Nicole be Thinking...

what up folks... i haven't been publishing any of my blogs lately. there are a few that need to be published and i'll find the time to go back and publish them in sequence. i've been blogging from my phone and it's hard. it doesn't have the same feeling as sitting at the computer and typing. anywho... i have to: -write a 10-12 page paper on a topic relevant to my Debate, Dissent, and Dialogue class. right now i'm playing with various ideas and deciding whether to focus my paper on the way rhetoric shapes freedom or the way rhetoric has shaped my personal feelings on patriotism. -write an 8-10 page paper on an aspect of book editing or publishing for my Book Editing in Context class. i've decided to write about the way k-12 textbooks are/have been edited and what that has done to k-12 education. i'm in DIRE need of some frickin sources! really i need a great spot to go to look at old and new textbooks so i can draw my on inferences and then find someone ...

so... america has a black president. excitement aside, what's next? history acknowledged, what does this mean for the future? really... what are WE willing to do about our future? in 2004 someone joked about obama being president after his speech at the dnc that year. i got choked up then and said, "man... if he gets that far, i will cry rare tears of joy." well... he did; and i did. last night i was moved to tears by how far we've come and the promise for where we will go. this is so big. thinking about my ancestors who were forced to come here and then weren't allowed to be american. thinking about my grandmother and her siblings who weren't allowed to go to centennial park to see the christmas lights, who lived in a city that poured cement in a swimming pool rather than integrate it. thinking about all the old people in bordeaux who voted with me in the primaries and showed up in droves to vote in the general election, tired and aching, but proud to be blac...

long meaningful post tomorrow. but it's been a while since i blogged but i'm back to say we did it! yay!

p.s. CHUCK has a blog! go read it... advocatingforfreedom.blogspot.com

what is this? like... my third post today? goodness... i've been at work too damn long... anyway... i'm beginning to miss being off on sundays. i like to watch "meet the press" and do laundry on sunday. now i'm at the call center watching videos and blogging all day... i stayed away from politics initially today, but i couldn't stay away tooooo long because, well... i've read everything else. AND because the world doesn't stop when i decide i don't wanna read about it (i think that makes sense...). anywho... we're all abuzz because colin powell finally endorsed barack obama, but... who the hell did you think he was going to endorse? the dude QUIT his job under bush and then wrote homie a letter basically saying, "your policies are fucked up/i told you so." why would he endorse any republican right now ? if you care, transcript of his statement . in other news... i was watching "man and wife" (on mtv.com...) and you should to...

i'm still quite bored and but still feeling light and fluffy. here are some videos... no real theme. just watch. =] old destiny's child. this was my shit... look at their hair! especially beyonce's. lol. and wyclef... man... memories... Destiny's Child New Music say what you will about britney... i've never purchased any of her stuff, but there's no denying that she's an expert at putting out catchy stuff... she's getting her grove back. this is cute. Britney Spears New Music i LOVE this song. a lot. and fabolous! where's he been? Ne-Yo New Music i love maroon 5 (and have found a man who does too... life's good) Maroon 5 New Music THIS is different... the group is called black kids... the song "i'm not gonna teach your boyfriend how to dance with you" i like it, but i'm weird. this singer reminds me of duran (not duran duran, but duran hernandez... my husband from ecc) and the song sorta reminds me of hmmm... well... it's ki...

so... i'm bored at work and really didn't want to read anymore gossip blogs (because i'm beginning to think that our criticism of "celebrities" is going too far...) and i really don't feel like reading the news (because i'm tired of it). instead... i'm watching videos on mtv.com. at some point i got to "making the band 4" and it is highly entertaining. i used to really enjoy this show. like... the FIRST season with o-town. (lol... i feel so lame.) i also really liked when puff daddy took over because da band was HELLA funny. the first season with danity kane was equally entertaining but at some point it fell off for me. danity kane seemed to be feeling themselves a little too much and everything started feeling uber false. and it turns out... i was right! i was getting these vibes without watching the show... and it turns out that they really don't like each other and all this buddy-buddy-we-love-each-other shit was really shit. anywho......

on october 15, 2008 i voted. everyone knows i voted for barack obama (even though i told my mom that i wrote her name in...) i stood in line for almost an hour, which i didn't mind because the last time i voted for president i stood in line for two hours BEFORE i got into the building and the sucker i voted for lost to an idiot, but anyway... there was something different about voting this year. i vote in a precint full of old black people. since i've been here, i've seen the same old black people every time i've gone to vote. i know why they vote. in this same precint when they were my age they were harrassed when they went to vote. when i voted in the primaries this woman was talking about how she has voted in every election since she was old enough because "ain't nobody gon stop her from doing her rights." i saw that same woman a few people ahead of me in line and she was prepared. this year she had her little cane that turns into a seat and her grands...

i like beyonce, so don't take this as me bashing her like soooo many other people are doing behind this. i just thought it would be interesting to watch the inspiration and then watch the finished product. (actually she was inspired by the first number set to "walk it out" but i'm not a fan of unk so we'll do the ORIGINAL original.) i also like this song MUCH more than her other single. p.s. beyonce is dancing her ASS off but there is a section of this video that looks like a string of stand moves... DAMN! it made me want to get up and do them with her.  =]

watch these clips... my comments in [ italics ]. The Real Housewives Of Atlanta Represent The Crass Consumerism That Is Ruining Our Country The Real Housewives of Atlanta — made up mostly of women who are wives of athletes — are the shallowest, bitchiest, and most materialistic we've seen in this Bravo series. All of them act like the girls you see on MTV's My Super Sweet 16 — demanding designer labels, extravagant birthday cakes, and fully loaded Escalades — but perhaps the most disgusting is Shereé, who talks about how much "class" she has, which is a sure sign she doesn't have any. She's the ex of some athlete, and she is fighting him for money so that she can continue to maintain her lifestyle, which includes an extensive staff (personal assistant, chef, and publicist) and buying $3,500 handbags that look like you can get them for a tenth of the price at Joyce Leslie. She also thinks that "men are intimidated by successful women," interesting onl...

i have some more articles for you... i'm really tired of people apologizing for stuff they say. when i got to work i read THIS article... now... at lunch time... i'm reading THIS article... not cool john lewis, not cool. i guess technically he's "clarifying," but to me, right now, that's the same thing as apologizing... let's take a look. here's what lewis said: "What I am seeing reminds me too much of another destructive period in American history. Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse," Lewis said in a statement. "George Wallace never threw a bomb. He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights. Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church wa...

well... not THIS ... it's actually quite funny. =] but during my regular stroll around the block that is the internet, i came across some articles on cnn that have my panties in quite a bunch. and it actually has nothing to do with the opinions of the writers. it's these mccain-palin supporters... a quick sidebar for you... my dad is REALLY into parlament and p-funk and all that and when i was little i was afraid of sir nose d'void of funk. i don't really know why since i had never seen him and listening to the songs he doesn't really say anything bad... he just sounded weird. and i just imagined a big nose walking around. and there was this one song where it sounded like they were trying to drown him--he's scared of water =] anyway... every time i think of mccain-palin supporters, my brain says "sir nose d'void of common sense " and i get scared. (you didn't think my reference would make sense did you? lol) anywho... look: this first article, ...

andre 3000 is one of the best underrated lyricists i know of. this is not to say that big boi's verse in this song was not good, but i LOVE this one. i LOVE andre. enjoy. So I'm watchin' her fine ass Walk to my bedroom, and thought to myself That's the shape of things to come She said, Why you in the club, you don't make it precipitate? You know, make it rain when you can make it thunderstorm I'm like, Why? The world needs sun The hood needs funds There's a war going on and half the battle is guns How dare I throw it on the floor When people are poor So I write like Edgar Allen to restore, got a cord- Umbilical attached to a place that can't afford No landscaping, Or window draping This old lady told me, If I ain't got nothin' good, say nathin That's why I don't talk much I swear it don't cost much, to pay attention to me I tell like it is, and I tell it how it could be The hood be Requesting my services, Oh don't get nervous it...

... is over! yaaaaaay! i can park where i want to park now! i can go back to my spin class! i don't have to worry about going off on some plain-clothes secret service person and getting arrested! life is good again! sigh... i'm finally exhaling... =] first i'm gonna go over my take on the crap that was "belmont debate 08" and then, "in all candor," as tom "time to buck up" brokaw would put it, i'm going to give my take on that damn debate. belmont has been preparing for this debate since last semester... they paved 15th ave (just on the belmont side). they built media tents on our soccer field (although it's not like we need it any way, since we stole rose park...). they drilled holes and put up a fence around the campus. they kicked people out of offices so they could use them. they took over the school and then told the students that we'd only get to go to this debate if the space became available. all this chaos, all this mone...

i'm at work, bored, playing this fun, addictive game (called super word scrapers) and it got me to thinking... nothing positive starts with the letter "n." sad, right? =[ and i know what you're thinking... "nice" starts with an "n" but i HATE that word. and "nurses" are great, but you really only need them when you're sick so not so positive, right... anyway... indulge me. if you can think of a good "n" word... let me know. =]

i'm not blogging about the news today, but there's a lot going on so i'm going to sprinkle this post with unrelated screen shots from cnn.com. go read it. =] lately i've been thinking about what legacy i'll leave behind. this thought process has led me to think about my future goals, having children, growing old, and other whimsical loooong-term things like that. recent events and circumstances have led me to evaluate what i do from day to day. this post could alternatively be titled why did i join a sorority? the answer to one question is simple; the other, not so much. i joined a sorority because i am a strong individual who wants to make a difference in my surroundings and i wanted to do it with like-minded women . i wanted to be apart of a long tradition of strong women. i wanted to surround myself with women who are leaders instead of followers, and do-ers instead of hope-ers. the choice has always been clear for me. in choosing to join a sorority, i have inter...

is it just me or are there a lot of people who are just not looking at actual issues ? this sarah palin woman is an idiot. it's can't just ne the liberal media washington elite [hey... i'm just throwing them all together] that cares to call her on her bullshit. i mean... damn! do these people not understand the magnatude of the position she's running for? i mean she may not know what a vice president is supposed to do, but aside from the thought that this idiot would run the senate, that she's NEXT in line to be president--which is a big frickin deal given the age and potential frailty of the fool at the top of her ticket--scares the hell out of me. her beliefs scare me too. those snl skits are funny as hell, but when you consider the amount of that material that is verbatim.... uh.... not so funny anymore. these katie couric interviews show us A LOT. no matter how well people think she did in that debate, those interviews prove that she doesn't have the knowl...

R.I.P. Paul Newman January 25, 1925 - September 26, 2008

last night i went to see "miracle at st. anna" [more about that later] instead of watching the first presidential debates so today the plan was to watch it on cnn.com and "live blog" it. however when i actually started watching the debate, i got really tired of hearing them talk in circles about the same stuff over and over. i'm really tired of this election in general. all in all i liked the way obama laid out his plans specifically while mccain kept saying "i have a plan" and "i have proposals." i hated that mccain started off with the news about kennedy being in the hospital. dude just seems hella fake and shady. they both sounded like politicians -- and that's not a good thing. all in all i'm glad i went to the movies. and i'm glad i'm going to spend my time at work doing other things besides watching that stupid debate. furthermore, i no longer have a desire to go to the belmont debate AND i'm even more resentful for ...

i've been absent from you but not on purpose. i really only have time to blog when i'm sitting at work and then i have all the time in the world (8.5 hours to be exact) to do whatever i want on the computer because i'm sitting there staring at it. anyway... i'm going to run down my links (another unintentional trend that has started here...) with some of my commentary... enjoy: Chris Rock to Bill Clinton: "Hilary Lost!" Dear Governor Palin: Why So Afraid of the Fourth Estate? R.I.P. Nancy Hicks Maynard 75 Books Every Woman Should Read I endorse these: Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys Beloved , Toni Morrison A Good Man is Hard to Find (and Other Stories) , Flannery O'Connor [really anything by her...] Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston Wuthering Heights , Emily Bronte A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith Assata, Assata Shakur (not on the list) I read this article about how black women have 5 times the number of abortions that white women have...

i took this week off from life, sorta. what sucks most is that when i do that, i can't really remember what happened all week so it's hard to update you all... basically all week i just kinda went through the motions. james's birthday was tuesday so we've been celebrating all week... next week my discipline starts... no REALLY. we're on a 2-year-plus plan right now... planning out the next two years so that the plus years after that will be wonderful. anywho... i'm at work, bored. since i've taken the week off i haven't really seen or heard anything that has me ready to blog... i have read a bunch of things from a variety of sources so we'll do my favorite links from this week, Snippets from my Day style. Belmont is hosting Presidential debates in October I don't know if you all know that or not, but yeah. one would assume that this is a wonderful thing. actually... LOTS of ones think it's a wonderful thing and MOST of these people do not go...

i'm sitting at work... browsing the web like i always do. today i'm looking for haircuts and cars (i've decided i want a 2007 honda civic lx exactly like the rental i had when i was in california in may...). i'm undecided on a haircut, but google searching led me to this site . i was taken aback and slightly offended that this obviously white site couldn't find any black hair models to model hairstyles and that all they could find were pics of beyonce, kelly rowland, halle berry, aaliyah, tyra banks and ashanti. they even had duplicates of some pictures... i'm amazed that there are people who just don't know . it's hella funny how they have to be on our radar, but they're oblivious to us. deep sighing aside, seeing so many pictures of her made me wonder if beyonce would be as famous as she is if aaliyah had never died. and then i started thinking of other people who might "owe" their stardom to the death of someone else... i know it's ...

...well, at least not anytime soon... too much is going on in the world and i'm getting frustrated because i feel like 1.) no one is listening to me, 2.) no one is thinking about actual issues, and 3.) no one is utilizing the common sense that God gave them. however... there are a handful of people who DO think about actual issues and use common sense. AND, i bet they would listen to me, too, if we ever met. =] The following is a list of articles i've been enjoying over the course of my day... they are thought provoking and i agree with pretty much all of the opinion pieces. i know i've put up lists before, but this list is my "yay! for free-thinking people who aren't afraid or ashamed by the word 'liberal!!!'" i was beginning to get scared... you will probably be seeing more of these the closer we get to the election... there really isn't a lot i need to say. just go READ! Miscellany I heart Heart. What Republican offspring probably w...

i was going to blog about something else today, but then i caught up on my "diary of an anxious black woman," and i am convinced that (today) you should just LEAVE my blog entirely and go read hers. she's on my blogroll... for quick reference... THIS and THIS is exactly what i've been thinking/saying since this whole mccain-palin announcement (and subsequent announcements...)!!!! alright, now, GO! enjoy... come see me tomorrow. =]

last time i blogged i had a link to a bossip story about sharri henry . apparently, she was in a relationship with jaguars wide receiver, dennis northcutt, became pregnant, refused to terminate, and got beat for it while she was pregnant. girlfriends and wives getting beat by nfl/nba/pro athletes is nothing new. this doesn't make it ok and it upsets me whenever a man is beating a woman. but what struck me the most is the reaction and comments of the other people reading this story. first of all, any man who beats a woman is a bitch. in this case, he had his cousin do it. it's not clear from any of the stories that i've read whether his cousin is male or female, but in my opinion it's no different either way. they were outside of a club and so the insinuation is sharri is a woman scorned (the 2 are no longer together) and went to confront him and then he had his cousin hit her in the mouth. according to tmz, her lawsuit says that last May, when she was four months preg...