March 2012
February 2012
Anonymous asked: So there is this black girl I go to school with, (I'm a black girl as well by the way), but anyway, she always makes comments like "dark skin black guys are so nasty", "black people can't talk" and things of that content pretty much putting black people down, it baffles me. I just wanted to know what your thoughts were on this kind of thing?
“Dignity means everything to the black middle class, especially where their...”
– Caille Millner: On Whitney Houston, Black Middle Class Girls, and the Reagan Years
Tumblrs I Love: Part Two
Last year, I created a long post featuring some of my favorite tumblrs. Below is part two of that list featuring a mix of personal bloggers, music publications, and my favorite cultural resources. What are some of your favorite tumblrs?
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MUSIC
MTHRFNKR
Previously known as Post Dubstep (included in my original favorite tumblrs list), MTHRFNKR has come out the gate swinging with...
My Many Selves →
I wrote an essay for the latest issue of LURVE magazine, out now. Above is a pdf of the essay.
WatchI’m already excited by this new genre-based tumblr. Consider the sounds a mix of the goodness from the former Post-Dubstep (now MTHRFNKR) and Indie R&B tumblrs (two of my favorites from last year). This idea of naming new genres is always one that makes me weary but “arthouse” seems to be a fitting umbrella for this emerging sound that takes bits and pieces from more...
“Sayso” by Evy Jane
This is the best...
On Armor:
I embraced the hood post-college. It didn’t make sense to me before then, but it was during that first bitter winter as I took the walk from the train to my office that it became essential. Literally, it protected from the cold. But I wear it now when the weather is just brisk, when the air outside after a day inside should feel therapeutic.
This is the period of transition, the time...
“They are two sides of the same coin and the South will not change - cannot...”
– by James Baldwin in “Fifth Avenue, Uptown”
Re-reading Nobody Knows My Name and the takeaway points are numerous. Mostly, I love the prophetic lyricism in Baldwin’s writing. But also, the things he said … they are as applicable today as they were then. It suggests a lack of...
“Everybody Dance” by Chic
Eventually,...
The feeling of that dissatisfaction that you can't...
She asked, “Why do you care so much?”
And the truth was that I didn’t know. What I can say for certain is that a certain level of caring was ingrained in me from a young age. I’ve been taught that caring matters and that perhaps caring, even a little bit, means something.
But also, that caring can be rewarded. It’s the sense that to care at all produces some...
“The Fall” by Frankie Rose
Just like...
“Running” by Jessie Ware
Jessie...
“In the Dark” by Nite Jewel
I’m...
“Climax” by Usher and Diplo
In his...
“Voices Carry” by Til Tuesday
Am I...
25 Extremely Upsetting Reactions To Chris Brown At... →
We’ve failed a generation of women. We’ve failed a generation of men. That’s the only thing I can take from this. We’ve told women that they don’t matter. We’ve told them that their bodies are up for debate. We’ve told them that their voices are nothing. We’ve told men that this is alright, that violence is okay, that anger is the appropriate emotion...
I don't know who you are.
We talked about expectations and insular little worlds. I’m thinking about how it’s so easy to create an existence when you’re this age, and how, with youth, we can pretend that certain people, places, and realities don’t exist. A girl at work said that my clothes shaped the first impression I gave other people, and this impression was one of confrontation and ...
“What My Last Girl Put Me Through” by...
She collects these things to be surrounded by...
You see, I love this dress. I love how it sparkles and I love the cut and the way it melts into my skin, as if it was made only for me. The moment of discovery was intense. It was exactly what I wanted, but was unable to articulate. Something lovely and beautiful and weird. Something that would not cost a lot. Something that was old and had history and character. Vintage entices because of the...
Motivations
I make the right decision not because I want to be good, but because I am afraid of the risks. Or rather, I don’t believe in risks. This is not about cynicism, but about the ability to know with “certainty” the way things will happen in the end. This is about results. This is about life as narrative. There is the beginning, the middle, and the end. Or if you are like me, this is...
On Uniforms:
I.
I was described as the girl that looks like a disco ball. I was described as the girl that dresses like it’s New Year’s Eve everyday.
II.
She said, “I didn’t know you liked going out or anything … because of how you dressed.” She wore jeans and t-shirts. I wear dresses and skirts and pants and blouses and shorts and weird strange things that don’t...
A Reaction:
What is that feeling of seeing yourself make bad decisions, and doing them anyway? Of knowing the consequences, and still feeling like this is the right thing for right now? To be young is to see the choices and consequences, and choose what feels right over what is right. I am not someone that normally does that, but the older I get, the more I see myself falling into the pattern. It takes a lot...
Watch“Ima Read” by Zebra katz
Yes, etc. Amazing, etc.
(h/t Joseph Richards)