8 posts tagged “being american”
Read a book in a week or less. Read at least two books this month.
That will be twice as many as I read last month.
It is an attainable goal.
This weekend I finally had a chance to replace my (stolen) library card from summer. All my cash was spent at the previous stop-- wait for it-- the cleaners, and this library doesn't take credit cards. I didn't have enough pocket change to pay for the new card, but the clerk said I could take my replacement card now and pay next time, which was a pleasant surprise.
I stopped at the reference desk and inquired if the book, Nickel and Dimed, was available. The library's two copies had already been checked out. An extra copy will be sent to the branch so I can check it out by next weekend. This works out nicely because I have another book (a YA novel) to read while I'm waiting. Also, I found out that they take magazine donations. I have a few dozen that would be better off donated than chucked into the recycle bin.
You might recognize the voice of Lisa Lobsinger, a lead singer at one point in Broken Social Scene (see wikipedia). Since I'd never heard BSS songs before today I did not. But it's okay, l like RSR a whole lot more.
They capture the essence of a feel-good, electronic pop sound with lyrics that make you eager to hear the next line in most, if not all, of their songs. I know RSR have been around for a few years and may be on a hiatus at the moment, but I only discovered them yesterday. *hides late freight ticket stub*
It was this song, Rip the Universe, on an opening music cue of The Best Years on the-n.com's The Click that made my ears perk up. Luckily I was able to catch the end credits to see exactly who was singing.
If you like that song included in this post, you can hear more on the following sites.
Fan site with more songs
Reverie Sound Revue (official site)
Here are lyrics to selected songs (including Rip the Universe).
The Best Years is not yet airing on TV but will in couple of weeks (starting Friday, June 29th on The N). If you watch it listen out for this song in the first minute or two of the premiere.
The series is about the life of an orphan, Samantha Best, from a foster home upbringing, matriculating with a full scholarship to a fictional Ivy League university in Boston. Think of it as a Wonder Years (sans narration) meets Popular (sans the excessive camp). Also, I always get a kick out of shows pretending to take place in the US, but being clearly Canadian.
The music of RSR has also been featured on Radio-Free Roscoe, another show on The N with inexplicably addictive music.
HELPFUL HINT: to get the image to show up on your vox, you should paste your result into the embed window and then again in the compose area, otherwise you will only see the "read my visualDNA..." portion only. If you do not see the embed button in your compose window, go here and check the box to be a beta tester.
Who was your first celebrity crush?
Submitted by Glory.
1960's-1980's music superstars, unite! My first celebrity crush (that I can actually remember) was either Bruce Springsteen or Cyndi Lauper. Why? I saw this video in the 80's:
Every time I saw/heard WAtW and could hardly wait for his part (which was coincidentally, the chorus).
And I thought Cyndi Lauper had mad rad hair and I loved to watch her sing her part too. Who were your crushes (or favorites) from this video?
I recently came across this page via the always lovely lifehacker with links to various major credit card sites offering discounts at a ton of places you may already shop, like Borders, Skechers, Target, Turbo Tax (and you know you should get to doing those taxes, don't you?), T- Mobile, restaurants, Cheap Tickets, reputable rent-a-car places, Bally Total Fitness, 1-800-flowers, Blockbuster, NetFlix, etc. So if you reside in the US, have a credit card, and want to save a few bucks take a minute and check out this consumerist article.
I don't mean to cause an impromptu shopping spree, but I saw a coupon for 25% off of a Skechers purchase with no shipping (or sales tax, except in CA). I love my Skechers, but they've gotten really expensive for what they are. I'm talking >$50 for some canvas flip flops. *shakes head* They're flip flops! Flip flops should never be more than about $10, IMHO, unless they contain some kind of precious metal or gemstone or are super comfortable, or they're a simply a gift for someone special. :)
TechMusicGospel recently pointed to msgenevieve's post of a short documentary by a teenage filmmaker named Kiri Davis. It's all about young African American girls' perception of themselves and how other people view them. If you haven't seen it already, it's worth a look.
If you could make a magic wish for a futuristic gadget or high-tech innovation, what would your item do?
Submitted by Red Pen.
Don't you hate driving behind another car on the freeway that has a non-working brake light or two? Since I live in a big city with a notorious freeway system, I wish for a special sound or light emitting device (somewhere in the dashboard) for vehicles that warns a driver when one of their brake lights or tail lights is out. I think it would be nice if people could know about their light outage without having to be pulled over by the police for a fix-it ticket. At a minimal cost to install in each vehicle, it could potentially free-up highway patrol resources and save lives of those who are *ahem* multi-tasking, during rush hour.
I also want to make a magical wish for another device that compensates for the driver who's driving with their blinker on by mistake (i.e. in the fast lane with their left blinker on). This one's a vehicle motion-sensitive blinker with a timer. Motion sensitive because if you're sitting at a light or in rush-hour traffic with your blinker on, then the timer will not turn the blinker off, but if you're in motion for more than 1/4 mile with no significant rotations of the steering wheel, then the blinker will shut-off, effectively reducing the level of road rage of the driver behind you.
BTW, I don't really care if someone steals my idea and actually manufactures these alert devices. Please do and make city life that much better!
White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack
by Peggy McIntosh
[A larger excerpt from her working paper is here:
http://seamonkey.ed.asu.edu/~mcisaac/emc598ge/Unpacking.html]
I decided to try to work on myself at least by identifying some of the daily effects of white privilege in my life. I have chosen those conditions that I think in my case attach somewhat more to skin-color privilege than to class, religion, ethnic status, or geographic location, though of course all these other factors are intricately intertwined. As far as I can tell, my African American coworkers, friends, and acquaintances with whom I come into daily or frequent contact in this particular time, place and time of work cannot count on most of these conditions.
1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.
2. I can avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and who have learned to mistrust my kind or me.
3. If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live.
4. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.
5. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.
6. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.
7. When I am told about our national heritage or about "civilization," I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.
8. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.
9. If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on white privilege.
10. I can be pretty sure of having my voice heard in a group in which I am the only member of my race.
11. I can be casual about whether or not to listen to another person's voice in a group in which s/he is the only member of his/her race.
12. I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods which fit with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser's shop and find someone who can cut my hair.
13. Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.
14. I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them.
15. I do not have to educate my children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.
16. I can be pretty sure that my children's teachers and employers will tolerate them if they fit school and workplace norms; my chief worries about them do not concern others' attitudes toward their race.
17. I can talk with my mouth full and not have people put this down to my color.
18. I can swear, or dress in second hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty or the illiteracy of my race.
19. I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial.
20. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.
21. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.
22. I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world's majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.
23. I can criticize our government and talk about how much I fear its policies and behavior without being seen as a cultural outsider.
24. I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to the "person in charge", I will be facing a person of my race.
25. If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven't been singled out because of my race.
26. I can easily buy posters, post-cards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys and children's magazines featuring people of my race.
27. I can go home from most meetings of organizations I belong to feeling somewhat tied in, rather than isolated, out-of-place, outnumbered, unheard, held at a distance or feared.
28. I can be pretty sure that an argument with a colleague of another race is more likely to jeopardize her/his chances for advancement than to jeopardize mine.
29. I can be pretty sure that if I argue for the promotion of a person of another race, or a program centering on race, this is not likely to cost me heavily within my present setting, even if my colleagues disagree with me.
30. If I declare there is a racial issue at hand, or there isn't a racial issue at hand, my race will lend me more credibility for either position than a person of color will have.
31. I can choose to ignore developments in minority writing and minority activist programs, or disparage them, or learn from them, but in any case, I can find ways to be more or less protected from negative consequences of any of these choices.
32. My culture gives me little fear about ignoring the perspectives and powers of people of other races.
33. I am not made acutely aware that my shape, bearing or body odor will be taken as a reflection on my race.
34. I can worry about racism without being seen as self-interested or self-seeking.
35. I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having my co-workers on the job suspect that I got it because of my race.
36. If my day, week or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether it had racial overtones.
37. I can be pretty sure of finding people who would be willing to talk with me and advise me about my next steps, professionally.
38. I can think over many options, social, political, imaginative or professional, without asking whether a person of my race would be accepted or allowed to do what I want to do.
39. I can be late to a meeting without having the lateness reflect on my race.
40. I can choose public accommodation without fearing that people of my race cannot get in or will be mistreated in the places I have chosen.
41. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me.
42. I can arrange my activities so that I will never have to experience feelings of rejection owing to my race.
43. If I have low credibility as a leader I can be sure that my race is not the problem.
44. I can easily find academic courses and institutions which give attention only to people of my race.
45. I can expect figurative language and imagery in all of the arts to testify to experiences of my race.
46. I can chose blemish cover or bandages in "flesh" color and have them more or less match my skin.
47. I can travel alone or with my spouse without expecting embarrassment or hostility in those who deal with us.
48. I have no difficulty finding neighborhoods where people approve of our household.
49. My children are given texts and classes which implicitly support our kind of family unit and do not turn them against my choice of domestic partnership.
50. I will feel welcomed and "normal" in the usual walks of public life, institutional and social.
Number 50 in particular is what a friend and I discussed today. What exactly is this "normal" feeling and is anyone really aware of feeling "normal" when they experience it? Can I, as a black female, ever feel "normal"? Better yet: Do I truly want to feel "normal"? Isn't "normal" really a codeword for privileged? I think I just answered my first question.
Would I be willing to give up feeling "normal" if it meant that I had to make an effort to convince people like me to also give up their sense of normalcy so that others, who are not like me, would no longer be left to feel abnormal?
My friend also sent me the following quote.
"You do not wipe away the scars of centuries by saying: 'now, you are free to go where you want, do as you desire, and choose the leaders you please.' You do not take a man who for years has been hobbled by chains, liberate him, bring him to the starting line of a race, saying, 'you are free to compete with all the others,' and still justly believe you have been completely fair . . . This is the next and more profound stage of the battle for civil rights. We seek not just freedom but opportunity—not just legal equity but human ability—not just equality as a right and a theory, but equality as a fact and as a result."
- Former President L.B. Johnson
edit: 11-16-06 10AMI have not taken the time to verify that the quote is actually from Mr. Truman The quote, initially attributed to Mr. Harry S. Truman, has, after a simple fact-checking of sources, yielded results for former US president Lyndon B. Johnson. Regardless of which president said it, I think it's amazingly well put and really reaches to the root of the problems inherent in 'leveling the playing field' for anything. Then I wondered what our current president has to say. I glanced over at my co-worker's desktop calendar entitled "George W. Bushisms" where each day features a quote from the U.S. President. There's absolutely no comparison, at least, not in that publication. At best, none of those quotes actually make sense. So, moving on. After chatting a little more about what it means to be considered culturally normal in America in an extremely broad context (as in, simply being a twin can make you a minority) we parted company with a shared feeling that we'd understood the other.
Any thoughts?
