of my favorite fashion websites, Fashionista and Make Fetch Happen. Check here and here here.

Bisous (HAUL)
Kim

Old School Fridays: Neo Soul-Groove Theory, Zhane

It's that time of the week again. Old School Fridays! This week's theme is Neo-Soul, and I'm going to bring you some pre-1999 goodies.

A pre-solo career Amel Larrieux in Groove Theory's 1995 'Tell Me"

Groove Theory-Tell me
Uploaded by
SirDroopy

Zhane's "You're Sorry Now" I went with this instead of other tracks like "Hey Mr. DJ," "Groove Thang," and "Sending My Love," but they're all solid tracks you can google.

Zhane - You.re Sorry Now
Uploaded by mahdi1

I'll leave crazy Erykah for someone else to cover. That does my Old School Friday for this week, check out other Old Shcool Friday participants here: http://www.themarvalusview.com/osf/ .

Happily Never After: The Struggle for a Black Princess in the Disney Culture.

While browsing That Black Girls Site I noticed an article on Disney' s search for a black princess. I had previously spoken about Disney's struggle with princesses and my excitement for Maddy in this piece about American Girl ("American Girl Movie. A Playlist and An Apology"). Apparently my dream is never going to come true. According to this piece it has been reported that the princesses' name has been changed to Tiana, she's going to get with some non-black dude, and they will live in a fictional land. Well for one this disproves my theory that non-white Disney princesses are all localized in order to deal with the issues of ethnicity. Don't they owe the South one after the horror of Song of the South?* However, it does bring up other issues that are too numerous to mention.

I can talk all day about race, cartoons and children's programming as its something that I've wondered about since the days of Doug and the Puzzle Place (really the Funnys and the Beets were white, everyone else included rich lil Bebe was funky colored). But I won't.

Instead I bring the past which I may be looking at through rose colored glasses. HBO used to do a great series that was also available for purchase called Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child. The stories were "politically correct" and featured a range of races and ethnicities for the characters. There was this one Caribbean one that my family watched and laughed at over and over. Robert Guilliame narrated and there was quite the cast (voices) of minority actors (Magaret Cho**, Raven-Symone, Sinbad, even Pauletta Washington). The stories were really good with a little moralistic lesson as well as not demeaning the life of women. Apparently the episodes still come on in the morning. If you subscribe to HBO Family check it out: the schedule's here.

Here's a very short clip from "The Princess and The Pea:"



Also a Wikipedia article including links to the IMDB and HBO website. If you're really interested you can buy some episodes on Amazon.

*At 20 years old after seeing the movie the year before I went to Disneyland to try and ride Splash Mountain. It was sadly closed. Still that was a great way to spend senior year Spring Break.
**Crazy as Magaret Cho may be you have to admit she rocks hard for the kids. This and C-Bear and Jamal were the ish.

American Girl Movie. A Playlist and an Apology.

-The American Girls (screen shot from http://www.americangirl.com/agcn/index.html)


As old as I am, I should not be this excited for the first theatrical release of an American Girl story. Even though I have no idea who this new Kit girl is, I always loved American Girl. As presents when I was little I received the purple and black modern American Girl Varsity Bomber jacket that I rocked hard with my red,green, yellow and blue plaid uniform as well as the starter set of Addy books. At the library I read through all the books in each series, gaining knowledge about American history as I went. I also collected American Girl trading cards and I still have some sitting on my bookshelf at home along with my Hello Kitty and Spice Girls paraphernalia. My favorite characters were Samantha, the posh Victorian who was friends with dirty and poor Nellie; Molly with her 40s charm that prompted me to ask my mother if I could pin curl my hair; and of course Addy, the fearless freed slave girl who came to New York and longed for her family to be reunited. Unfortunately I did not connect with Kirsten as much and Felicity was a bit too history book American for me. I got lost after they brought out Josefina, but was happy that they kept doing different eras and slowly added more diversity to the historical sisterhood. I'm still waiting for the Civil Rights Era doll, but I won't hold my breath.

(Imagine this in a kids size...yea, I was styling)

A.O. Scott of the New York Times, describes the film and its importance in this New York Times Article and he does hit on some solid points about the film industry and target audiences. We've seen it with Tyler Perry and the continued success of Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen's pre-NYU empire and all the Disney Channel productions (Lizzie McGuire, Cheetah Girls, High School Musical, That's So Raven, Hannah Montana). Even a Barbie theatrical production a few years ago prompted signs of joy and relief that girls could still partake in the idealism. Even more relief was prompted when Disney announced it would make another cartoon fairy tale, and this time starring Maddy, the black princess from NOLA.* There is an audience that needs films like this and in the hypersexualized culture that we live in, the innocence of being an American girl is something to be desired. Sure we know its not all sugar and spice and everything nice. Life is something more like that's portrayed in crazy movies like KIDS or Thirteen, but people do still want a bit of the fantasy, the escape, and the idealism. NOT a crazy essentialized idealism, but something that's not on the wild and crazy end of the spectrum and not on the Disney Channel. It also can't hurt to have a nice little Depression Era story in this crazy recession.

Of course this is not an end all be all. Coming out of the American Girl franchise its still steeped in ideas of consumerism and promoting good little shoppers and brand loyalty out of American girls who will see the film, dolls in hand and probably dressed in some of the costumes from the catalog. Proper gender roles will still be inscribed and who knows what Abigail Breslin may do in a few years. But still, it has to be better than when my sister was forced to take me to the Spice Girls movie after Saturday School at the old Flatbush Pavillion on Flatbush and 7th Avenue in Brooklyn and my friends and I bought Spice Girls lollipops everyday to get the free stickers that I collected. For that, I apologize Shirley.

Celebrate all it means being a girl:




*Really Random: Ever noticed how these modern ethnic minority fairy tales are all localized: Mulan was Chinese in China, Pocahantas was Native American in emerging colonial America, and now this black girl is from the South. Understandably Jasmine was from the Middle East, that was based on the Arabian Nights stories. I also do understand why these characters need locations to make their stories work, but I still find it interesting. I wonder if the Grimm Brothers gave locations to Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty.

He Came Classy With It

Way back when, Noel Gallagher of Oasis stated his dismay at a rap artist being chosen to headline the Glastonbury festival out her in the jolly ole'. Glastonbury was supposed to remain for guitar based rock music (even if Amy Winehouse was performing as well, but not going there). It was plastered all over the free newspapers of London, but I heard nothing of a retort by Jay-Z, which you have to admit is a bit unusual for a rapper.

This is perhaps the classiest comeback. As reported by Spinner, Jay -Z simply acquiesed to Gallagher, performing classic Oasis song, "Wonderwall" at the show as part of his set.

On the Street|Cinched: Why the New York Times need a clue?

It was the New York times that started the fist bump foolishness. In perhaps the cutest article ever about Barack Obama and his assistant, Reggie Love they spoke of "closed-fist high-fives" to which my friends and I laughed, knowing that they had to be talking about a "pound" or "dap." That was alright New York Times. You just needed a way to express the imagery of the action to the public. Little did you know Michelle and Barack would do it a few days on tv, making the public aware of something they were already aware of (Even the Dalai Lama gives pounds. I've seen pics.)

There was also that random Style article about chipped nail polish that discussed how it was now acceptable to have chipped nails. I convened with friends again. We decided it wasn't and that the article was silly. But then again, London girls think black tights or stocking with holes in the summer is acceptable, so I just may be old fashioned like that.

This past weekend we were graced with Bill Cunningham's "On the Street|Cinhed" audio visual feature. Check it out here.
Now I'm just concerned about my hometown paper.

Things I wonder:
1. Where did they find so many shirtless guys? Sure people go shirtless on their block, and NYC did just have a heatwave, but those dudes were passing a Zara making it one of 4 or 5 locations(that I can think of), and the shirtless is just not that normal. It had to all be at the Puerto Rican Day Parade.

2. Really NY Times? One, this is not new. As Mr. Cunningham pointed out, guys have been wearing baggy jeans for quite some time now. Contrary to popular belief, they often did wear belts with them. There had to be away for the jeans not to completely fall off. Also, I've seen this ridiculousness in Brooklyn for quite some time from baggy to fitted jeans. Top Shottas are Top Shottas everywhere.

3. I'm a fan of relating history to everything. After all I was a history concentrator. The depression connection was a little weak. I'm somewhat doubting that super low rise jeans will come in fashion for men as a way of rationing fabric. It's supposedly going out for women though, so who knows. That along with the graffiti connection and the relevance to hip hop culture should have been developed more. Really, my history tf would have graded you worse than they graded me.

4. White kids do live in the city, not just Long Island, Westchester and the UES (which may as well not be the city). They also adapt to and contribute to these fashion musings. But they are not top shottas. Sorry.

Gawker agrees this is ridiculous.

Hey, New York Times. See how I knew this was all bogus. I could be a real help. Hire me!

H.A.U.L.

Things I'm pondering now: Letters to the Stars

Dear Barack,

It's pretty clear that I think your wife is fabu. And well, yea I want you to win: not only so Michelle can be a great first lady; not only because I want to have a self identifying black president;not only because supporting you is cool and trendy; and not only because I swoon every time I see your great dance skills on Ellen but because I like your politics. Yes We Can (use your healthcare plan to deal with this swelling on top of my foot since the stupid British NHS won't pay for a podiatrist and my job is withholding a week of pay).
But Barack, I have a bone to pick. Really could we not include one other recognizable racial minority in your first national commercial? I'm sure there are some ethnically ambiguous folks or maybe they're hidden in the black and white shots, but lets be real...I know you have a photo with a minority. I'll let the whole hijab wearing ladies thing slide. YES WE CAN!

Love,
Kimberly

Dear Robert Kelly,
You're a perv. We all knew something was up with your songs. We also knew something was up when the Aaliyah wedding rumors came about while "Age Aint Nothing But A Number" was still blaring on the radio. I also don't doubt the possibilities that the girl was a fast little girl, but regard yourself a lucky man. Please go repent and make another of your gospel songs...you're too talented to waste after you received this break.
But I wonder do you think you got better treatment because you were a celebrity? Do you think the media coverage was different because it was a little black girl and not a little white girl?
I'm not passing judgment because we Christians aren't supposed to do that. I'm just saying you're a pervert because you are.
Love,
Kimberly

Dear Vogue Italia,
I anxiously await next Thursday. But did Naomi need the cover? She's crazy and not in the self obsessed Tyra way! But I guess that sells.
Love,
Kimberly

Dear View Ladies,
Loved the Michelle episode.
Barbara please stop the old lady madness. No one wants to know whose families you destroyed of that Alan Greenspan has hooked up with any one, much less you.Also I have the feeling bare isn't so great on you. Please wear panty hose.
Sherri, I wonder about you. Are all the screws alright? Eh, watev you're fun. I so feel you on the sleeveless thing
Joy...you must be the fun aunt. I'm certain of it.
Elizabeth continue being yourself.
Whoopi, I | you. I'm not sure what it means, but you're cool and keep it all the way real. Thanks for helping out Michelle on the show. Also your comment about dark skin black women, on point. Rock ON!.
But can we please stop calling it a fist bump: its a pound/dap and Michelle you know you knew it before the young folk on the campaign. Even today's issue of The Guardian has a photo spread dedicated to old people doing it.
Love,
Kimberly

Dear self,
We need to chat. cough*Dissertation*cough*laundry*cough.
loathe,
me

Stuff White People Like: Coldplay

My daily life exists on reading and responding to emails sent by friends. Recently I received an email with a link to Vanity Fair. If you remember this blog's name and its initial post all deal with my love affair with that magazine and I've done a few pieces afterwards. My title even used to be Vanity is still a fair but it just got a little darker or something like that. Anyways, building off all the discussion on website Stuff White People Like (for a breakdown see Racialicious piece here) and the myriad of other sites that have emerged since its founding. There have been a variety of views concerning these websites. Some find they too stereotyping or as a way of building barriers. I find them hilarious and a way of showing how all this race jazz is so constructed (of course on sound historical issues that won't go away overnight or even over-decade) and that whiteness is not a norm, but a constructed ideal as well.

So I bring to you Vanity Fair's coverage of the book/blog, Stuff White People Like. Please read and laugh at this coverage of Coldplay, just the type of band that brings about discussion like this and also the fact that it is the poorer whites who really know what's up. That could mean a myriad of things, but I'll just continue to laugh at the notion that your approval or disapproval of Chris Martin can somehow determine your race. I feel like a lot of people are missing the satirical nature of this, which I guess could be an issue.

Unless of course the guy isn't trying to be funny when he says this is a scientific approach. Then I say we all go read Bruce Dain's A Hideous Monster of the Mind and cry.

VF Daily
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* Culture
* | Music

Stuff White People Like: Coldplay
by Vanity Fair
June 16, 2008, 8:11 PM

ColdplayOn July 1, 2008, Random House will publish Stuff White People Like: The Definitive Guide to the Unique Taste of Millions, based on the insanely popular blog of the same name. In a remarkable coincidence, June 17, 2008, is the release date of Coldplay’s new album, Viva La Vida. VF.com asked Christian Lander—author of the blog and the new book—to deconstruct the band’s white fan base.

It is easy to think that all white people love Coldplay. However, if you assume this you will miss a great opportunity to dig beneath the surface of white people and learn how to really get inside their heads. By understanding a white person’s feelings toward the band, you can evaluate, recognize, and eventually exploit the type of white person you are dealing with.

White people who list Coldplay as their favorite band are what we will call “basic” level white. Chances are that they discovered the band a few years ago and have attended at least one concert. Their knowledge of music is very limited, and there is a 100 percent chance that they also like U2. If you need to befriend one of these people, just tell them that X&Y helped you get through a difficult breakup. They will understand.

If you mention the band to a white person and that white person rolls their eyes, you are likely dealing with a “standard” level white person. The way to know for sure is to say, “I consider the band to be a guilty pleasure.” A favorable reaction indicates that your white person is indeed standard level. For the most part, these people are either former fans (“I liked Parachutes when it came out”) or very reluctant fans (“Yeah, I guess ‘The Scientist’ is a good song”). Though they may appear more standoffish than basic level white people, they are far easier to manipulate once you know their secret.

Due to its big, sweeping sound, Coldplay’s music is perfect for montages about relationships in television and film. Because of this, many white people have listened to a Coldplay song on their iPod while looking out the window of an airplane or car, imagining that they are acting out a scene from a movie about their life. It is their secret shame and it is strongly recommended that you never bring it up with them. Instead you should direct the conversation to white hero Gwyneth Paltrow and her choice of baby names. This is guaranteed to put a white person in a good mood.

It is important to be aware that an affinity for Coldplay can cause an immediate loss of respect among “advanced” level white people. The best way to earn the trust of these people is to say “Coldplay is this generation’s U2.” (Note: this is an insult.) Advanced level white people are often the poorest white people in terms of money but the richest in terms of credibility and respect.

Knowing how to use Coldplay to your advantage will be one of your main assets as you climb the white social ladder.

Photograph by Stephan Craneanscki.

My Favorite Scenes: Guest Singers Part I

This is a topic that has no ending. Every show has repeatedly used guest musical stars as a method of cross promotion. However some episodes will remain with you forever. This will obviously have to be part one of the series, because really I could place every episode of New York Undercover under this title and at least one special episode from every season of The Cosby Show. So let's get the party started. As usual, clips at the end if they can be found. There are also several little Michael Jacksons in here.

Of course there are my requisite A Different World references (of which I probably won't be able to find an online clip). But for me three guest star episodes stand out. One of them is of course the En Vogue episode where the talented girl group are incorporated into the script as Mr. Vernon Gaines's nieces that Ron then uses in his night club performance. Then there is the Gladys, Gladys Knight episode. Whatever happened to the opera singer, she could blow? The third is when Kriss Kross performed in yet another classic episode concerning youth violence following on the give back to your community theme propagated by Sinbad's community center. The episode name is "Original Teacher" and yes at one point in my life I considered wearing my clothing backwards "because inside out is wiggedy wiggedy wiggedy wack."


Fresh Prince also had its share of stars even though they didn't always sing. It also is the number one example of lets ignore my career outside of this show. So besides for the fact that it starred Will Smith, Jazzy Jeff and little MJ #1 Alfonso Ribiero, the show produced by Quincy Jones also brought in a few characters. Who can forget the episode where Tevin Campbell comes and sings for Ashley Banks' birthday. She swoons, faints and then ended up in half of his videos afterwards. Then good ol' Philly boy Will of course knows all of Boyz II Men because everyone in Philly knows each other. Vanessa Williams was also on an episode. She mentioned Saving the Best for Last and gave birth to a baby. There was no singing. Sadness. Of course Tatyana Ali's singing career began on the show as well. Sigh, that boy was playing with her mind.


Then there was Family Matters. The place for relatively unknown stars to go and remain relatively unknown. Besides for their constant references to current musicians like Bobby Brown and their 10 second rendition of My Perogrative (which made the show relevant then, but super dated now), I remember two distinct performances. One was by Seal and another was by Portrait. The Seal episode deserves its own, My Favorite Scenes reference: the I'm a teenager sneaking out to a really cool club/music performance even though my parents already told me no. The Portrait episode is also a recurring theme: performance at a school concert. We also can't forget the many times that Eddie Winslow and Aunt Rachel (of Tony and Dawn fame) got an opportunity to sang and Urkel did something like singing and Carl and his friends did a rendition of old jammy jams (it was his h.s. reunion episode that taught me the intricacies of the Mash Potato). There was also that time that Shanice and Eddie had something strange ocurring. So that brings the count up to three. Should also be pointed out that little Ricky was a scary miniature little MJ and I think probably looks just as creepy now.

Sister Sister, with its bevy of shows dedicated to Roger, Tia and Tamera's singing abilities also had its fair share of singing guests. Of these three stand out in my mind. The Brian McKnight Episode, where Tia develops a crush on him as he plays her teaching assistant. Maybe not as much singing as it was playing his song in the background. Tia and Tamera, always open about their faith, also did an episode using Kirk Franklin. Of course they were in the choir, but we can't blame them. There's also another favorite scene reference that emerged with the prevalence of 90s stars having dual careers: the let's forget I have a job outside of the show. Roger, also known as Marques Houston, f.k.a. Batman of Immature/IMX fame outside of the show performs on the show as part of his teenage boy band group. The girls swoon. No one admits that Roger and Batman look exactly the same. It also serves to note that this was probably one of the few jobs that Kid could get post House Party (also serves to note that Immature was in the last installment of House Party ..the black 90s is all one big 6 degrees, which yes starred Will Smith). Sister Sister also took both sides of the rap game showcasing some man that disrespected women in one early episode and then the Goodie Mob/Cee-Lo in another episode. They also went to Freak-nik...not what you generally think of your wholesome teen show.


Following his older sisters, Tahj Mowry also had his own vehicle: Smart Guy. While this show had its fill of never to be realized potential (Omar Gooding, Essence Atkins, Tahj Mowry, and Jason Weaver) it also had its singing moments. How could you not let little MJ (Jason Weaver was in The Jackson Five movie as little MJ) sing? There's also the Destiny's Child episode where they do their rendition of Amazing Grace and Beyonce explains to Marcus (Jason Weaver) that she spent Thanksgiving in a airport eating a turkey sandwich. I failed to shed crocodile tears.
A DIFFERENT WORLD

(Go here for full episode: http://youtube.com/watch?v=oYW5f6JVSrY)


I didnt reference this one of The Boys, but since I can't find Kriss Kross I'll supplement.

Family Matters



And I can't find the Seal episode, so here's New Edition. I think they had a love affair with the group and its fall out:


and the Tracy Spencer Episode:


FRESH PRINCE


Tatiana Ali in TC vid


Sister Sister
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Smart Guy




So yes, this episode of My Favorite Scenes is far from over. There will be plenty more, including more My Favorite Scenes cross references. We haven't even gotten to Queen Latifah/Khadijah and Living Single of the horrible nature of Joey Lawrence and Blossom yet or Moesha. How could we be done?

And now for some more six degrees: Thelma Hopkins (Aunt Rachel) of Family Matters would later play Essence Atkin's father's baby mama on Half and Half. The new (and wacker) Aunt Viv on The Fresh Prince is married to Ray from Sister, Sister in Real Life. Of course Tia, Tamera, and Tajh have all starred on each others shows, and were all on Full House. About half of these people are going to be in the greatest resurrection of the black 90s sitcom in soem movie about stepping that I swear me and my friend dreamed up back when drumline came out. If only we wrote a script.

My Favorite Scenes: Jail Time

Yesterday's throwback was not there because I fell asleep, woke up next to lappy with You Tube open. In honor of Sean Bell and the new Sean Bell track, I was going to post a clip of the "Mistaken Identity" episode of "The Fresh Prince" when Will tries to explain to Carlton that they were pulled over for Driving While Black.

So today, I bring you "My Favorite Scenes: Jail Time" where some of our most beloved characters have ended up in the slammer. So well its not all of the, but just a few of my faves.


A DIFFERENT WORLD: JUST ANOTHER FOUR LETTER WORD
(No clips found)In this classic jail episode, Ron and Dwayne end up in jail along with some guys from Virginia A&M after a racial scuffle.
Full description from http://epguides.com/DifferentWorld/season5.shtml:

Dwayne becomes jealous of Whitley's new beau, particularly after she leads him to believe they are sleeping together. Ron promises to take Dwayne's mind off the situation by taking him to the big football game between Hillman and Virginia A&M. Ron then sells his ticket to a scalper and spends the game in his car. Three white students from A& M walk by, and one of them decides to start trouble. Ron bets them on the outcome of the game, declining to mention that their quarterback is out with the flu. With Hillman winning in a rout early the fourth quarter, the guys come out and pay Ron without an argument. Ron taunts them and says that their team needs to recruit more black players. One of the guys wants to let it go, but his friends begin to spray paint a racial slur on Ron's car. Ron starts to fight them, and Dwayne comes out and jumps into the fray. They are all held by campus security, who threatens to have them arrested unless they explain what happened. Ron and an A&M student give biased accounts; each leaves out information to make himself look completely blameless. Whitley, Kim and Freddie show up and unsuccessfully try to get Dwayne and Ron released. Dwayne tries to attack one of the guys for his racist and sexist comments about Whitley. Rick, the student who tried to make peace, finally comes forward and explains what happened. He feels embarrassed by their behavior. The officer orders the A&M guys to pay for Ron's repairs and perform community service. He points out that Dwayne and Ron also judge people by racial stereotypes (although it is to a lesser extent), and has everyone return for further punishment the following weekend. As they exit the stadium, they discover that someone has finished painting the slur on Ron's car."

THE FRESH PRINCE: MISTAKEN IDENTITY
(Videos at end of post) On this Fresh Prince classic from the first season, Uncle Phil and Vivian leave on a weekend trip, and Will and Carlton get pulled over for "speeding" as they drive Mr. Firth's Benz to Palm Springs since they apparently match the description of car thieves.

SEINFELD: Series Finale
(Videos at end of post) After all the hijinks pulled by some of our favorite New Yorkers it all finally catches up with them as they land in jail and various cast members from the 9 years come to testify. There's no huge racial lesson here, but do know that life will catch up with you one way or another(esp. seeing as the infamous Puerto Rican Day Parade episode was only a few episodes before).

Enjoy!

Happy (US and Canada) Black History Month

We celebrated out here in the UK in October, but you know, I follow the US calendar mostly. This is the 22nd year of the expansion of what was previously Negro history week into an entire month. There are concrete reasons for choosing February: the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. However, we'll start off the month with a (not so serious) examination of whether or not February should be the month in which black history is celebrated.

I present to you, the original drug abuser: Gil Scott Heron in a recent performance at New York's SOB's (Sounds of Brazil...cool shows, often). The revolution may not be televised, but this "luminary" has been put on You Tube.


HAUL,
The Queen

Art in Brazil

Interesting article I came across on Grafitti in Sao Paulo, Brazil on the BBC website. No commentary from me: I'm tired.

Turning the spotlight on Brazil's hidden art

By Gary Duffy BBC News, Brazil

Whether this is art seems very much in the eye of the beholder

It is not a location every artist would chose for a display of their work

In the polluted tunnels beneath the streets of Sao Paulo, Zezao, one of Brazil's most famous graffiti artists, returns time and time again to produce his work.

This part of the city is dark and dangerous. The brown and smelly water is a foul mixture, bringing with it rubbish and sewage from above.

Zezao has had several vaccinations to allow him to continue his work.

On one occasion he had to run for his life when the tunnels were flooded after heavy rain. On another he stood on a nail.

The work can be dangerous but Zezao says it is important

But all along this grim and uninviting channel are signs of an unexpected artistic display - graffiti painted with care and attention to detail, even though few people will ever get to see it.

Zezao says he works here to make a point about the years of neglect that have caused this pollution.

"I did this work because I wanted to show the architecture and the conditions of tunnels of Sao Paulo, which is this - degradation, rubbish - everything that the rain brings," he told the BBC News website.

Nike star

It is a journey you have to make with care, and the only audience in this gallery are the insects that made it their home. In the corner a dead rat is clearly visible.

It is not perhaps the image that everyone has of graffiti artists, and despite the risks, Zezao says it is worth it to raise public awareness.

"This place is a very dangerous place, contaminated, because we are in the sewer of Sao Paulo. I did suffer some accidents here doing this job, but as dangerous as it is, I know the importance of my work for humanity."

Across the city another of Sao Paulo's most famous graffiti artists, known as Titifreak to his fans, is hard at work

Zezao uses what little light is available to highlight his work

His graffiti has been displayed around the world and he has also worked for major companies such as Nike, and he proudly wears a pair of the company's trainers with his name printed across them.

Decorating a shabby apartment building, with the owner's permission, he rejects the view of those who dismiss graffiti as vandalism.

"A person who says that graffiti like this one here which is more artistic - to connect that to vandalism I think is missing a little bit of literature and culture," he says.

"People get confused when they see someone with a spray in the hand, which seems too aggressive."

Images erased

Not everyone in Sao Paulo is fan of graffiti. Every day painters from the city authority are sent out to cover it up.

Sometimes it is just names and letters scrawled on walls that are painted over - something that is know here as pichacao, and which is often seen as vandalism.

However sometimes more elaborate works are removed as well. Among the public, opinion seems divided.

Titifreak has shown his work all around the world

"When it is well done it is beautiful... but when it is a mess no, because it is dirty and ends up destroying the appearance of the walls," one woman says.

"I think this prejudices the image of the city and makes it appear dirty - so I don't think it is nice," said a man who was passing by a new piece of graffiti. "I don't think it is acceptable."

But at the same time, Sao Paulo's Museum of Contemporary Art is paying its own tribute to graffiti artists from Italy and Brazil.

Unique style

And far removed from the grim tunnels beneath the city Zezao's work is on display here - work the museum says deserves to be valued.

"Graffiti is a way of artistic expression in a urban environment," says Lisbeth Rebollo Goncalves, director of the museum, which is known here as Mac.

" If you in fact meet a great artist doing a work of art in your home you would take great care of it.

"But because it is an anonymous piece of work, people feel a bit hostile about it being on a wall in a public place, but this part of urban life, " she says.

Pichacao involves just names and letters being scrawled on walls

Such is the fame of Sao Paulo's graffiti, that other artists have come from around the world to see it.

"The artists that I see in Sao Paulo are much more individualistic," says Gary Baseman, an award-winning artist and illustrator from Los Angeles in California.

"Each piece is very unique, but in the States it is more like they have a very iconic image or particular mark that they repeat over and over again.

"Part of the reason that tourists come here is to see the street art that is all over the place, it is like the city is just one big giant canvass. To try to control it, in a way, you are almost destroying the culture that the World sees - the reason they are coming here."

Jonathan LeVine, a gallery owner from New York, believes graffiti in Sao Paulo has particular value.

"In a city like Sao Paulo where maybe people don't have so much money. It's a way for them to have access to art they wouldn't otherwise have access to, and it's a way for people to express themselves to the public."

"From city to city and country to country, the reasons that people do it are very different."

It does seem that graffiti is too well established a part of life in Sao Paulo to ever disappear.

And in his gloomy polluted corner of the city, it seems Zezao will continue to produce his underground gallery in the hope that his message will finally be heard.

Talib's Genius

So, I'm sitting, working with my internet disconnected listening to Talib Kweli's " Happy Home" featuring Candice Anderson off his MySpace album with Madlib, called Liberation. "Happy Home" is a pretty cool song that tells the story of Kweli's family going back to his grandparents and how his parents met. This is my umpteenth and a gazillionth time listening to this song, and it is pretty high up in my most played I Tunes list. This time, I caught something else in the lyrics "Back in the day it was hard for black actors/ They had to lighten their skin with Max Factor/ But my grandfather Stan wasn't Nothing But a Man,"when discussing his paternal grandfather. I've usually paused on the Max Factor part, in sheer amazement at their hold on the entertainment history in that time period (watch the credits of an I Love Lucy episode) but this time my ears picked up something different. He slipped in the great and oft-forgotten Ivan Dixon movie "Nothing But a Man."
"Nothing But a Man" is a great 1960s movie about black people, directed by and starring the great black actor Ivan Dixon. Admittedly its a little rough, but it was a budget movie in the 60s, what do you want???? Unfortunately Discon became most famous for being an assembly line worker/Sgt. in Hogan's Heroes. However, he was also involved in awesome projects that are Vanity Dark recommended like the movie version of "The Spook Who Sat By The Door" and "A Raisin in the Sun." For a Wiki on Dixon click here and for information on "Nothing But A Man" click here. Get up on that history.

But back to Talib...

So I do a little research. Talib Kweli's last name is Greene and according to IMDB, there is a Stanley Greene in the movie who played quite the prominent role as the Reverend.

This is an exciting find and indeed a great moment in pop culture history. Talib has quite family tree. NYU educated parents, actors, and afros all settled down in Brooklyn. Hot [Thing]. I really appreciate how he wove that bit of pop culture history into the story line. For me, that's genius. It also makes more sense now that Talib was at NYU studying theater (you must hear him joke about him being the one with the education and Mos Def being the one with all the movie roles...lol).



Sigh, I'm too excited about this and not excited enough about the symbiotic yet disadvantageous relationship between social movements and the media.

HAUL,
The Queen

British Grime Artist Bashy and The Cool Kids REDUX

BLACK BOYS, GRIME, RIDICULOUSITY

My cousin put me on to the fact that this Grime artist, Bashy, and his song and video Black Boys that was banned by OFCOM. My rant on OFCOM, a British media regulatory system will come at another point...after I finish my 11,000 words of paper writing and do the original reading I was supposed to do on the organization. Anyone check out the video below and read more about the controversy here. Am I the only one missing the racist message? This is like when Michael Powell and the FCC blocked Sarah Jones and her "Your Revolution" which only spun the hypersexual lyrics already out in hip hop into a positive reaffirming message for women. *kisses teeth*




THE COOL KIDS
So I've blogged about The Cool Kids 2x before. You can read my original amazement here
and then my feeling justified that I wasn't completely off base here. Because somehow in my warped mind: Vibe writing about them is more important than the amazing Sasha Frere Jones covering them or even the Status Ain't Hood bloggers of The Village Voice and that first blog on which I read about them Beats and Rants. (It's a weird thing media hierarchy isn't it...)

Since then, they've gotten their cameo in the Rhapsody commercial and have continued to make raves. Now one of my favorite blogs, Honorable Media, has written about their debut album. Since I surely will not be sitting down, listening to each song and then sharing my thoughts ( I have about 11,000 words in paper writing to do in a day), I thought I'd share their views with you. Yes, that's me with a crazy long comment under their hood-because that's what I tend to do on that site. They don't know me, so I can be as silly and young as I want to be.

Anyways, check it out here: http://hmblog.wordpress.com/2008/01/11/the-cool-kids-totally-flossed-out-ep-review/.

Now I must just wait for Kelefa Sanneh to release his brilliant thoughts on the group and all will be right in the world.

(Oh and stay on the lookout for the next single from The Broke Girl Chronicles. It didn't stop with Bouncin'...oh no, I'm still broke, no joke...you know this.)

That's Okay With Me ....

That's where they made me at.

GET IT.

in this shirt:


Rocking it with Gold Doorknockers is optional. Take it Janet Jackson style and loop your housekey around a hoop. At least you won't get locked out.
found at:http://www.karmaloop.com/products.asp?ProductID=27608&VendorCode=BEP&utm_source=mybuysweb&utm_medium=homepage&utm_campaign=27608&mybuyscid=849380216&

A Different World Style Flashback

Okay, while the title of this post would lead you to believe that I was going to delve into the wonderful world of clothing worn by my fellow Hillman Alumni, I'm not. Yes, Whitley had some prim but fierce outfits and Lena James could work some baggy pants, but instead I take you all the way back to season 1, episode 12 "Advise and Descent." In this episode Denise Huxtable (who the show was created around as a spinoff of The Cosby Show, if you're not familiar with this awesomeness) was not studying for her finals and working at a peer counseling center with a guest character named Z. Denise was a girl after my own heart and Z was your typical Californian dude. I too should be paper writing/doing laundry now, but instead started watching A Different World when I bumbled with excitement at this scene:




What's that we spot on Z's feet? Snoogy Boots! These are possibly UGGs, but definitely a predecessor to the style that later took over. They made a showing on A Different World back in the eighties...and this was a moment that I had to share. Among its other great values, A Different World also brought the Snoogy Boot to the East Coast. I'm still not a huge fan of the UGG, but I am a fan of this great moment in Pop Culture History.

HAUL,

The Queen..

Save the Princess!

A few weeks back AOL had a feature on Mario and the timelessness of the game. At that point I thought it would be a great post for Vanity Dark, but kept saving it for a throwback post. Unfortunately I cannot find it anymore. But now the NYTimes has beat me to the post, and I can't stand for that anymore. So click on the link for the article and get lost in the wonder. All of the new hype is because a new game is coming out, so if you're still into gaming this may be one to buy. It's not HALO, but its classic....

Mario is indeed a cultural phenomenon, from the addictive tune to that cheesy movie , to its ability to attract people from all walks of life and various age groups to the mission of getting to the princess in time. Goodness there was even a cartoon:

It's funny that Mario has all the basic elements of violence that other games have, but no one attacks it as such because its coded in traditional fairy tale language. Ordinary plumber goes on mission to save the fair maiden. This is the game that came in a package with Duck Hunt, which used an actual gun as the player control and you pointed at the screen.

This video became a viral hit a few years back and I thought it was brilliant when I first saw it:






Also play the game below.

Brooklyn Art Space

Out on Main Street in Dumbo is a neat exhibitions space called the Powerhouse Arena. Note, I've never actually been there (well I've been to Dumbo and I've even worked on Main street...but never been to this arena), but was put on to them just now by Around The Way Girls blog and am impressed with what I see. So many good exhibits are ending today, but some pics are up so you can get a taste of what you missed. Visit the Powerhouse website here.

A few missed exhibits

Black in White America: From what I can tell its a collection of black and white portraits dedicated to portraying a sample of the black experience in America, but on a real level. The pictures don't immediately shock or anger, but is reality on a day to day basis. There are kids playing in hydrants, ladies with rollers in their hair, and the such. Still through it all you get a sense of what life is : the highs and the lows, and injustices that occurred. I wish I could tell you more but I don't have much to go by. The photos are from Leonard Freed, a prolific photographer and artist.

Partnered with Black in White America is Jamel Shabazz's Seconds of My Life. I can't lie, I'm feeling the photo with the Nike Jackets and the parts in the hair( These are the same jackets Kanye blogged about on his blog, tho he didn't mention the book Seconds of My Life...I also think there's a pic of Ye in the book with Johnny, either its them or all black people look the same to me). This is another day to day exhibit and it goes far beyond the materialism of Nike and their hold on the black community (I'm taking Spike on for that one day...but that should be an exhibit in and of itself...Nike and the Urban Community). He also captures performances, ceremonies, a girl with a scary cat and a Sistah Souljah book, and what appears to be The Nation of Islam along with Israelites (well not in the same picture). The pictures also range over time, from people rocking fades and using Nynex pay phones to murals of Dipset. You can also check out the book and more images there from one of the links on the URL that is linked above.


Another two exhibits that are partnered together are The Breaks: Stylin and Profilin 1982-1990 and Born in the Bronx. These two exhibits take two different but complementary looks at Hip Hop culture in the early years. The Breaks, photographed by Janette Beckman showcases the B-Boy stance and shows a lot of images of both male and female artists, crews, djs...etc. It's EastCoast/NY centered and captures some of the more influential folk of the Period. Born in the Bronx examines hip hop as originating from the Bronx (even tho Run DMC sneaks there way in there) and was done by Joe Conzo. Looking at the Bronx, the Hispanic influence and participation receives more of a focus, but not an overpowering one. It's something that makes sense since it is the Bronx/NYC (and we all know NuYoricans are a huge part of the culture and its all jumbled anyway), but not something that's thought about (at least I never thought about it) that much: so a history lesson for all. They were in there before Big Pun and Fat Joe.

And according to the PowerHouse website, the Smithsonian is now taking on a Hip Hop exhibit...so brace yourself.

All in all, a neat exhibition space and someplace to keep in mind for the future. Brooklyn has so much to offer...if you can take it in, don't let it pass you by.