Nicole be Thinking...

Alright... so... a 44-year-old dude drugs and rapes a 13-year-old girl. He pleads guilty to engaging in unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor (which was reduced from rape by use of drugs, perversion, sodomy, lewd and lascivious act upon a child under 14, and furnishing a controlled substance to a minor). He was told to report for a 90-day psych evaluation and instead he skipped town, fled to France. Thirty-two years later, he's picked up and extridited and says that according to his plea deal, he shouldn't go to jail because the 42 days he spent in jail counted as time served. This dude is Roman Polanski. If he were anyone else they would have gotten him 30 years ago. What I find soooo remarkable is that people are supporting him and feel like he should be free. They say that he's already paid for his crimes and the victim doesn't want to pursue the case. Anne Applebaum writes : "He did commit a crime, but he has paid for the crime in many, many ways: In notor...

By now you've all heard... Last week a 16-year-old, honor roll student in Chicago was beaten to death and it was caught on tape. People were hitting him with 2-by-4's and tire irons and stuff like that. I will not repost the video, nor have I watched it. I don't have the stomach for that kind of violence. I feel for Derrion's family. I feel for the families of the kids who beat him, too. I don't think what I feel for Derrion's murderers can be called sympathy, though. I'm sorry they exist. No... not sorry they were born. I'm sorry the greater they-- the violence, hate, and apathy they represent--exist. I'm sorry that the parts of society that turned these boys into murderers exist. I feel compassion for whatever those boys had seen or been through that led them on the path that made them think taking a 2-by-4 to someone's head was cool. My humanity makes me see that, but my sense of the law and my love of fairness makes me want these boys locked ...

Earlier in September, The Free Library of Philadelphia announced that it would close all of its branches October 2 if the state legislature didn't accept the city's budget request. The request included a temporary tax increase and a 2-year deferral of payments into the pension fund. Failure to approve the budget would close the libraries, eliminate funding for the court system, and cause police officers and firefighters to be laid off. Luckily the legislation passed. But what if it hadn't ? While the world was outraged about Kanye West acting an ass, Serena getting mad at a match, and whether Toure likes black women, a major US city was about to close its libraries . Its LIBRARIES. In America. I didn'tsee this on CNN. I saw ONE tweet. Conservatives are pissed about a health plan because they didn't think of it first but nobody cares if a city closes all its libraries? How is it possible in a country as advanced as America is supposed to be that the threat of closing...

I haven't had a bunch of time to blog lately. Before, I was dealing with some terrible writer's block. Now, I'm trying to write papers for school... Sigh... it's been hectic. I'm going to try to get all caught up tonight. I don't want to get your hopes all up and I don't like to place limits on myself, so I'm not going to commit to getting all caught up and I'm not going to tell yall what I'm working on... =] Anywho... Stay tuned; I'll be blogging as much as possible. And be patient; a lot of what you'll read in the next few posts will be old news. I'll try to get all that out of the way relatively quickly. See you soon!

We've made it to Overnight Mixtape, Vol 4. This one features Bun B and GLC. How's that for official? =] This one has a nice vibe. Future is always representing Nashville, but you can REALLY hear it on this one. "Uptown" (featuring Bun B) and "615 City Reppa" with Openmic take it to another level. "We Good" is awesome. I love the original and Future just brought it closer to me. (Shout out to the N.O.B.O.T.S.) I like"Superstar" a lot. "Imagine" is really nice. and "Mo Money, No Problems" is real. I really can't pick a favorite. I can't really pick one that I don't like or have a problem with. It's a really solid mixtape. The vibe is kinda... "business as usual." After the Bun B excitement, the rest of it is kinda like what you'd expect from a third album. You know... not as good as the first, not as wack as the second. As always, the skits are cool. "Evan and Robb" with Bill Nye a...

In the 1950s, Jacques Lacan decided to reinterpret Freud’s theories and create his own method of psychoanalysis. Lacan was “interested in accepting the unconscious as the core of one’s being” (Dobie 64). He believed an individual moves through Orders in developing the psyche and the self. In the Imaginary Order, one “uses what it sees to create the ego” (Dobie 65). As one develops language and the means to turn their needs into demands, they begin to exist in the Symbolic Order (Dobie 66). The Real Order is unattainable and “symbolizes what is external to an individual” (Dobie 66). Lacan’s Orders can be a little lofty and overwhelming but they can help the literary critic understand how the unconscious motivates the characters in a piece of literature. Russell Banks’ short story, “My Mother’s Memoirs, My Father’s Lie, and Other True Stories,” provides good material to which one can apply some of Lacan’s theories. In the story a gentleman, Earl, is putting his relationship with his pare...

"Yo, Wayne! You know... I know we be all up on your beat. But let me tell you something Wayne. We working just as hard as you. Call us..." I. Love. This. I don't speak for Nashville, but Sir Lazenby, thanks for putting Nashville on your back. I appreciate you. =] So we're on number 3. I expect this one to be the best yet. I mean... He's a Tre, (What up, Club! =]) this is Vol Tre, it's Harold's 21st birthday (which is THREE times SEVEN!!) Everything is lined up in his favor. Success is imminent. I LOVE Vol 3. First word that came to mind was "aggressive." I played the whole thing through once just soaking it in. Very nice, gentleman. And LADY! I appreciate the inclusion of a female mc. Miss B is awesome . "Nobody" is a great track. I love the back and forth between them. I like them on "Creep." It's all good. Love the skit. Happy Birthday, Harold. Stop skipping classes, nigga! "This is How We Do It" ... "If ...

A conversation I recently had with a dude planning to gain entry into an NPHC fraternity (paraphrased): He: I’m going to this informational, and I’m so excited. Me: Awesome. Are you sure you’re ready for all that pressure and stuff? He: Yeah. I don’t respond to pressure. Can’t break the unbreakable. Me: Oh really? So… what will make you an asset to this organization? He: Well… I’m educated. I’m ambitious. I’m going places. I look good. I’m cocky. I’m a high quality male. Very marketable. Me: Oh, you’re all that? He: Hell yeah. You don’t think so? Me: Uh… If you’re all those things already, what do you need the organization for? He: Hmmm… That’s a good question. I need to ponder that for a moment… Aaaaaand scene! I am a member of the Greatest Sorority on Earth (that’s not a debatable point, either. You may be a member of something else, and that’s cool, but my brood is better.) Growing up in California, I didn’t know anything about black Greek-letter organizations. I knew there were fra...

Alright! We've got another Overnight Mixtape! We have Westside Wednesday... I think we're going to have to start Future Fridays... (That should make Harold happy since he was so resistant to Westside Wednesday...) Anyway... New music. I didn't have any real complaints last time. Let's see how Volume 2 measures up... I have a feeling that the best thing about these mixtapes (aside from the new music EVERY week from Future et al ...) is that they are so real . You will feel like you stayed up all night with them -- even though you really don't have the heart to do it like them... On this one in particular, the vibe between Future and Openmic is CRAZY. "Kiss Kiss" is the best example. (Listened to it once? Play it back. Right now.) I really enjoyed the skits for this same reason. Again, if you don't know Future, you will feel like you do. "5/4" made me really happy. (Nice to meet you, Openmic =]) "Kiss Kiss" and "Run This Town...

I am a Jay-Z fan. I am… The difference between me and others is that I’m not a Jay-Z dick rider. I happen to be a bigger fan of MUSIC. In fact… my being a fan of music is what made me love Jay-Z. And… I LOVE Jay-Z. Seriously. Ask anyone. I will quote Jay-Z quicker than the Bible. Turn on “1-900-HUSTLER” and I BECOME Jay-Z. So. This isn’t on some off-the-bandwagon, now-I’m-a-Jay-hater shit. No sir. “What We Talkin’ About” – I think this one is gonna have to grow on me. I don’t really like the production. In terms of album openers, he’s done better. “Thank You” – Jay-Z’s “I’m normal, but then again I’m not bc I’m great” song. Point well taken. I like the song. I think it suits him. This reflects where he is and that he recognizes exactly how he got there (by being great and by us recognizing that, of course). I appreciate it. “D.O.A.” – I wrote an entire post about this damn song. Go find it. “Run This Town” – The only thing I like about this song is Kanye’s verse. I don’t like Rihanna o...

In my Contemporary American Fiction class, we watched a documentary about September 11 to prep us for reading Khaled Housseini’s “The Kite Runner.” Before the prof started the movie I started jotting down some reflections: “I was at school. One of the few times I was punctual. Mrs. Strickland’s husband called and told her there had been a horrible accident in New York so she turned the tv on. We watched the second plane hit. I don’t know anyone who died that day. I felt numb when I saw it – worse when it became clear that it was intentional. Tears came later after watching the Towers fall over and over again on the news. Loss of life always shakes me. Not sure how to feel now. Political issues cloud my emotional response. Conspiracy theories come to mind…” Then she started the video. All the footage in “911” is firsthand. It was initially just 2 French filmmakers shadowing firefighters. Everything was pretty normal and then the day “became” 9-11. The firefighters were on another call w...

Ok. So. In general... I don't like mixtapes. BUT. I love Harold Michael Simmons. Er, I'm sorry. Future. His name is Future. Anyway, my buddy Future decided to stay up all night and put out a mixtape every week this month. I try to support people I know. Like I said... I don't like mixtapes usually. But I love Har - uh, I mean - Future. =] The first Overnight Mixtape feels like the first, but that's actually a good thing in this case. I love the skits because--at least in Future's case--I can imagine him sitting in front of me saying some of this shit to me. I don't know Sir Lazenby, but I feel like we've been introduced, and he's cool. (Nice to meet you, homie. I've never actually met you, but unless you're HELLA ugly or HELLA wack, a girl WILL respond to your text eventually if she bothered giving you her number. Keep the back up restaurant in mind but don't offer it unless she says no to your first offer, ok? We should talk... =]) ...