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What the fuck, Germany? The fucking Beastie Boys are in there!

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:12:55 -0400

What the fuck, Germany? The fucking Beastie Boys are in there!

It’s one of the cruelest paradoxes of the black experience: an unreasonable fear of the world around...

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:45:00 -0400

It’s one of the cruelest paradoxes of the black experience: an unreasonable fear of the world around you, and it happens for good reason.

That’s the best sentence in this, an article I wrote about Mos Def’s self-defeating tendencies.

I still love the guy, but sometimes he’s just on some far out, paranoid, conspiracy theory shit.

This is a column I’m now doing for The Awl. Because...

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:25:00 -0400

This is a column I’m now doing for The Awl. Because it’s about time someone kept an eye on all the rotten wild things.

In what sort of hellish, backwater, dimly lit, hard to find,...

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:48:00 -0400

In what sort of hellish, backwater, dimly lit, hard to find, scary community theater dressing room does one decide, “Fuck it, I’m taking the Butt Odor Victim part”?

Notice how the cow gets billing over the negro. I suppose...

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:51:11 -0400

Notice how the cow gets billing over the negro. I suppose it’s in order of death, but it’s still a bit disconcerting.

Received an e-mail from a kid who said that he liked my Mos Def...

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 13:56:33 -0400

Received an e-mail from a kid who said that he liked my Mos Def cover story. Said he wouldn’t have written, but he figured it was the least he could do considering that he stole the magazine from Barnes & Noble. Beautiful.

My water cover-ups article hit the front page of MSN. Check it...

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 13:51:25 -0400

My water cover-ups article hit the front page of MSN. Check it out here.

I finally weighed in on MJ with a companion piece to my...

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:57:00 -0400

I finally weighed in on MJ with a companion piece to my friend/colleague Dayo’s essay. Both articles are on Slate today. Enjoy.

Told You, Mom

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:25:40 -0400

Researchers from the school of psychology at Britain’s Keele University have found swearing can make you feel better as it can have a “pain-lessening effect,” according to a study published in the journal NeuroReport.

My GOOD article on the most notorious water cover-ups in...

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 13:39:37 -0400

My GOOD article on the most notorious water cover-ups in American history is on newsstands now. Check it out and support a magazine whose greatness belies its name.

Irony, You Runny, We All Runny

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 21:27:00 -0400

My “Angry White Men” piece hit the front page of MSN early this morning. Here’s a sampling of the hate mail I’ve received since:

“People like you will only be happy when we become a third world country and there is only the elite on your side sprinkle alittle down to the rest of us”
“You need to spend more time writing articles like ‘blacks need to take the chip off their shoulder’ or ‘why do blacks love to blame others for their own communities failings’”
“You are one sad pathetic mother fucker!”
“The killing of Dr. Tiller seems to me to be karma”
“You may want to think twice before castigating the angry white guys”
“Why don’t you do us all a favor and go back to Africa”

Think these people get the irony in responding like this to an article about white rage?

The Beasts Continue Their Quiet Assault

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:28:00 -0400

A runway at John F. Kennedy International Airport was shut down briefly Wednesday morning after at least 78 turtles emerged from a nearby bay and crawled onto the tarmac.

… the incident disrupted JFK’s flight schedule and contributed to delays that reached nearly 1 1/2 hours.

First the geese take down Sully, now THIS! Will no one protect our fleet from New York’s rotten fauna?

Whatever Works, I Suppose

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:12:32 -0400

Overheard on the streets of Brooklyn:

I’m tellin’ you, son, you gotta get that master’s degree. (Pause) Once you got that master’s, a nigga be fuckin’ bitches he never thought he could fuck.

Audio

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:23:31 -0400

My Mos Def cover story, “The Artistry and the...

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:19:00 -0400

My Mos Def cover story, “The Artistry and the Ecstasy,” comes out next week in Filter. If you like hip hop, me or both, cop that shit.

And, yes, Mos Def’s coolness makes the coolest guy you know’s coolness seem like an Arizona summer.

Back on the Slate homepage today with a piece about how old...

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 10:06:26 -0400

Back on the Slate homepage today with a piece about how old white men are destroying America’s news. If you, too, hate Bill O’Reilly et al., methinks you’ll find it a pretty decent read.

And over there was Glenn Beck, dousing a staffer in pretend gasoline before hovering a match over...

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:50:11 -0400

And over there was Glenn Beck, dousing a staffer in pretend gasoline before hovering a match over the pleading young man’s head—conveniently, Beck’s horror show was passed off as a metaphor for the way Barack Obama was going to incinerate America, instead of what it actually was: a gruesome theater spectacle that belonged not on a news network, but in an old-timey street revival.

Fox News gets credit for perfecting this particular brand of madness, but they certainly didn’t monopolize it. Eventually, the spittle-flicking caterwauling entered and corroded each of the top cable news networks.

From a new piece on the rise of the Angry White Man. Down with those guys.

“Oh nothin. Just got back from runnin. Wipin off with a...

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:29:05 -0400

“Oh nothin. Just got back from runnin. Wipin off with a American flag I got protectin a bar chair, Alaska secessionist-style. C U at the wolf holocaust later. xoxo Frost-Dipped Churl”

An Awesome, Invigorating and Slightly Nerdy Dad E-Mail to Kick Off the Holiday

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:15:00 -0400

In response to my twentysomething bitching about “the futility of everything”:

Writers with your interests are exceptionally vulnerable to the ugly fate of doctors and lawyers. People of good health and mind generally do not want to go see their doctor, their dentist or lawyer. They only go to see these professionals because they have to. And once there, they rarely return, call or write to say, “Hey, everything turned out all right. And I just wanted to say ‘Thanks’ for helping me. My money was well spent in securing your services.” So medical and legal professionals tend to see only the ugly, which, in turn, tends to taint their overall vision of the world and nourishes their cynicism. In medicine and law it is quite easy to give one’s self over to the dark side.

You, young Sky Walker are quite sensitive - an attribute that is a basis for your ability. So, I just want to make sure you know how to use the force to stay out of the dark side; and to begin to learn to accept life’s inevitability of ying and yang. (I say “begin to … accept” it because it IS NOT an overnight epiphany. It takes time.)

Granted, you are far too educated, traveled and experienced (read “old”) to see life through rose colored glasses. But, you are far too under-educated, and have too much to see and hear (read “young”) to see things through a dark glass.

I get scared when I think that you might accept a resolution of futility. I fully expect you to stay buoyant, rise above life’s shit and ride the current of life’s clean water with an abiding sense of joy for being alive.

Very Be Careful is coming to Brooklyn for the holiday!...

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:15:09 -0400

Very Be Careful is coming to Brooklyn for the holiday! You’ll down some cerveza and catch one of their shows si usted sabe lo que es bueno para usted.