Micahceous

Not Another

2009-06-25T19:47:00.001-07:00

Wow. Michael Jackson too. You are an icon and will be missed.

Farewell Angel

2009-06-25T10:28:00.000-07:00

Farrah Fawcett has passed. She was 62. She'll be missed.

Prop 8 Ruling

2009-05-26T12:04:00.000-07:00

So Prop 8 was upheld and those married before the ban stay married. Who didn't see that one coming? I mean, really. Who honestly didn't see it coming?

Maybe they'll finally take a hint and change strategy. Just maybe.

Cosby Show on the Today Show

2009-05-20T16:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the Cosby Show crew reunited on The Today Show and were interviewed by Matt Lauer. Halfway through Matt Lauer asked the question if they were out to portray an American family or an African-American family. Anyone else see the problem with this? He was asking them, essentially, if they were out to be a white family or a black family. Obviously since black families can't have both parents in the household who are successful and have loving children. I'm glad Phylicia Rashad got on him though and gave a good answer. But it's highly offensive. And seeing as how Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashad are both vocal folks, I'm hoping they tore Matt a new one off-screen. Has Barack Obama not taught the folks at The Today Show that black folks have families that are just like any other American family? Our skin tone and our culture does not change the fact that we all share the same values. But of course it's The Today Show. I can only expect so much from a show that tries to enforce stereotypes.

What I'm talking about begins at the 6:10 marker.

Shamwow Hooker Brawl

2009-05-12T23:46:00.000-07:00

Did you hear about this? Last month the Shamwow guy beat up a hooker after she tried to bite off his tongue. And he beat her up GOOD. Like damn. You can read the full report here thanks to the Smoking Gun.

Cinco de Mayo

2009-05-05T12:11:00.000-07:00

Today is Cinco De Mayo. Even though it's a voluntary holiday in Mexico that isn't federal, us in the States take it upon ourselves to drink margaritas, beat up pinatas, and indulge ourselves in Mexican culture. It's the one day of the year when Mexicans aren't blamed for taking low-skilled jobs. And while we all sit down to drink and get wasted on our favorite tequila, let us remember what Cinco De Mayo is actually about. And no, it's not to celebrate independence. Not to say that it doesn't have significance in this country for millions, it has risen to the ranks of St. Patrick's Day and Oktoberfest as an excuse to get drunk, forget what we did, and blame it on the alcohol.

Diversity, the Street Grid, and Obama’s Election

2009-04-28T17:02:00.000-07:00

Nate Silver from FiveThirtyEight political blog gave a fascinating TED talk about the role of racism in the 2008 election. Through the course of his speech, Silver recognizes the differing patterns of diversity in cities compared to rural areas and briefly talks about the benefits of the street grid in facilitating diversity. Silver notes that cul-de-sac development was pivotal in rightward shift in politics in the 1970s and 1980s. When I watched the end, I nearly thought of the O.C. And to me, this makes complete sense. I would love to see more regressions on the data but even from just qualitative evidence that I've witnessed and have seen from others, I believe it to be true. It always seems to come up: transportation and land use and its affect communities and urban policy.

Columbine 10 years later

2009-04-21T10:54:00.000-07:00

So I was going to make this big post about COlumbine but my energy was taken away when i updated my status on Facebook on the subject. Instantly I was harassed by a number of my white colleagues on the issue of remembrance and how these "innocent" kids in Colorado don't compare to those "innocent" kids in the hood. Luckily I had a number of friends chime in on the subject and offer their own taste, many of whom were PoC. Now it always surprises me that whenever race is brought up as a conversation topic and PoCs make an argument that things aren't right, white people get really defensive, shut them down, and say that they are incorrect in their assumptions as being people of color and experiencing racism. "Even though you live it and breathe it everyday, you're wrong about it" mentality really doesn't sway well with us. I'm sure it has happened to many of us before but it makes the conversation that much more difficult.

Yes Columbine was a tragedy. But so is everyday when innocent people die. And yeah, the media likes to focus on when privileged white folks die, especially pretty ones. I get that. I just want people to recognize that there's a problem with this selective choosing of who's death gets noticed and who's doesn't.

Here are just a few of the comments from my wall.

"Shootings in the hood happen mainly due to gang violence. Colombine was a massacre of innocent children."

From another commenter: "...and please don't assume that all poor people in america are black and make it a racial thing, either. i have lived in a lot of areas of this country and have seen people in poverty of all races and cultures. i've seen people give in to their stereotype many times and ... Read Morejoin a gang or choose to amount to nothing...i am not saying black people...i am saying people below the poverty line...but i have also seen people decide they want to do something with their lives and work their way out of the situation they were stuck with. "white schools" and "black schools" aren't dictated by the people that run them, they're dictated by the people who choose to live in their zone. the reality is, most black people wouldn't want to go to a "white school" anyway because they wouldn't "feel welcome" just as white kids wouldn't want to go to a school in, say, compton, since that is where you apparently have so much experience. it doesn't mean they can't go there, it means they wouldn't want to. "

Then at some point I was called a douche because I noted that there is such a thing as white culture. So it's still very difficult to talk about race and disparities in our country, even among people under 25.

The White Anti-Racist Is an Oxymoron

2009-04-20T11:15:00.000-07:00

I recently found this and had to share. Apparently it's at least eight years old but the message is a good one, though the language may put some folks off, particularly because it may increase a "good white/bad white" dichotomy.

The White Anti-Racist Is an Oxymoron:
An Open Letter to “White Anti-Racists”
By Tamara K. Nopper

I received an annoying e-mail about white people and their struggle to do anti-racist work. I keep reading and hearing white people talk about their struggle to do anti-racist organizing, and frankly it gets on my nerves. So I am writing this open letter to white people who engage in any activist work that involves or affects non-whites. Given that the US social structure is founded on white supremacy, and that there is a global order in which white supremacy and European domination are at large, I would challenge any white person to figure out what movement or action they can get involved in that will not involve or affect non-white people.

That said, I want to begin with what has become a realization for me through the help of different politically conscious friends. There is NO SUCH THING AS A WHITE ANTI-RACIST. The term itself, "white anti- racist" is an oxymoron. In the following, I will explain why. Then, I will begin to detail how this impacts non-white people in organizing work specifically, along with how it affects non-white people generally.

First, one must realize that whiteness is a structure of domination. As such, there is nothing redeemable or reformable about whiteness. Intellectuals, scholars and activists, especially those who are non- white, have drawn our attention to this for years. For example, people such as Malcolm X, W.E.B. DuBois, Marcus Garvey, James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Ida B. Wells, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, and many, many others who are perhaps less famous, have articulated the relationship between whiteness and domination.

Further, people such as Douglass and DuBois began to outline how whiteness is a social and political construct that emphasizes the domination, authority, and perceived humanity of those who are racialized as white. They, along with many other non-white writers and orators, have pointed to the fact that it was the bodies who were able to be racialized as "white" that were able to be viewed as rational, authoritative, and deserving. Further, and believe me, this is no small thing, white people are viewed as human. What this means is that when white people suffer, as some who are poor/female/queer, they nevertheless are able to have some measure of sympathy for their plight simply because they are white and their marginalization is considered an emergency, crisis or an issue to be concerned about.

Furthermore, even when white people have been oppressed by various dimensions of classism, homophobia and heterosexism, they have been able to opt for what DuBois, in his monograph "Black Reconstruction" brilliantly called "the psychological wage of whiteness." That is, whites that are marginalized could find comfort, even if psychological, in the fact that they were not non-white. They could revel in the fact that they could be taken as white in opposition to non-white groups. The desire for this wage of whiteness was also what drove many white people, albeit marginalized, to engage in organized violence against non-whites.

Of course, legal cases such as the Dred Scott Decision along with many different naturalization cases involving Asian individuals, has helped to encode a state-sanctioned definition of whiteness. But there are other ways in which white people can be racialized as white by the state. They are not stopped while driving as much as non-white people. Their homes and businesses are not raided and searched as much by police officers, INS or License and Inspections (L&I). White people's bodies are not tracked and locked up in prisons, detention centers, juvenile systems, detention halls in classrooms, "special education" classes, etc. White people's bodies are not generally the site of fear, repulsion, violent desire, or hatred.

Now some might point out to me that white people are followed, tracked and harassed by individuals and state agents such as the police. This is true. Some white women get sexually harassed and experience state-sanctioned discrimination. Queer whites are the subject of homophobia, whether by individuals or by the state through laws and the police. Some queer whites are harassed by cops. Activist whites are stopped by police. White people who play rap music and wear gear are stopped by cops. Poor whites can be criminalized, especially by the state around welfare issues. What I want to point out is that, while I do not condone police violence and harassment, there is a way in which white people will not be viewed as inherently criminal or suspect unless they are perceived as doing something that breaks particular norms.

Conversely, other racial groups, particularly Blacks and Native Americans, are considered inherently criminal no matter what they do, what their sexual identity is or what they wear. Further, it has always struck me as interesting that there are white people who will attempt to wear what signifies "Blackness," whether it is dreadlocks (which, in my opinion, should be cut off from every white person's head), "gear," or Black masks at rallies. There is a sick way in which white people want to emulate that which is considered "badass" about a certain existential position of Blackness at the same time they do not want the burden of living as a non-white person. Further, it really strikes me as fucked up the way in which white people will go to rallies and taunt the police with Black masks in order to bring on police pressure. What does it mean when Blackness is strategically used by whites to bring on police violence? Now I know that somewhere there is a dreadlocked, smelly white anarchist who is reading this message and who is angry with me for not understanding the logic of the Black masks and its roots in anarchism. But I would challenge these people to consider how they are reproducing a violence towards Blackness in their attempts to taunt and challenge the police in their efforts.

Now back to my point that white anti-racism is an oxymoron. Whiteness is a social and political construct rooted in white supremacy. White supremacy is a structure and system of beliefs rooted in European and US imperialism in which certain racialized bodies (non-white) are selected for premature negation whether through cultural, physical, psychological genocide, containment or other forms of social death. White supremacy is at the heart of the US social system and civil society. In short, white supremacy is not just a series of practices or privilege, but a larger social structure and system of domination that overly-values and rewards those who are racialized as white. The rest of us are constructed as undeserving to be considered human, although there is significant variation within non-white populations of how our bodies are encoded, treated and (de)valued.

Now, for one to claim whiteness, one also is invested in white supremacy. Whiteness itself is a political term that emerged among European white ethnics in the US. These European ethnics, many of them reviled, chose to cast their lot with whiteness rather than that with those who had been determined as non-white. In short, anyone who claims to be white, even a white anti-racist, is identifying with a history of European imperialism and racism transported and further developed into the US.

However, this does not mean that white people who go around saying dumb things such as "I am not white! I am a human being!" or, "I left whiteness and joined the human race," or my favorite, "I hate white people! They're stupid" are not structurally white. Remember, whiteness is a structure of domination embedded in our social relations, institutions, discourses, and practices. Don't tell me you're not white but then when we go out in the street and the police don't bother you or people don't ask you if you're a prostitute, or if people don't follow you and touch you at will, act like that does not make a difference in our lives. Basically, you can't talk, or merely "unlearn" whiteness, as all of these annoying trainings for white people to "unlearn" racism will have you think.

Rather, white people need to be willing to have their very social position, their very relationship of domination, their very authority, their very being...let go, perhaps even destroyed. I know this might sound scary, but that is really not my concern. I am not interested in making white people, even those so-called good-hearted anti-racist whites, comfortable about their position in struggles that shape my life in ways that it will never shape theirs. I recently finished the biography of John Brown by DuBois. The biography was less of a biography and more of an interpretation by DuBois about the now-legendary white abolitionist. Now while John Brown's practice was problematic in many ways--he still had to be in control and he had fucked-up views that Blacks were still enslaved because they were too "servile" (a white supremacist sentiment)--what I took from Brown's life was that he realized that moral persuasion alone would not solve racial problems. That is, whites cannot talk or just think through whiteness and structures of white supremacy. They must be committed to either picking up arms for other people (and only firing when the people tell them so), dying for other people, or just getting out of the way. In short, they must be willing to do what the people most affected and marginalized by a situation tell them to do.

Now I am sure that right now there are some white people saying that other people cannot understand what is going on, that they do not have the critical analysis to figure stuff out, or that non-white people have fucked up ideas. This is just white supremacist bullshit because it is rooted in the idea that non-white people have not interpreted their experiences and cannot run things themselves. It also assumes that there are not internal conversations within communities--which I do not think white people need to be privy to or participate in--in which people struggle out their own visions for society and how to go about achieving them. In short, this perspective by whites that non-white people cannot be in control of our own destinies is rooted in a paternally-racist approach to non-white people.

Further, it is also rooted in the idea that white people are not racist or do not benefit from racism. Rather, white people at meetings will often discuss how they feel "silenced" by non-whites, or that they are being "put in their place." Let me make one thing clear: it is impossible for a non-white person to put a white person in her place. This is not to say that non-white people cannot have a sexist or homophobic attitude towards a white person. But to say, or even hint at that as a "WHITE" person someone is being put in their place--whoever says this just needs to shut the fuck up because that is some bull. It is impossible for whiteness to be put in one's place, because that is a part of whiteness, the ability to take up space and feel a prerogative to do so.

Further, the idea that white people are being put into their place relies on the neo-conservative view of reverse racism that has characterized the backlash against non-whites, especially Blacks, in the post-civil rights era. So when you say these types of things you are actually helping to reproduce a neo-conservative racial rhetoric which relies on the myth of the "threatened" and "displaced" white person.

Additionally, white activism, especially white anti-racism, is predicated on an economy of gratitude. We are supposed to be grateful that a white person is willing to work with non-white people. We are supposed to be grateful that you actually want to work with us and that you give us your resources. I would like to know why you have those resources and others do not? And don't assume that just because I have to ask you for resources that it does not hurt me, pain me even. Don't assume that when you come into the space, that doesn't bother me. Don't assume that when you talk first, talk the most, and talk the most often, that this doesn't hurt me. Don't assume that when I see you get the attention and accolades and the book deals and the speaking engagements that this does not hurt me (because you profit off of pain). And don't assume that when I see how grateful non-white people are to you for being there, for being a "good white" person that this doesn't hurt me. And don't assume that when I get chastised by non-white people because I think your presence is unnecessary that it does not hurt me. Because all of these things remind me of how powerless non-white people are (albeit differently) in relation to white people. All of these gestures that you do reminds me of how grateful I am supposed to be towards you because you actually (or supposedly) care about what is happening to me. I am a bit resentful of economies of gratitude.

Further, this structure of white supremacy known as white anti-racism also impacts the larger social world because it still makes white people the most valued people. Non-white people are forced to feel dependent and grateful to white people who will actually interact with us. We are made to feel that we are inferior, incapable, that we really do need white people. And the sad thing is, that given all of the resources that whiteness has and that white people get and control, there is an element of material truth in all of this, I am afraid. But white people need to think of how their activism reproduces the actual structure of white supremacy some--not all whites activists--profess to be about. This structure of white supremacy is not just in an activist space, it actually touches upon and impinges on the lives of non-white people who may not be activists (in your sense) or who do not interact with you in activist worlds.

But consider what your presence means in a community that you decide to set up your community garden in, or your bookstore in, or your meeting space in, or have your march in. What does it mean when you decide that you want to be "with" the oppressed and you end up displacing them? Just because you walk around with your dreadlocks, or decide that you will not wear expensive clothes does not mean that your whiteness does not displace people in the spaces you decide to put yourself in. How do you help to bring more forms of authority and control in a neighborhood, whether through increased rent and housing costs, more policing, or just the ways in which your white bodies can make people feel, as a brilliant friend of mine once asked, "squatters in somebody else's project"?

So what does this mean for the future of white anti-racists? This might mean to first, figure out ways in which whiteness needs to die as a social structure and as an identity in which you organize your anti-racist work. What this looks like in practice may not be so clear but I will attempt to give some suggestions here. First, don't call us, we'll call you. If we need your resources, we will contact you. But don't show up, flaunt your power in our faces and then get angry when we resent the fact that you have so many resources we don't and that we are not grateful for this arrangement. And don't get mad because you can't make decisions in the process. Why do you need to? Secondly, stop speaking for us. We can talk for ourselves. Third, stop trying to point out internal contradictions in our communities, we know what they are, we are struggling around them, and I really do not know how white people can be helpful to non- whites to clear these up. Fourth, don't ever say some shit to me about how you feel silenced, marginalized, discriminated against, or put in your place. Period. Finally, start thinking of what it would mean, in terms of actual structured social arrangements, for whiteness and white identity--even the white antiracist kind (because there really is no redeemable or reformed white identity)--to be destroyed.

In conclusion, I want to say to anyone who thinks that this is too academic or abstract, I write as a non-white person, meaning that from my body, my person, I experience white supremacy. I also draw my understanding of white supremacy from non-white people, many engaged in various struggles of activism, but most importantly just to speak out and stay alive. They did not get accolades from many for speaking out but instead experienced constant threats on their lives for just existing and doing the work that they did. Moreover, I want to know when a discussion of whiteness, white supremacy and domination became seen as abstract and not rooted in the everyday concrete reality that we experience?

What If Susan Boyle Couldn't Sing?

2009-04-20T11:01:00.000-07:00

Dennis Palumbo brilliantly puts into words the Susan Boyle phenomenon.
____________________________________________________________

By Dennis Palumbo

Like millions of viewers, I was thrilled and moved when 47-year-old Susan Boyle wowed the judges and audience on Britain's Got Talent with her superb singing. As everyone knows by now, the unmarried, "never been kissed" woman from a small village was greeted by both the audience and the talent show's judges with derision when she first took the stage. Looking matronly in her somewhat frumpy dress and unkempt hair, her appearance initially elicited smug, condescending and even cruel smirks, smiles and chuckles. What could this "un-cool," plain-spoken woman have to offer? What right did she have to share the stage with all those young, pretty, talented people?

Then Susan opened her mouth and sang. And her voice was so powerful, so achingly beautiful, so full of yearning, that even the usually heartless Simon Cowell was blown away. As were the other judges, and the audience, all of whom gave Susan a standing ovation. And now, online and elsewhere, Susan's voice, and the story of her triumph on that stage, are known throughout the world.

There's even news of a record contract, and the odds-makers who track these things believe she's the current favorite to win the competition. More tellingly, everyone is talking and blogging about her "inner beauty," and how Susan reminds us that we shouldn't judge a book by its cover, etc.

I'm happy for her. She appears to be a solid, decent person for whom, God knows, some good luck is long overdue.

But I can't help wondering, what would have been the reaction if Susan Boyle couldn't sing?

What would the judges and the audience have thought, and said, had her voice been a creaky rasp, or an out-of-tune shriek? Would she still possess that "inner beauty?" Would we still acknowledge that the derisive treatment she received before performing was callous, insensitive and cruel?

The unspoken message of this whole episode is that, since Susan Boyle has a wonderful talent, we were wrong to judge her based on her looks and demeanor. Meaning what? That if she couldn't sing so well, we were correct to judge her on that basis? That demeaning someone whose looks don't match our impossible, media-reinforced standards of beauty is perfectly okay, unless some mitigating circumstance makes us re-think our opinion?

Personally, I'm gratified that her voice inspires so many, and reminds us of our tendency to judge and criticize based on shallow externals of beauty. What I mean is, I'm glad for her.

But I have no doubt that, had she performed poorly, Simon Cowell would be rolling his eyes still. And the audience would have hooted and booed with the relish of Roman spectators at the Colosseum. And that Susan Boyle's appearance on the show would still be on YouTube, but as an object of derision and ridicule.

So let's not be too quick to congratulate ourselves for taking her so fully to our hearts. We should've done that anyway, as we should all those we encounter who fall outside the standards of youth and beauty as promulgated by fashion magazines, gossip sites, and hit TV shows.

We should've done that anyway, before Susan Boyle sang a single note.

Amazon 'Glitch' Delists Gay-Themed Books

2009-04-15T14:21:00.000-07:00

Hundreds of gay-and lesbian-themed books suddenly disappeared from Amazon.com's rankings over the weekend

Hundreds of gay-and lesbian-themed books suddenly disappeared from Amazon.com's rankings over the weekend, causing an uproar among authors and activists who alleged it was a stealthy extension of the company's policy concerning adult content. The internet bookseller claimed it was the result of a technical "glitch." (UPDATED-- Amazon now says it was an internal "cataloging error." See official statement below)

Some of the titles reported to have been dropped were back on the rankings, including Annie Proulx's "Brokeback Mountain." Not all gay/lesbian works were dropped. There is also no comprehensive list (yet) of the affected titles, and some reports of outed titles contradict others.

But clearly the pages of some books with with gay but no particular "adult" component have been shorn of their metrics.

It's interesting how alot of big org (amazon.com, microsoft xbox), are making policies aimed at adult policy but end up really screwing over lgbtq-related inquiries and hardly affecting the heterosexual content of similar nature. Last I checked "gay" also means "happy" and though it is a slang term now for "stupid" it's also an identity for millions of people.

Asian names too difficult for Texas

2009-04-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

Texas Lawmaker suggests Asians adopt easier names

AUSTIN — A North Texas legislator [Rep. Betty Brown, R-Terrell] during House testimony on voter identification legislation said Asian-descent voters should adopt names that are “easier for Americans to deal with.”

“Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese — I understand it’s a rather difficult language — do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?” Brown said.

Wow. If you live in Texas, please try to get her removed from office. I like how she referenced Asians as if they are not citizens of this country. Last I checked, if you're voting in a US election, you're a citizen of the USA.

Ghetto Names on youtube

2009-04-08T14:30:00.000-07:00

Have you seen this ignorance?

I'll admit that there are some interesting names in the black American community, but this goes quite over the line and just perpetuates the stereotype that these names are a)real, b) that "ghetto" black folks will name their children these names and c)it's okay for people to laugh at these names. i was going through some comments to the youtube video and while some called out the racism, most of them laughed it off. What was also interesting is that apparently one of the tags of the video was "niggers".

While I posted the video on this site, it may not be up for much longer.

Kal Penn goes to Obama

2009-04-07T21:02:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Kal Penn! Don't know if you heard, but he's been made the Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison. You may know him from his role as Kumar from the Harold and Kumar movies or from the tv show House. He's not stepping into the political realm. It's great to see Americans of South Asian descent working for Obama. Congrats Kal!

Why Do LA People Suck?

2009-04-01T01:08:00.000-07:00

I got this from my pal K and had to share it. It's from Johnaugust.com.

I’ve noticed no matter how close you are to someone in LA, they seem to stab you in the back. I feel like I give them my all, and never want to ask them for “help,” and they end up screwing you over.
I know some people in the industry… and the lifelong question of when to ask someone to read your work, or help you out comes to mind. I am very shy about when to ask, and never want them to think I am “using them.” But, it seems like if you don’t go out every night, and drink and party with them, they lose sight of who you are. Some pull the Kevin Williamson, and you will be introduced to them 100 times, and they still cannot remember your name…
How do you know when to ask for help, or a reference, or both, or even a foot in the door? If you don’t party with them every night is that going to hurt my chances in the long run? And when should you ask?
I don’t want to come off as a user, but it seems like everyone else is. Do I need to sink down to that level to succeed?
I know there is such thing as a missed opportunity….but..?
Thanks in advance,
– “Anonymous.”
What’s not clear from your question — if it really is a question, rather than an extended harrumph — is exactly how people are using you and/or stabbing you in the back. Let’s look at some scenarios.

Are you reading their scripts, offering helpful notes, while they can’t be bothered to do the same for you?
Are they repeating your ideas as their own?
Are they talking behind your back? Stealing your beer? Making love to your girlfriend?
Are you helping them move, without receiving reciprocal futon-hauling?

All of these are clear offenses. But my hunch is that nothing so egregious is actually occurring. You’re just finding it difficult to make headway personally or professionally. So you wonder: Is this indicative of the Hollywood culture, or specific to you?
It’s both.
Let’s divide it into more distinct questions.
Does the entertainment industry, and Los Angeles in general, tend to generate a lot of shallow friendships?
In my experience, yes. You end up knowing a lot of people, but not knowing them very well. The boundaries between “someone you know” and “friend” are indistinct. People flake out on you more, offering only half-hearted rsvps (”I’ll try to make it.”) or after-the-fact explanations-cum-apologies (”Traffic was insane.”) Keep in mind that you work in an industry in which people genuinely don’t know when they’ll be permitted to go home. An assistant working at a busy agent’s desk might be there until midnight.
Can you form real friendships in the industry? Absolutely. One of my best friends is the woman who was hired to replace me when I left my last assistant job. I got to know her through the hundred follow-up phone calls asking where a certain file was, or how to handle Crazy Person #32. But you don’t form real friendships when you approach people with the worry that they may stab you in the back.
Here’s the thing to remember: Friends are for your personal happiness. Colleagues are part of your career. You may go to drinks with both, but don’t confuse them.
When do you ask a colleague for help, or a reference, or both, or even a foot in the door?
At whatever moment you think there’s a pretty good chance they would help you. And a lot of that depends on your level of chutzpah. Some of the most successful people in the industry are the most shameless about asking people for things. Brett Ratner wrote to Spielberg, who sent him a check. Does Spielberg feel “used?” Pretty unlikely.
I was never that ballsy, but I did a good job keeping up with my peers, helping them whenever I could. When it came time to move to a larger agency, I asked their opinions and got them to call on my behalf. I’ll call a writer I’ve met once to ask about a project, or an executive, or director with a questionable reputation. That’s how it works.
And don’t assume you have nothing to offer someone who has more experience in the industry. When I have coffee with younger writers, I’m asking them as many questions as they ask me.
How do you ask for help?
By doing so directly, while giving the person an out.

“I’m applying for a reader job at New Regency. You said you know Ethan Someguy. Would you feel comfortable calling him on my behalf?”
“I wrote a short that I want to shoot next month, and I’d really like your feedback if you’d be willing to look at it.”

You then follow up nicely.

“Just wanted to check whether you were able to connect with Ethan Someguy.”
“I wanted to see if you’d had a chance to read my short.”

Is it just me?
No, Anon, it’s not. At many points in my career I’ve wanted to throw someone through a wall. But the situation you’re describing seems at least partly attributable to your attitude.
You’re not in the happiest place right now, which could be situational or could be a bigger deal. Disappointment is not depression. But if your overall mood is consistently needling downward, getting the advice of an actual psychology professional would seem to be in order. All the career advice in the world isn’t going to make you happy if larger obstacles stand in the way.

Talk about People of Color

2009-03-30T23:11:00.000-07:00

Here's astory from stuff white people do that I find quite interesting and something I always wonder about...do you?

Stuff White People Do: invoke strangely colored people

At her blog The Neon Season, Rachel M. Brown calls this list-making habit "the invocation of strangely colored people." She offers some speculation about why white people make these lists, describing it as an effort "to emphasize just how much they don't care about race."

Yes, these lists are a form of emphasis, aren't they? And again, what's being emphasized is the white person's dismissal of the topic of race.

This rhetorical tactic often functions like another common white expression: "Whatever!" I didn't care for the movie Lakeview Terrace, but there's a great moment where Samuel L. Jackson's character says to the young white neighbor that he's been harassing (and I'll have to paraphrase here), "Yeah, 'whatever, whatever.' You white guys are always saying that, 'whatever!'"

The utterance of "whatever" often accompanies a hand-waving gesture of dismissal, which can be insulting when a white person does it in response to something involving race. And that's one problem with these "x, y, z or whatever" lists of people of color. Not only do they usually include non-existent skin colors that compare identifiable human skin colors to those of space aliens (thereby basically relegating the people themselves to the non-human status of space aliens). They also dismiss both matters of race and the people to whom race actually matters, in part because it often causes them problems.

As Rachel Brown writes, "The invocation of purple, blue, green, or other alien people is offensive for many reasons, including but not limited to the fact that it's completely trivializing, turns a serious and painful topic into a joke, and compares people of color to fictional aliens."

When white people align actual non-white groups with purple and green aliens, they're often also making a claim about themselves, a claim that simply isn't true--that they're "colorblind." As the Internet commenter above wrote in the example about Barack Obama, "I don't care if he's black, white, yellow, red, brown, or purple with green spots. Everyone just be grateful and stop worrying about what color he is." That's pretty close to saying everyone should just ignore what color he is, but almost no one is going to do that.

Brazil President Blames White People for Crisis

2009-03-30T10:38:00.000-07:00

"It is a crisis caused and encouraged by the irrational behavior of white people with blue eyes, who before the crisis appeared to know everything, but are now showing that they know nothing."

"As I do not know any black or indigenous bankers, I can only say it is not possible for this part of mankind, which is victimized more than any other, to pay for the crisis."

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on his view that white, blue-eyed people - not Indians, nor black, nor poor people - had created and spread the crisis throughout the world.

Life in a Duffel

2009-03-30T00:48:00.000-07:00

What can you fit in a duffel bag?

I have a fantasy to get on a motorcycle and just drive somewhere with all I need in a duffel bag. However, I certainly don't have the motorcycle. That also means I can take more things...like suitcases. But I have to say it'd be pretty nice to be able to take everything you need in a duffel bag. For me though, I have the carry-on rule, that is, I'd love to be able to fit all the things I need in what I can carry onto a plane i.e. a duffel and a personal bag. Sure I couldn't just get up and leave. I have things like photo albums and coats that I wouldn't travel with generally. But they aren't things that I "need" in a general sense and can easily be shipped back to my mama's or left in storage while I'm off traveling.

Can you pack your life in a duffel bag? Or a suitcase or two?

I won't be traveling anytime soon I don't think. But one thing's for sure. Icy wants to go on a trip!

RE5 in the forums

2009-03-16T13:25:00.001-07:00

I brought up the scene in Resident Evil 5 of the white woman being dragged and turned into a monster to the videogame forum on GameFAQS. While some had to assert some honesty, most of the conversation went like this.

Here we go with this "racist" bull**** again...

"Yeah, because we all know there's no such thing as white people in Africa.

*rolls eyes*"

That's absolutely ridiculous. If anything, YOU are the racist for seeing a black guy drag away a white girl and "king kong" is where your mind goes. It never even occured to me until you typed that.

How do we have conversations on race when everyone is so uncomfortable about it? And I think just further proves wy we aren't post-racial. You can't be post-anything if you can't have a honest conversation about it.

Oh and just so everyone knows, i finished the game. And outside of the first three chapters which scream some fairly racist images, the rest of the game does in fact have some anti-colonial themes. However, that doesn't excuse the use of such blatantly racist imagery. Especially considering that you'd really have to know some history of Africa to understand said themes.

Obama Fingers

2009-03-16T11:54:00.000-07:00

A German frozen food company hopes to raise sales with a new product: Obama fingers. The tender, fried chicken bits come with a tasty curry sauce. The company says it was unaware of the possible racist overtones of the product

What the hell guys? You really didn't know?

The Violent Negro of RE5

2009-03-16T11:45:00.000-07:00

So I recently bought Resident Evil 5 and I've been playing it quite obsessively. I tihnk the game is a beautiful piece of work. Smart AI, beautiful landscapes, and it gets to be quite scary. But oh wow, this game is RACIST!! I wasn't expected it to be as much but it really has it moments. I'm not even close to halfway through the game but I really think Capcom went over the line in how its trying to show Africans in the made up region of Kijuju (which, by the way, manages to encompass all of sub-Saharan Africa in its tiny region). Now I'm no African studies expert (and neither is he) but from playing the first chapter we see a lot of racist imagery straight out of Heart of Darkness.

Chris is joined by Sheva Alomar, a native to the region but so obviously not full African. She's light skinned and very Hollywood and proper, a magical negro.

And when we first walk into the town, what do we see but a bunch of Africans beating up a moving bag. Could it be a body inside? An animal? We don't know. However, these people haven't even been infected yet with the virus! What we see is that being savage and belligerent is typical of African culture.

This was yanked from Kikizo

"At one point [Chris] and Sheva glimpse a woman struggling with a group of Majini (the Africans infected with the Los Plagas virus) on a balcony overlooking a street. She's a white westerner - prominently, unmistakeably so, with waist-length platinum blonde hair, idealized Anglo-Saxon facial features and a skimpy black lace night dress. She screams for aid, but is overpowered and dragged back into the building. When you eventually reach her, she has been impregnated with the Los Plagas virus and must be destroyed. As our chums at Eurogamer have pointed out, the scene dovetails smoothly with that classic racist trope of the brutal black male 'corrupting' the white man's womenfolk. There's zero justification for the woman's appearance in the plot - the scene exists, as far as I can see, purely to outrage and titillate players whose cultural background is saturated with such unwholesome ideas. "

Violent negroes and raping of white women. It's amazing how not-subtle Capcom is in portraying these stereotypes. Apparently the game gets worse based on a few articles I've read and I'm curious to see. And this is also from things pointed out to me after the fact as I've been playing. I'll admit I wasn't looking consciously for racist imagery (though I did catch a few WTF moments) but I am going to be more aware of it. I'll continue to post more on the topic as it comes available to me as I play. I'm entering spring break next week and plan to probably play the game nonstop.

Here's a few articles on the topic of racism and Resident Evil 5 if you'd like to catch.

Resident Evil 5 hands on from eurogamer

Racialicious:"Expert" Consulted on RE5 Racism Issue: Not an Expert on Race After All

My pussy is hanging out

2009-03-12T14:35:00.000-07:00

Don't know if you heard, but something funny happened to Britney Spears. While on her Circus tour stop in Tampa, Britney was singing her song "I'm a Slave 4 U." After the song she went for a costume change during the blackout, but her mic was still on. She proceeds to say "my pussy is hanging out." Someone then says "what?" and then someone else says "She said her pussy is hanging out." You gotta hear/see it for yourself here! Gotta love the Brit.

Civil Unions for all?

2009-03-11T09:19:00.000-07:00

Breaking news:

So the Anti-Prop 8 folks may have an ace up their sleeves. Apparently they're trying to get a ballot initiative in California for fall 2009. It would effectively ban all marriages, making California a civil union-only state. It's a bold move I would say, though we have to wonder how many people would actually support this in the hetero community. After all, if the wording isn't right, it could make millions of straight couples fearful of their own unions being invalidated. This is an interesting development. Personally, I support it. I felt the lgbtq community had no business trying to get into the marriage game in the first place and should work on civil unions. Though I still don't think it's as high of a priority as other topics affecting that community, I support it much more than the Marriage Equality Movement because it can actually mean a lot to so many more people.

Story courtesy of b via Daily Kos.

Ex-Cons/Drunken Humor

2009-03-08T16:20:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't been posting much. I've been busy working on policies to help employ-ex-convicts, specially those living in South Central Los Angeles. (yeah yeah, it's South LA now, but that's really a misnomer). It's been pretty emotional talking to people, men and women who made a mistake and now can't find a job to support themselves because of their records. It's a two-fold though. Because of the circumstance that they are now under, many now face attitude issues. They've had the backs of others facing them and it gets them even more depressed. Sometimes they don't have the education or the support of family. It's a rough world. So that's why I've been largely absent from the land of blogging. But on a lighter note, I wanted to post this. I found this image and story a long time ago (like 2007) but never posted it. I figure since it's Sunday and the beginning of what may be hell week for me, I figured I'd post it for giggles sake. Enjoy!

This past weekend I threw a party for one of my best friends Julie, celebrating her for being awesome and to celebrate her new career move. Juliepalooza was to be epic and full of love an honor, and it was, UNTIL…………..

(Image & story courtesy of whateves:Spanx for the Memories)

2009: The year of Utada?

2009-03-08T16:08:00.000-07:00

Utada has recently released the music video for her latest english single, Come Back To Me. Could 2009 be the year of Utada? She has tried to release in America before, back in 2004. While the album was VERY good, it sold horribly due to a lack of promotion. But this time may be different. We need more Asian-American artists in the mainstream and Utada could help usher in a new wave. Her album will be released digitally March 24 so expect a review then. In the meantime, check out some of my favorite singles by Utada in no particular order (though Devil Inside & Hikari are quite possibly two of my favorite Utada songs of all time and hence on top).

Utada Top 10