December 2011
“There’s a certain dreariness to a winter without snow. There’s no blanket of...”
– Elisabeth Donnelly
That’s why Chicago in the winter has always been a terrible environment. It is always too cold to snow, and so the air is bitter and the wind is painful. It feels as if it never ends.
“Hard-Boiled Babe” by Lizzy Mercier...
3 tags
The Breathing Stereotype
Clearly, you are angry all the time. Clearly, the emotions you feel can only be anger. Clearly, we can’t recognize that you can feel any other way. For you, to show emotion can only mean to show anger or hate. You are not sad. Those are tears born out of the rage that is your birth right. You don’t cry tears of pain. There is no pain. You don’t know pain. You are not happy. You...
She stops and glares at him. They wait at the nearby bus stop. He gets on first and after a few moments of hesitation, she gets on and sits next to him. He smiles, thinking he’s won her over. He says, “I guess I’ve worn you down.” She says, “there wasn’t much left to wear down.”
Records
Caffe Streets played Cut Copy’s 2nd album and I remembered how much I loved it for a quick moment. The music I listen to now is different, moodier. I felt angry with myself. Music continues to feel disposable. I don’t know if I’m listening to a lot of it because I am curious, or because it holds little value.
Am I consuming songs like food? Not likely. I spent an hour...
Sensenbrenner →
That the Black female body is always up for public debate and more specifically, that the Black female body is always public
That we equate health with “skinny,” and that we don’t understand or acknowledge different body types as healthy
That we think a strong body is a wrong body for women
That we feel obligated to comment on all female bodies, period, regardless of race,...
Coupled
I liked how he waited to sit. He stood and waited for her to come back from the bathroom. He stood with his hands behind his back, shoulders broad and square, as if he was waiting for more than just her return.
Time line
The idea of a close up frightens me. I’m thinking about all of the ways in which my hair is not in place or my skin is not clear. But also, it’s much easier to mask that certain cold and frightened look when the lens is over there.
A few weeks ago, I looked through photographs from spring of 2009. I graduated that June. My eyes, normally pinched, were wide and open and clear in the...
Titles of Proposed Articles Concerning Black Women... →
Sociologists Recommend Black Women Should Just, “Do You!”
It’s All Good.
Media Moves On, No Longer Pressed About Black Women and Marriage
End of Mayan Calendar Suggests Demeaning Articles Hold Little Importance for Average Citizen
Black Women: We’re So, We’re So, We’re So, We’re So, We’re So Proud of You
“On My Mind” by Joker featuring...
The New Model for Literary Seductress is Part... →
The way I feel about the above article (and the story it refers to) is similar to the way I continue to feel about photographs of young, white, straight bodies in sexual bliss. Meaning, I don’t find what I’m reading or seeing to be bad or wrong as a subject, but I also don’t find it to be brave or different or unique. I would never say that it should not be written. However, I am...
“Devil’s Work” by Miike Snow
...
When you're in a bar discussing the difference...
The setting is cruel. Do you remember what it was like when you loved this song? Did you forget about all of your goals and hopes in the same way that you forgot about this song?
The music is mocking you. It’s saying, “An hour earlier, you were wondering about your place and now you are here, whining, and the only thing that is certain is how good everything felt the first time you...
Tissues
How I use my phone as an alarm and how I leave it in the kitchen so I must crawl out of bed in the morning, dragging myself from the sheets, from the warmth, from the security of being in a place that is comfortable, true, and consistent. But also, how I leave it there because I must detach myself, even a little bit, from the technology that is more a part of me than any other tangible object. It...
“Light and Dark” by Jesse Boykins III
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“Liquorice” by Azealia Banks
I love...
“Don’t Cry in My Bed” by Damu
...
He just posted these photos, she said, and it was disrespectful.
I sat in the back of the California Clipper and listened to a girl I just met discuss an old beau. In the back of my mind, I felt confident knowing that I stop dating with a clean break. Is this what my friends mean when they say that I am cold and emotionless and unfeeling?
The next day, I stood on the corner near his old store...
Playing Favorites: 2011 Songs of the Year
Every year, this list feels like it gets longer. I can’t say for certain if that is the truth, but it feels like I place greater emphasis on strong singles. Only a handful of albums felt like complete, purposeful statements, but the number of singles that were on point were constant. The variety of tracks kept me surprised, with my interests earlier in the year more rock-focused and the...
The Euphoria of Moloko
And when I say Moloko, I mean that sun-kissed, late-era Moloko that washes over you very clean and crisp, but with that melancholy that couples so well with disco. Statues is fuel for the winter, providing sustenance and warmth during the journeys outside and inside, during those slinkier moments alone and with self confidence.
Letting Go
Growing older means learning to let go of certain relationships.
I.
Sometimes, you do whatever you can to save a friendship, but in the end, it too sours. Or, you stop rationalizing why a certain person doesn’t care anymore. It’s not that you’ve done something wrong, but that you are in different places.
II.
It is the end of the year and the music I love is more exact....
“Rain” by Tones on Tail
It has been a...
“We could accumulate hundreds of thousands of images throughout our lives but...”
– “The Never Forgotten House” by Joanne McNeil
I. I’m having trouble remembering even certain moments from college, and that was only a couple of years ago.
II. But in my mind, I can also recall the moments when we stopped the moment to take pictures. I can remember that something...
“Fear of Drowning” by Mirrors (Lapalux...
WatchI know this: part of the dynamic of the friendship I have with Barrett and Katie stems for our love and discussion of television shows. From campy new gems to Revenge and Ringer to quality Brit fare like Misfits, we both bond over and are driven by a fascination with television, currently the weirdest and most adventurous entertainment medium.
American Ritual is a new documentary and project by...