cdcarter replied to your link: Too Gay for Hip-Hop? Le1f Takes On Traditionally Homophobic Genre
It’s definitely “john” sorry.
He wrote “jawn” when he put all the lyrics up on RapGenius. (And yes, RapGenius is the worst but it’s what he used.)
Sigh.
“jawn” makes more sense anyway because the meanings coexist (that’s how wordplay works) and it’s easier to also hear “john” in “jawn” than the other way around.
Chuck Jordan, via Dean’s Garage
I can remember when the fin on the clay model was higher than the coupe roof
I can remember when the fin on the clay model was higher than the coupe roof
I CAN REMEMBER WHEN THE FIN ON THE CLAY MODEL WAS HIGHER THAN THE COUPE ROOF
(via firebirdman)
The DAS system is headquartered in a lower Manhattan office tower in a command-and-control center staffed around the clock by both New York police and “private stakeholders.” When this reporter visited, seats were clearly designated with signs for organizations such as the Federal Reserve, the Bank of New York, Goldman Sachs, Pfizer, and CitiGroup.
So, yknow, it’s bad enough that the NYPD now has this surveillance system the sort of which even an asshole like Chris Nolan portrayed as an abusive idea in his films, but it’s also a system pushed by profit (because that has worked out so well for society in regards to our prisons, huh?), AND it’s not just the NYPD spying you, it’s the shittiest corporations/finance institutions in the world keeping tabs on us. Ready to cry until your laughing?
Although NYPD documents indicate that the system is specifically designed for anti-terrorism operations, any incidental data it collects “for a legitimate law enforcement or public safety purpose” by DAS can be utilized by the police department. The NYPD will also share data and video with third parties not limited to law enforcement if either a subpoena or memorandum of understanding exists.
Pair your reading of this with Giovanni Tiso’s “Under Our Skin” over at New Inquiry.
I used to have a very elaborate inside joke with a few other women in media. It was called The Island, and the narrative went like this: All of the editors we know to be sexual harassers or professional bullies are on a plane together, probably heading to some sort of “ideas festival,” when the plane goes down on a small island. There, they are forced to live out the rest of their days with only each other to harass. In their absence, the rest of us go on to remake the media industry into a creative, forward-thinking, gender-equitable paradise. Fin.
It was funny to picture this scenario, but also sort of a sad coping mechanism. We knew these dudes were too professionally powerful, too entrenched to really be held accountable for their behavior. The Island became a code for telling each other who was a good guy and who was a bad guy—which upper-masthead men actually wanted to mentor us, and which ones just wanted the thrill of having a cocktail with an attractive younger woman under the guise of professionalism: “Is he on The Island or not?” Or, “Watch out, that guy’s totally on The Island.”
And so today, even though I’m on deadline for about four other things (sorry, editors!), I can’t stop reading about all of the drama at The Oxford American.
Most of the time, sexual harassment is not easily verifiable, not obvious to outsiders. Sure, sometimes there are emails or—shudder—voicemails. Irrefutable proof. But mostly harassment is a series of seemingly minor infractions: a quick “joke” about your legs, lots of inquiries about your sex life, three compliments about your looks for every one compliment about your work, a creepy gaze, a lingering touch. Lawyers will tell you to keep a log—to write down each of these little incidents. But it can build up so quietly. You might have a bad feeling about a dude, but not quite be ready to call it harassment until it’s gone on for months. In other words, it creeps up on you. Creeps creep up on you. That’s how they do!
The reason these guys still have jobs? Because the (typically) young (typically) female people they’re harassing have a lot to lose. Because a public accusation would instantly turn into a “he said, she said” situation. Because this situation would become a defining aspect of the accuser’s professional life, very likely wrecking it. Because it’s much safer to talk about this with our peers—usually just our female peers—over drinks or in Gmail. This chat is off the record.
There’s a reason The Island was a private joke, never a dramatic op-ed that named names. But I agree that knowledge is power. And, among women in the profession, there are definitely men in media who are well known as creepsters. There are names that pop up again and again in those Gchat conversations.
I can’t help but think there’s a technological solution here. Some way of creating a private message board where users are vetted but anonymous, where women can take this knowledge about who belongs on The Island and share it without fear of retribution. Kind of a professional version of Don’t Date Him Girl, only… better. I know, I know: There’s a potential for abuse with anonymous accusations. But really, it’s 2012. It’s a collective embarrassment that this behavior is still so common, and it warrants a collective response—one that goes beyond a series of private conversations and inside jokes.
- so high levels of cotton production = high numbers of slaves = large African-American population in 2008 = votes for Obama
- but a lot of those blue parts of the map correspond to urban areas, which went disproportionately for Obama (so much so that it seems to make more sense to think of red/blue regions rather than red/blue states, at least in terms of the popular vote)
- while it may be true that counties with large black populations went blue in 2008, it is just as true that urbanized areas went blue and that urbanization may line up with cotton production because of supply routes and shipping and stuff like that
- beyond the conjecture that the image is making, it is completely divorced from any sort of explanation of data/methodology and while the voting map looks right, it could have very easily been distorted in some way
- the two maps are also in different projections which makes comparison possible, I guess, but not in any sort of really meaningful way; it’s also really fucking annoying
- if you’re trying to make that point, why not just show a density map of the actual black population in 2008?
- jesus christ people
Your point about projections is right on. I was actually thinking about looking into the methodology but then I didn’t have time at the moment, but this is a good reminder.
That said, I didn’t actually take it as a simple “black people voted for Obama”—was that the idea? I read it as being about infrastructure, because while populations may have barriers to mobility, infrastructure is immobile. Shit like zoning shapes generations.
EDIT: When I reblogged the map, there was no Reddit link, so I didn’t realize this list was in response to any reasoning besides the image itself.
(via almaswithinalmas)
Yes. Yes. Yes.
(via mehreenkasana)
BREAKING: AFL-CIO Endorses Nationwide Boycott of Palermo’s Products
National support for striking Latino and immigrant workers grows as pressure on Palermo’s largest retailer increases
National support grows for striking workers at Palermo’s, a large frozen pizza factory in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where workers are entering their third month on strike in their struggle for a voice on the job and safer working conditions.
As of today, AFL-CIO, which represents over 12 million union families, has officially endorsed the national boycott. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka wrote a letter to COSTCO asking them to conduct an audit of Palermo’s to investigate their compliance with COSTCO’s labor rights’ standards. “We stand proudly with Palermo workers in their struggle to build a better life for themselves and their families,” he said. “They continue to inspire working families everywhere in using their collective power to stand up to corporate intimidation tactics.”
The Palermo Workers Union struggle has already achieved an important victory for the rights of immigrants in the workplace nationally, when Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) suspended an audit in recognition of the existing labor conflict.
While workers await a historic decision on the part of the National Labor Relations Board, the workers and supporters have launched a national boycott of Palermo’s products. They are asking COSTCO, Palermo’s largest purchaser of frozen pizzas, to pull Palermo/Kirkland frozen pizza from its shelves based on Costco’s Vendor Code of Conduct which “is committed to protecting the working rights and safety of the people who produce the merchandise it sells.”
The national boycott campaign kicked off at Costco in Middleton, Wisconsin on July 29th during the United States Student Association Congress. According to Sean Orr, a YES leader that was part of the delegation that attempted to meet with local COSTCO management, but was denied a meeting on the topic: “We hope that COSTCO will agree to meet with other delegations and not turn a blind eye to requests from COSTCO members and the broader community to suspend Palermo products and investigate these labor violations.”
National solidarity actions grow, as supporters in ten cities have already joined the national boycott actions at COSTCO stores for August 11th: Los Angeles, New York, Portland, Washington DC, Montgomery, Gary, Pittsburgh area, Phoenix, Madison area, and in Wisconsin- Pewaukee, Grafton and Middleton.
For more information, visit www.sliceofjustice.com
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i wish i could figure out how i felt about pussy riot.
i don’t think it’s cool to mock the church, but also i think it is a bad sign that russia keeps moving back (if it was ever away) towards it’s history of oppressive government. the russian patriarch is always so confusing to me, but i feel like most of the pro-pussy riot support i’ve seen comes so far from the outside that i can’t trust it, like, from people who have no idea what it means to mock the Theotokos outside of a cathedral in a place that just recently got its cathedrals back.
i wish i knew some cool russians who had opinions on this, because i am pretty tired of riot-grrl 20 year old westerners being outraged without cultural context
EDIT: i just remember my mom, who in this context should be referred to as Matushka Magdalena had to say about this situation: “I really wish Russia could just be cool about it.”
I’ve been thinking about my appearance lately. Not in a vain sort of way accustomed to girls my age (though, #realtalk, I do feel blah sometimes this age supposedly marks my optimal attractiveness). A few weeks ago, I reblogged a page from Joan Didion’s “The White Album,” in which she lists what she packed when she traveled on assignment during her early days. She said this thing about packing a leotard, skirts and stockings because it allowed her to blend in with whatever crowd she needed to (“pass on either side of the culture”). This fascinated me.
How I present and carry myself is something I’m very aware of when I interview someone in person, which I do a bit of these days. People perceive music writing as a cool job, but truth be told, I feel like a huge square whenever I interview a band. I’m not even sure it has much to do with what I’m wearing, though.
There are a couple specific things that I’m especially aware of in regards to my appearance and dealings with artists: my weight and my age (and my gender, when coupled with my young age and the genre I cover often). The former involves interacting with artists that border on the celebrity side of things. I have no proof that some artists have been less nice to me because I’m overweight, but I’m not naive. Entertainment is a shallow field, and unglamorous me would not be anyone’s first choice for a red carpet reporter. The plus side of this is that I have never had a male musician flirt with me - which is FINE, great, good. I’m no groupie, I’m not trying to distract anyone with anything, blah blah blah, let’s just talk about the music, you get it.*
As for my age, I feel it often makes me seem less credible than I know I am. I’m a young female who often interviews old rock stars. They underestimate me, expect me not to know anything about their bands (the female thing is part of that, too). Oh the comments I’ve heard - “wait, you’re the interviewer?” Yes. I am not someone’s assistant, I will not go get you Starbucks.
However, this neurotic journalistic consideration of my appearance is probably all for naught. Why? Because I do not consider myself very skilled at “getting on the level” of the artists I interview. I’ve seen peers and friends do it - top-5 whitest girls I’ve ever known vibin’ with rappers, Ebonics and all - but I feel like I just come across as a poseur when I do that sort of thing. These writers’ “buddy approach” often garner an anecdotal type of reporting, and something that feels like more of a real human interaction (but don’t get it twisted, artists are not your friends, and your “deep” chats are rarely genuine). Alas, I can’t.I am not the type of person who gets along with everyone. Sometimes I seriously wonder if this trait will keep me from being the kind of writer I’ve always wanted to be - a narrative storyteller. Though, is that even a realistic goal in the music journalism world of 2012?
*(Note: There will inevitably someone who perceives what I wrote as “bitching about weight prejudice,” and will make the comment that I should simply snap my fingers and lose weight if this is so bothersome to me. It isn’t really bothersome as much as it is just my observation.)
Very interesting thoughts on writing and reporting from Jill Mapes.
This is really good and something I think about a lot.
“What if all women were bigger and stronger than you? And thought they were smarter? What if women were the ones who started wars? What if too many of your friends had been raped by women wielding giant dildos and no K-Y Jelly? What if the state trooper who pulled you over on the New Jersey Turnpike was a woman and carried a gun? What if the ability to menstruate was the prerequisite for most high-paying jobs? What if your attractiveness to women depended on the size of your penis? What if every time women saw you they’d hoot and make jerking motions with their hands? What if women were always making jokes about how ugly penises are and how bad sperm tastes? What if you had to explain what’s wrong with your car to big sweaty women with greasy hands who stared at your crotch in a garage where you are surrounded by posters of naked men with hard-ons? What if men’s magazines featured cover photos of 14-year-old boys with socks tucked into the front of their jeans and articles like: “How to tell if your wife is unfaithful” or “What your doctor won’t tell you about your prostate” or “The truth about impotence”? What if the doctor who examined your prostate was a woman and called you “Honey”? What if you had to inhale your boss’ stale cigar breath as she insisted that sleeping with her was part of the job? What if you couldn’t get away because the company dress code required you wear shoes designed to keep you from running? And what if after all that women still wanted you to love them?”
—
For the Men Who Still Don’t Get It, Carol Diehl. (via 24hourcharleston)
Although lacking much experience in governing overseas territories, the rules of the newly acquired empire nevertheless manifested the classic mentality of all imperialists: divide the peoples of the world into the powerful and the weak, the civilized and the backward, those capable of governing themselves and those who for their own welfare must be governed. William McKinley, Mark Hanna, John F. Foraker- all shared a belief in the hegemony of the Anglo-Saxon peoples over the “inferior” races, a thesis which received its intellectual formulation in the writings of the Adams brothers, Josiah Strong, John W. Burgess, and John Fiske, among others. For example, Theodore Roosevelt’s teacher at Columbia Law School, John W. Burgess, assigned a special role to the Teutonic peoples because they showed a very high “capacity for political organization.” “The Teutonic peoples,” said Burgess, “can never consider that the exercise of political power is a right of man. For them this power is based on the capacity to fulfill political duty, and they themselves are the best entities that so far have appeared to determine when and there this capacity exists.” For his disciple, the drama of the racial expansion of the English-speaking people- which he, like his teacher, traces back to the moment of the rise and spread of the Germanic tribes- culminated in the imperialistic development of the North American people. In that period this tie between imperialism and racism flourished in the rhetoric of those who dominated North American policy making, since in those days it was not necessary, as it is now, to hide the iron fist of designs for world domination behind a veneer of equivocal language.
