you want 25 facts?? here you go... take this DELAWARE and shove it!!

Nothing beats a warm summer day with no work to do. Hands down (like 6:30, yun).

Today was our little taste of spring here in the dirty D E eeeezy.
Though the taste of sunshine was refreshing, it did not automatically put me in that "mmmm hmmm" feel good mood like in the past. After careful deliberation, I can only come to one conclusion for the lack of enthusiasm for living on this beautiful day.


*DELAWARE FLIPPIN SUCKS*

Now, I have come to this conclusion based on the following:

1. it is Delaware, and in general, people know that it sucks.

2. nothing of any relevance to my human existence is within walking distance of my home

3. no free super cool places to go to, look at, take pictures by, talk about...etc...

4. when the sun shines, I still don't care

5. club? GTFOH. never happening.

6. I have to go to another state to catch an airplane

7. tolls. booooooooo.

8. car insurance is more expensive here

9. it does not have "The Diner" - in affect, all places that are not Washington, DC suck because of this

10. people can not take public transportation to my house, if you don't have a car, you can basically never surprise visit me

11. i have to beg people to visit

12. no one goes "Ohhhh you live in Newark, DE??? That must be fuuuuuun!" EVER.

13. groceries are mad expensive here

14. the eye candy is few and far between, you probably won't see University of Delaware on the Top 10 universities with "pretty" people.... shallow? yes. a reason nonetheless? OF COURSE.

15. people kill themselves here. thats enough alone!

16. halfsmoke?!??

17. A BEEF PATTIE!?!?!?!

18. there is 1, i repeat ONE, Target in the entire state

19. zero sales tax is irrelevant when there isn't any fun places to shop

20. i have never spent this much time in front of a computer screen in my natural born life

21. WalMart is far away too

22. again... no public transportation for my life!

23. no local news.

24. no local anything on television. Good morning Philadelphia! MYPHi Wake Up, Philly.....

25. I can still hear 92.3 in my car





*LISTEN TO KNOCKS ME OFF OF MY FEET - STEVIE WONDER
a feel good goodie

...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.

Misogyny & Homophobia in HipHop

Earlier this month, a friend and I attended a class of a women's lecture series at UD. Here are my notes on the presentation. Very interesting, indeed. However, I would comment that the presenter needed to refine her topic further so that the issue she is trying to consider would be valid. I will admit tha some of my own reactions are strewn throughout the paper. Eh, its my blog, so who cares! Enjoy.

A New Look at Misogyny and Homophobia in Hip-hop
Dr. Antonia Randolph (BA from Spelman, PhD from Northwestern (sociology))
Women’s Research Series
October 8, 2008

Dr. Antonia Randolph (BA from Spelman, PhD from Northwestern (sociology))
Check out her publications! Her dissertation was on education. “How Race and Ethnicity Affect Teacher Perceptions…”
Received a grant to study this particular study
Doing a content analysis of lyrics and videos
Conducting a focus group with music producers and sellers in Baltimore
Hypothesis: rap, by and for men a source of misogyny

Intro: Lollipop BET Long Version (YouTube)
What are the lyrics to the song?
How did Lil Wayne become one of the top sellers in the music industry?
The research looks at popular music, mainstream rap, as defined by platinum sales.
Why do men and women like misogynist music even though it is considered taboo?
THERE IS MISOGYNY IN HIP HOP >>>>> The question is how/why?

Overlooked Questions about Misogyny in hiphop
Origins (when did this become popular?) a comparison over time
Spread (which artist and genres participate)… there is a whole range of rap, what is normative is not what is portrayed in the media, an underlying question is not only what is normative for blacks, but IF there is a normative in rap…. Misogyny as a means of displaying their ultimate masculinity
Persistence (it happens despite social stigma)
Hip hop presents itself as misogyny is an inherent way that black men treat women. Today that is true, but originally not the case look at Run DMC…etc…
Why would women like to listen to Lil Wayne? (Aside from the “false consciousness” that people like things that they know are bad for them)

Production of Culture Perspective (look this up)
Look at the Social Organization of rap music
Look at rap from a systematic and structured view including its genres, eras, labels, and commercial success.
Genres: gangsta/street rap, “backpack” rap (identified by Kanye West and lyrical skills?), “conscious” rap
Label: NWA as an example>>> they began on an independent label, they moved to Ruthless Records (Easy E’s label), started marginal and became mainstream
Label relates to commercial success… how does a song get recorded made and distributed (this is the goal of the focus groups and look at industry literature like magazine

Misogyny: the fear, hatred and suspicion of women and femininity

Research Question: Why did misogyny become so prominent in commercially successful hip hop?

Hypothesis: Rap sells “authentic” black masculinity and misogyny has become a prime symbol of authentic masculinity.
-saying that misogyny has been the authentic black symbol
-authenticity is a claim…. Not a truth but a social construction, there is no standard that dictates REALNESS… claim it
Rap began as something that was to keep the party going. Look at old LL Cool J, Run DMC, Kid N Play … all different types of masculinity

Images of “REAL” (slide shows Run DMC and 50 Cent)
What are the differences?
50 Cent more sexualized
50 Cent depicted as violent
Run DMC looks as if they might smile

Searching for “real” black masculinity
Misogynist masculinity gains popularity as the most authentic black masculinity: out machos other versions
Rise of male-dominated rap crews and primacy given to male-bonding encourages misogyny and homophobia

Origins
Since 1988: decrease in popular female rappers (solo and group), increase in male-dominated rap crew as mode of production, debates over “real” masculinity dominates lyrics search for the real v. fake

The claim is that 1988 was the year that the male crews began to explode.

Popular authentic masculinity narrows… (a look at Run DMC, Dumb Girls)

To mean misogynist masculinity. (Championship Bottles, Lil Wayne & Birdman)

Misogyny spans Genres:
MC Hammer from “U Can’t Touch This” (1990) to “Pumps in a Bump” (1994)

“being feminine not appreciated in this sphere”

Persistence
Black women’s ambivalence towards misogyny
One of the only forums that treat black women as desirable
“real” nigga seen as sexier than more conscious rappers
solidarity with men over who’s a “hoe”

“Bust it Baby” by Plies