Sometimes, you just have to sit back and watch a movie.
Today was one of those days.
Enjoy....
November 30, 2008
Requiem for a Dream
Post Thanksgiving Scholarship
Thanksgiving was fantastic.
Back to scholarship.
Read everyday.
Write afterwards...
sooner or later... I'll be ready to speak.
November 23, 2008
From The Washington Post
The Very Image of Affirmation
In Michelle Obama, Black Women See A Familiar Grace & Strength Writ Large
By DeNeen L. Brown and Richard Leiby
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, November 21, 2008; C01
Michelle Obama emerged, long and lean, from a black limousine that pulled up at the White House the other day. She stood in a bold red dress that followed her lines. She smoothed her hair and moved between her man -- the president-elect -- and the first lady. Tall in shiny red pumps, Michelle seemed to tower over them all.
As she stood there, many black women on this side of the White House gate saw something else in Michelle Obama that sunny afternoon: bits and pieces of themselves.
They saw their family in hers, or the family they dreamed of having. Saw a woman whose husband seemed to adore her, giving her hugs and pecks on the lips as if the whole world were not watching.
Women watched Michelle Obama until she disappeared into the White House. Then they began talking.
"I like the way she carries herself," says Liz Nolan, 65.
"I like the fact that she walks with him," says Shenee McRae, 31, "not behind him or in front of him."
"For black women, she is visible proof that you can be anything you want to be," says Greer Jones, 37.
These particular women were at A Natural Motion, Nolan's beauty salon on Georgia Avenue NW. Elsewhere, in offices, in kitchens, on the radio, over the telephone, in churches, on blogs, women are talking and whispering a chorus of amens. Not just black women -- all women. They comment on what they see, or don't see. They opine about Michelle Obama's intellect, her style. Fascinated by Michelle. That's what they call her, Michelle -- first-name basis already.
They noticed the way Michelle, 44, wore her hair pulled back in a ponytail to vote, as normal black women would on the way to the hairdresser the morning before a big event. Two daughters in tow in plaits. They liked the way she wore J.Crew on Jay Leno. And noticed that she told her husband he needed to be home for Valentine's Day.
It would be too trivial to say that she is smashing stereotypes of black women, because the stereotypes are so flat, so one-sided, so unreal, that smashing them would be like punching a cloud.
"There's the stereotype of the powerful black woman, the aggressive black woman; there is the stereotype of the over-sexualized, overly sexed black woman; there is the stereotype of the mammy," says Aziza Gibson-Hunter, 54, a conceptual artist and mother of four who lives in Northwest Washington.
What she sees in Michelle Obama is strength: "I saw it in my mother. When I was a kid, I saw it in the women in the church, this dignified strength. I think that is real.
"I think Michelle Obama is her own woman. I think people with the stereotype thing need to get over it. She is forcing people who have never taken the time to know who we are as black women to take a second look. To actually see, for once in their life, that there are black women that are brilliant and graceful, intelligent, well spoken and have their own sense of themselves. And it doesn't have to be measured up to anyone else."
Gibson-Hunter is sitting on the black leather sofa in her home with her husband, Jawara, an anesthesiologist. Their brown dachshund just jumped in her lap. Her 16-year-old son is on the computer in the other room "supposedly doing homework." They have just finished a dinner of tofu, salad and naan flat bread.
"I think for nonblack people, they are going to have to maybe deal with the stereotypes in their heads," Gibson-Hunter said. ". . . What this whole situation is doing is inviting people to look behind the projections in their own minds and maybe begin to do some work to deconstruct some of that and find the truth."
"She is educated. She is not like 'Michelle the housewife.' It's 'Michelle the attorney,' " says McRae. "She is smart. She is not an airhead. She's not the pretty girl. She's not the ugly girl. She's not the trophy wife."
"Nobody wants to see anybody in a Chanel suit," says Diavian Jeffreys, 24.
"I look at her head to toe, and I can't find one fault," says Nolan.
The stage is set for soul-searching. "Michelle Obama will be under the microscope in a way no other woman of color has been," said Donna Brazile, a Democratic commentator and strategist who offered advice to the Obama campaign. "There's no question that Michelle Obama will alter the playbook for black women for years to come. . . . We're long overdue for this."
During the presidential campaign, Michelle Obama found herself branded "Obama's baby mama" in a Fox News graphic. Some conservative pundits labeled her an "angry," unpatriotic black woman after she remarked in February, "For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country, because it feels like hope is finally making a comeback. And I have been desperate to see our country moving in that direction." By July came a depiction of Michelle Obama as an Angela Davis type, fist-bumping her husband on a satiric New Yorker cover that famously backfired.
She says she ignores labels, telling NPR: "I have not paid much attention about what people say about me who don't know me." She said she was saying one thing -- how proud she was that more Americans were participating in the electoral politics -- and the way people interpreted it was another thing. African Americans say they knew exactly what she was talking about: For too long, they felt excluded from the political process. The Obamas changed that.
But the controversy highlights how the first lady will need to practice "impression management," said Quinetta Roberson, a Villanova University business school professor who co-authored a law journal article analyzing public perceptions of the future first lady.
"One of the other perceptions around her is that she is a very strong woman, and her influence on her husband and family is very clear," Roberson said. "In his acceptance speech, Barack Obama said she is 'the rock of our family.' Other politicians may say my spouse is my ally or inspiration, but it doesn't necessarily suggest an equal role. 'Rock of our family' means she is right next to him and a critical part of his foundation."
Yet the positive can easily be spun as a negative, into a stereotype of an "aggressive, somewhat overbearing woman," Roberson says.
"She can help girls with the decision that when they grow up, what kind of man you should want by your side," Greer Jones says. "Do you want a man to stand on the corner or do you want a man who has potential to become president?"
"In Chicago, she stood right there till her man finished his last word," says Patricia Johnson, 34.
People have been drawing conclusions about Michelle Obama by refracting her words through their own experiences and biases. There are blogs following her every move: the school-selection process for her daughter, her performance on "60 Minutes," her figure. Essayist Erin Aubry Kaplan posted this on Salon.com: "Barack's better half not only has stature but is statuesque. She has coruscating intelligence, beauty, style and -- drumroll, please -- a butt."
Still to come will be more serious assessments based on the causes she promotes, her first official journey outside the country, her first state dinner.
"I have no doubt that she is prepared for the challenge," said Lani Guinier, a Harvard Law School professor and onetime Clinton nominee for a top Justice Department post. "She and her husband embody a very healthy relationship. That in itself is quite a public and political statement."
Guinier added: "I toast to the time when this is all normal -- or otherwise unremarkable."
Portia Pedro, 29, a third-year student of Guinier's, is pursuing the same degree held by the incoming president and first lady. "The hope for young black professional women that's embodied in Michelle Obama is a bit different from the hope invested in Barack Obama," she said. "As we go higher and higher into education, we outnumber black men, and there is a not-so-silent concern that you are less likely to get married and less likely to have children. The career part is not in question, but can you do that and be married and have a family?
"If she can do that, then it opens possibilities for other black women."
Alice M. Thomas, a 45-year-old professor at Howard University School of Law, said the Obama marriage should help redefine the image of black relationships.
With his election night tribute to Michelle as "the love of my life, your next first lady," Thomas said, the president-elect crowned all black women: "He had a humble enough spirit to concede the stage to her. . . . It elevated black women in a way we haven't been elevated since antiquity: Queen Hatshepsut, Queen Nzinga, Cleopatra, Nefertiti. World leaders came seeking them, admiring their beauty. They were not just beautiful, they were intelligent.
"For him to regard her and treat her and show and express unabashedly, unashamedly, his love for her, his love for her intelligence, respecting her, romancing her, smiling at her -- for the world to see that exchange between a powerful black man and a powerful black woman, I think it's what is everlasting about this," Thomas said. "I don't think we can point to another power black couple like that. Oprah and Stedman aren't married. And Stedman doesn't seem to have power. Nelson and Winnie broke up."
Some women say Michelle Obama and her family represent nothing really new -- that there have always been stable, married, beautiful black families living in beautiful houses and sending their children to private schools. Mother in pearls. Dad in sharp suits. So often, black families are depicted as statistics. But look behind the curtained windows and you'll see "normal" American behavior: working parents, live-in grandmothers.
Michelle Obama told the Cleveland Plain Dealer during the Democratic convention: "When I was growing up in the '80s, 'The Cosby Show' meant so much to African American families. A lot of people looked at the Huxtables and thought, 'There's no way that family exists.' But African Americans knew differently. If we don't see those images, then the people don't believe they exist."
If you peeked you would see yourself, too -- a family, just a regular family. All these years they were there, living in cities and suburbs, down the street from you. Soon, they'll be living in the White House -- with Michelle Obama as self-described mom-in-chief, standing in for so many women on this side of the gate.
H20 Magazine Online
Believe it or not, Milwaukee has a hip hop scene.
Though, some may classify me as Milwaukee's Number One hater....
but I stand up for the iLLMiLL whenever I can...
H2O Online Magazine is a hot informational on the hip hop scene in the area.
You can read it HERE
What's the really cool thing about it?
Yours truly has made a contribution.
READ IT!
My interest in education....
My academic and intellectual inspirations derive from the work of Dr. Asa Hilliard, III. His battle to define education through academic excellence manifested by content mastery, student engagement, and community responsibility enlivens my sentiments to community service. Our educational system is facing a crisis and its time for a responsible educational revolution to emerge. Though Dr. Hilliard has passed, I am encouraged, as an act of reverence and responsibility, to battle for innovative education.
November 20, 2008
November 19, 2008
ventilation....u think its meat thats making me crazy? Top 20 Things I hate TODAY.
It's not like I am dishonest or really have any secrets. I don't know if it is the month of November, the weather, the moon, an orisha, or what... but I've been in the SHARING (telling it how I really feel) mood lately.
1. it annoys me when people put they are an "ALUM" of some place when they went there and never graduated.
2.i hate when people call you back after u texted them.
3. i hate styrofoam... hate hate hate it
4. i hate....yes, hate....the fact that my parents don't have no money
5. i hate when people get too close to me, especially strangers
6. oddly enough, i hate when people act like they don't want to touch me
7. i hate when people touch my laundry unless they are about to fold it
8. i hate snow (aversion, I guess)
9. i hate when men have fingernails, either cut them, bite them.... i just don't ever wanna see you grow a nail
10. i hate when people make my friends upset
11. i hate that i am a procrastinator
12. i hate people who ain't got time
13. i hate when people are supergay in real life and all over the internet they are attemting to be hella hetero. stop it.
14. i hate hate hate hate when CERTAIN men always attribute the "dating black men crisis"to the need for everyone to just be gay...homosexuality, for me is not the answer to everything
(for those who don't know....know i'm number one unafraid supporter of the gay community...but I can be honest and "CERTAIN" knows who they are)
15. i hate being cold in my bed
16. i hate people who don't share! its community building people
17. i hate when people talk like they aren't sure what they are saying by adding "u know" "i dunno" "i guess" or "yah" to the end of every sentence they speak
18. I hate having to warm my car up in the winter time
19. i hate ketchup on my half smokes
20. i hate manipulators.
----------------
Now playing: Tyrese - Signs of Love Makin'
via FoxyTunes
November 18, 2008
reading my stolen library books, wearing my lost socks...
I can not believe it.
Well, I guess I can believe it.
I just don't know if I understand it.
Why?
You like me, right?
Well you keep saying you do.
I tell you, I like you too.
You say you miss me.
But you were the one who left me hanging.
Why you playing games?
I wanna hang with you.
I wanna hug you.
I wanna laught AT you,
then laugh with you.
Talk about jets, diamonds, love....
Why he looks like Andre 3000, Raheem DeVaughn...and according to some... Tyson Beckford...
I wanna talk about why I remember every conversation we had!
and why I thought it was amazing that you texted me Happy MLK Day with the same love as someone else would say happy valentines day...
about how we used to be all googly eyed at each other
your smile...
u are always smiling...
i never stopped thinking about you.
i'm not sure if I ever will.
November 16, 2008
1 Corinthians 10:21 KJV
Today's daily devotion was about discipline.
It was based upon 1 Corinthians 10:21: "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." KJV. Thanks to my African American study bible I know that the ninth chapter of 1 corinthinans is a sermon by Paul entitled "Am I not free?" This sermon is Paul's discussion of his life as an apostle of the Lord.
Basically, Paul is saying that self-discipline is required in order to be a teacher/apostle/or preacher. It is necessary to understand yourself, not just your flesh and blood, but your spirit and what is needed to keep it "in line" or disciplined for such a role (leadership) as an apostle would have.
I will be the first one to admit that one of my biggest personal faults is a lack of self-discipline. I am the World's Best Procrastinator and we all know that "procrastination is the thief of blessings" (shouts to vicky free and wanjiku!). I have been giving mself exercies and training opportunities to become better at self-discipline. I believe that my latest attempt, a firm regulation of my diet and implementation of regular exercise has been my most successful to date. I am proud of myself, however, I know that the harder and more important task will be adapting this practice of self discipline into my spiritual life. I am making the attempt with reading a daily devotion. We shall see where that has me in the coming months.
I guess this graduate school thing has got me growing a little bit.
The image above is called, AKOKO NAN, which literally means "the leg of a hen". The meaning is really in regards to parental discipline, along the lines of "spare the rod and spoil the child." However, in theory, it is an Akan representation of discipline.
November 15, 2008
hm...
----------------
Now playing: Q-Tip - Move
via FoxyTunes
Sometimes, my lack of complete mastery of the English language prevents me from fully expressing my feelings. This song does not even do my spirit justice, but I think I identify with it on some level.
It's noon.
My room is halfway clean.
I need laundry detergent. I need to study for all my Monday morning classes. I need to iron my suit. I need to go to church. I need to read my book. I need to write my reflection questions. I need to understand why it didn't work out with him. I need to understand why he doesn't urge me to be apart of his life. I need to lose weight. I need to go to the gym. I need a kiss. I need a drink. I need to eat. I need to plan for Christmas. I need to swim. I need to pay my tickets. I need love. I need to iron. I need to prepare for my interview. I need to read. I need to study. I need to become a scholar. I need to find....
I need.
November 14, 2008
Images are everything in today's society
....and I have a huge problem with the following.
FYI: i found it out here
I have to admit, I do not think that selling a sculpture of a black child branded with LV Logos is cute, at all. Maybe its just the resin, but the child looks like a son of Africa to me. Crazy world we live in.
November 13, 2008
favorite books
I think people show how they adore ignorance when they place something to the affect of:
"Books?"
"I don't read books..."
"I don't like to read..."
"Um....."
Names of various magazines
on their "Favorite Books" section on Facebook.
In this case, NOTHING is better than just SOMETHING.
just how i feel.
November 11, 2008
thanks and other ponderings
My ultimate gratitude is extended to all those who have already submitted entries for my "Reflections on the 2008 Presidential Election". The project seems to be coming together nicely and I am looking forward to reading upcoming entires and hopefully everyone will be eager to read them as well.
I hate my graduate degree program. I wish I had chosen to do something else. I wish I was into the program and could love it and indulge myself intellectually into what it has to offer...
but I can't.
What do I do next?
I want another master's degree. Where do I go? What do I study? What do I want to do with my life????
I know I want to teach.
I want to be a professor.
(I want to work at Howard in my own little office full of books and hold office hours, do research, write books, talk to students, wear Howard 'nalia)
I'm looking at Africana Studies, African American Studies, African American Literature, Education Policy, Curriculum and Instruction, MEd and EdD programs....I just do not know.
I know I need to write.
I have a responsibility to teach.
November 5, 2008
this opportunity cannot be wasted
Today is November 5th, 2008.
Yesterday, Barack Hussein Obama, a man of African heritage, Harvard training, and proponent of the "ideal" America, became President-elect of the United States. This day is significant for many reasons. The message of hope and change won out the hearts and ballots of the American people. The "American Dream" has been reinforced into the minds of many who did not see themselves within it before. What has been deemed by many as "impossible" has become an inevitable reality. I will be the first to admit, that I have some extremely mixed emotions about today. As evidenced by my last blog entry, I am heavily concerned with the "What now?" of this moment in history. How is this point going to be defined by not only the media, the academics, and the traditionalists? But most importantly how is this event going to be defined by me, under my own terms, through my own eyes, via my personal interpretation. As is evidenced throughout history, Barack Obama may become a blurb or insert in your child's textbook. He might just be mentioned as the 44th president of the United States, the first "African-American" president, or as the successor to George W. Bush.
What I feel is most critical at this time is that each one of you that I have tagged in this note takes a moment to write a short (one paragraph!) recap of this moment and what it means to YOU under YOUR OWN TERMS.
Why?
...because I am thinking of my children, your children, our children and I do not want them to assume that what the textbooks say are always true or that the media gave the best reflection of the general sentiment of America. Or, more specifically, that there were more emotions felt today than just "happy" or "sad", "angry" or "glad." I want our children to have personal thoughts, delivered from their mothers, aunties, uncles and cousins (all of you! my peers!!!)...their bloodline, their ancestors to understand exactly how people felt in this moment. I want to take all of your paragraphs and bind them into a simple booklet that we can share with our children. A booklet of honest reaction and emotion.
Your participation is greatly greatly appreciated.
PLEASE UNDERSTAND: I am not planning to sell, market, or make any monetary gain from these reactions.
Any costs in creating this product will be enduring by MONIQUE personally (well and any anyone else who wants to help)
- This is for our future, a complete firsthand compilation of what happened 11/4/2008.
- Pass this along! The more people that participate the "realer" this becomes. Encourage everyone you know to participate
- Keep it 100% honest. That is what this project is about being honest with yourself, defining yourself, ON YOUR OWN TERMS!
I want to collect them in one space and give them back to you to share with your families and your children.
If you can get your mother, your aunt, your grandfather, or anyone else to share their reaction it would be more than welcome to be included.
Feel free to write as much or as little as you would like.
Include any information you wish about you personally such as name, age, locale, political affiliation, sexual orientation, university graduated from....anything that you feel is important in understanding how and why you define this particular moment in time.
I would prefer everything to be sent to my email moniqueliston@gmail.com. Or mailed to me if you wish 4606 Tracy Drive Newark, DE 19702.
Feel free to post here.
Hit me up with any other questions/comments or reactions. To see how I felt last night at 3:00am visit my blog.
...tonight, I'm finding it hard to sleep
At 3:00am on a Tuesday night, I, Monique Liston, Queen of Beauty Sleep, can not remove herself from this evening's events. Tonight, as I partied with my Spelman/Howard/Morehouse peers, I saw the CNN Electoral projection change from 207 to 290 at 10:00pm EST. Barack Hussein Obama, son of Kenya, was elected president of the United States.
I can not take this moment as a surface level moment of victory, because I do not believe that is what it is. I can not take this moment lightly, because most definitely it means more than some can fathom. My mind is wrestling, creating a war of ideology in my own head, about what this day, this election, this presidency means to me. From today, till January the country will be in political limbo. Bush has all but disappeared from the major news media outlets, Obama has to create his cabinet, and two months is a long time (not in history, but in the present).
I claim this moment as inspiration. I cannot deny that his attempt at the presidency is admirable and can definitely (I pray so) inspire people. Not just to become successful as defined by this economic and political system, but to become people of admirable character, conduct, and emotion.
I do not want to sound like a sore McCain supporter, because, however blunt this may sound, if I didn't vote for Barack, I would write in my own name for President of the United States. I do not believe that the American system of democracy is perfect, I do not believe that in this country ANYONE can do ANYTHING they want to do, I do not believe that Barack Obama is a superhero, savior, or anti-Christ.
I do believe that black people have a lot of community building to do, from the inside-out before any type of revolutionary change (which is what is needed) can be achieved. I do believe that within the next four years, very little will change on large-scales due to Obama's position. I believe that more than anything I want him to envigorate the population, and I will say THE BLACK POPULATION, to seek all the opportunities to educate themselves, to take the opportunity to define themselves and their place in the world on their own terms, and to become better stewards of God's gift of humanity.
.... confusing. I know, my mind at this time is racing a million miles a minute... I just had to get a little bit of that off of my chest.
November 4, 2008
November 3, 2008
Trace that money.... you'll see the truth of oppression!!!
Today, as I was sitting in Economics class (not paying attention as usual), and reading ahead in the chapter on Monopolies I noted a case study that they cite on The DeBeers Diamond Monopoly. The company was founded in 1888 by Cecil Rhodes, an English businessman, white supremacist, and colonizer of South Africa. Out of his egocentrism, he named Rhodesia after himself. He hoped that a land with his namesake would last forever however the land was soon changed to Zambia and Zimbabwe. So much for that.
For more information on his actual exploits see:
Cecil Rhodes
more Cecil Rhodes
So anyway, when he died he willed his estate to Oxford University and the Rhodes Scholarship was created. So this literal blood money has funded many "scholars" to study in England, including Howard University's own. Including the "first" black student to get the award.
I haven't done any extensive research but I wonder if any of these award recipients were aware of where their scholarship money came from and if it has any bearing on them as scholars in pursuit of furthering their education.
Bookman Dutty's Prayer - Haitian Revolution 1792
The god who created the earth; who created the sun that gives us light.The god who holds up the ocean; who makes the thunder roar. Our God who has ears to hear. You who are hidden in the clouds; who watch us from where you are. You see all that the white has made us suffer. The white man's god asks him to commit crimes. But the god within us wants to do good. Our god, who is so good, so just, He orders us to revenge our wrongs. It's He who will direct our arms and bring us the victory. It's He who will assist us. We all should throw away the image of the white men's god who is so pitiless. Listen to the voice for liberty that sings in all our hearts
November 2, 2008
Memorize this
Mother to Son by Langston Hughes
Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor—
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So, boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps.
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now—
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
----------------
Now playing: Q-Tip - Believe (feat. D'Angelo)
via FoxyTunes
almost 2 years ago! Has anything changed???
I posted this on 12/15/2006:
So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool... DON'T CHEAT!
Opening Credits: Be Without You - Mary J B
Waking up: This Woman's Work - Maxwell
Falling in Love: Next Lifetime - Badu
Fight Song: Love Calls - Kem
Breaking Up: Burn - Usher .....
Formal/Prom: 2Pac & Digital Underground - I get Around
Life:It's your World - Common (toooo ironic!)
Mental Breakdown: drop it like its hot - snoop
Driving: Make Love - Musiq and Angie Stone
Flash Back: All Falls Down - Kanye
Getting Back Together: Kissing You - Total
Wedding: It's So Hard - Big Pun (I dont think that will be cute?)
Birth of a Child: Tupac - Dear Mamma (HAHAHA!!!)
Final Battle: Get Ur Freak On Remix - Missy Elliot
End Credits: TI - Live in the Sky
Playing it again on 11.2.2008
Opening Credits: Who Can I Run to? - Xscape
Waking up: Back at One - Brian McKnight
Falling in Love: Now Youre Gone - Floetry
Fight Song: Me n Those Dreamy Eyes of Mine - DAngelo
Breaking Up: SEX- tgt
Formal/Prom: Me - Badu
Life: You are the Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder
Mental Breakdown: Two Bass Hit - Coltrane & Davis
Driving: Suitelady - Maxwell
Flash Back: Feedback - Janet
Getting Back Together: Nothing but Number - Pretty Ricky
Wedding: I'm So Icy - Gucci Mane
Birth of a Child: love of my life - badu & common (appropriate!)
Final Battle: i gotta be - jagged edge (appropriate as well!)
End Credits: California Love - 2pac
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Subscribe To
Posts
All Comments