Nicole be Thinking...

Earlier today, Shadow and Act pointed out that She's Gotta Have It turns 25 this year (Hey! Me too!). Their post focuses mainly on the strides (or lack thereof) blacks have made in film. Struggles with ratings and sexual representation seem to have dissipated until you reeeally think about… [Shadow and Act challenges us to name Hollywood movies released last year that features blacks being affectionate with blacks. Can you?] I really like She's Gotta Have It . I was going to watch it after reading Shadow and Act, but I have it on VHS and no longer own a VCR (weird, I know…) I grew up mostly as an only child and movies were my older brothers and sisters. Clueless had me thinking that I'd drive a Jeep, like older dudes, and go to the mall to recover from bad grades (and… well… I do.) School Daze made me believe that college was a magically musical and political place (and… yeah… it sorta is.) Similarly, She's Gotta Have It (though flawed) served as a model of black ...

I have to review this because I love the Clipse. I was a little nervous about it because I’m always weary when a part of a unit goes out on his or her own. But I didn't think it would be terrible... Let's see how it went... Intro : Just a plain Scarface clip. Not too impressive. My God (prod. Hitboy): The beat builds too slowly and it's not as aggressive as I want it to be. I Still Wanna (prod. Inkredibles): I feel like I've heard this song before. It has the same Lex Lugar tings that I'm not fond of. Money on My Mind Freestyle : I don't really have a comment on it. I just don't like it. I skip it too soon. Feeling Myself (feat. Kevin Cossum, prod. the Bizness): There's nothing particularly wrong with this. It's cool. But if I'm going to be feeling myself… I kinda want to do it to Mac Dre. Blow/Funk Flex Freestyle (prod. Unknown): I guess it's cool. It sounds like the rest of them at this point. I think it's interesting ...

My big little brother took the test for his learner's permit. Yes, Daryl wants to drive. It's freaking me out. I remember when he was born. He consumed my life for a while. He slept in my room, I fed him, I changed his diapers. For a while, I was the only one who could make him laugh. He was my little homie. I'm terribly protective of all my brothers. They're all super special, but I have to say that Daryl is a different kind of special. He used to be attached to me. Now he's old. He's a 15-year-old, 6-foot-tall, girl-loving mini-man. Every time my mom tells me something new, I get really nostalgic like he's my kid or something. But the older Daryl gets, the further I get from one of the most pivotal times in my life (which I guess means I'm getting old). But seriously… About 15 years ago, the world changed completely. And since I'm a little bit of a nerd… In constructing my " memory palace ," I tend to refer to this period in my life as ...

A while ago, I saw a tweet about someone getting married to a dude who is "passing" for heterosexual. Of course, having just read Nella Larsen's "Quicksand," my mind is in a very interesting place. With people comparing the struggle for equal rights for gays to the Civil Rights Movement, it made me wonder… Is "passing" for heterosexual the same as passing for white? The benefits of being white in the 1950s were numerous… White people were able to go where ever they wanted to go and enjoy the best accommodations. They didn't get beat for nothing, they didn't have to fear Jim Crow, and they had access to superior health care. Though there were miscegenation laws, they were able to marry freely. Being white guaranteed social acceptance. Now… It's easy to say that no one has to deal with any of that now, but being straight in 2011 does afford a level of privilege. Homosexuals fight for basic rights that heterosexuals take for granted, such ...

I don't really have a Nate Dogg story. He was just embedded in my childhood, one of those people who isn't supposed to die before me. I'm still in denial. =[ Following are a few of my favorite Nate Dogg features... I probably won't admit that he's gone after this...

First of all... I've blamed every natural weather disaster since 2005 on Al Gore. He brought us that inconvenient movie and the globe has been fucked ever since. But maybe it's me. Great flood in Nashville right before my bday in 2010. Haven't been home since 2008 but while I'm here, the coast is on tsunami warning bc of the earthquake in Japan. Mother Nature must be mad at me… (I'll start recycling...) Now... That's ridiculous, I know. Natural disasters are... well… natural. I guess they just prove that we're not on earth to decide or decipher. Maybe we're only here to deal, do what we're going to do to make the most of everything. I'm ok with that. Also… It's amazing that something that happened like… 6,000 miles away has an effect on us here. From the plane, the waves are small, though larger than usual. I can see the ripples coming. It makes me feel really small. Not in a bad way. A really humbling, deep way. So… back to Nashville I go. I...