Brandy's experiment with Timbaland as the mastermind behind her Afrodisiac project didn't work out so well. No one seemed to be as interested in the project as much as her previous releases. I wonder why? Are people over Timbaland's sound? Or her? Was their blend not palatable? Were the songs that uninteresting? Perhaps her new sexy image was too much to digest (I know I found the "Really, I'm sexy. Look at me" thing I bit disturbing). Or, has the public's need for all things new caused them to move on to the next 'it' girls?
Now that she's released one lackluster album, I wonder if she'll change her formula of letting one producer shape the sound for her projects then filling out the albums with compatible songs? Or, will she go the all-star production route - let a bunch of mega-producers (insert: Neptunes; Lil Jon; Scott Storch) produce so-called 'hits' for her without regard for cohesion then add a bunch of artist collaborations to the mix to lure the music buying audience (insert: MTV-BET) back?
I'm very interested to see where she goes next.
Brandy - Nodding Off (Unreleased)
Sunday, May 29
Thursday, May 26
Drunk Man
Try and see how far you can keep the drunk man up. You just move your mouse left to right (no clicking) to keep him walking in a straight line. The object of the game is to keep him walking, without falling over, by using your mouse from left to right or right to left - you can't see your mouse which makes it more difficult. The record is 82 meters! It's in German:
http://www.wagenschenke.ch/
http://www.wagenschenke.ch/
Sunday, May 22
Who Is White?
Ran across this book review by Tamara K. Nopper for Who is White?:Latinos, Asians, and the New Black/Nonblack Divide by George Clancey. Though I've never heard of this book, the review has piqued my interest enough to spark a visit to the bookstore.
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...George Yancey’s book Who is White?: Latinos, Asians, and the New Black/Nonblack Divide is such a necessary read. Yancey, a sociologist at the University of North Texas, provides compelling evidence that supports the (unstated) hypothesis that the color line of the twentieth century will remain firmly entrenched in the twenty-first. Using as his point of departure the popular projection that whites will soon be a minority group, Yancey opens his book by arguing that whites will remain the majority despite the growing populations of Latino/as and Asian Americans. How can the increase of Latino/as and Asian Americans enforce, rather than disrupt, the color line? Simple. By 2050, according to Yancey, most Latino/as and Asian Americans will be white.
...his argument is grounded in an understanding of how whiteness, like any racial category, is socially and politically defined yet enacted in real and meaningful ways. Whiteness is also fluid and maintains itself when threatened by incorporating previously excluded groups. In the chapter “How to be White,” Yancey covers ground commonly discussed by practitioners of what is becoming institutionalized as “whiteness studies,” including the racialized discrimination and nativism that different European ethnic groups faced before they eventually became socially accepted by Anglos and then later by a more expansive pan-European race simply known as “white."
Previous research on majority group domination tends to be built upon either the concept that white supremacy is, or was, the dominant ideology among majority group members, or the concept that dominant group members utilize notions of color blindness to protect their racial position of privilege. Both concepts lead to an understanding of an American racial hierarchy formed by a white/nonwhite dichotomy. In such a system all non-European groups face social rejection and theoretically all non-European groups deserve an equal amount of academic attention – even if they have not been receiving it. Yet given the merging of nonblack racial minorities into the dominant culture, this white/nonwhite dichotomy is losing relevance. A black/nonblack dichotomy produces more understanding about contemporary race relations. It suggests that the informal rejection of African Americans, rather than a tendency by the majority to oppress all minority groups in a roughly equal manner, is the linchpin to the American contemporary racial hierarchy.
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Read entire review click here
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The Browning and Yellowing of Whiteness
By Tamara K. Nopper
...George Yancey’s book Who is White?: Latinos, Asians, and the New Black/Nonblack Divide is such a necessary read. Yancey, a sociologist at the University of North Texas, provides compelling evidence that supports the (unstated) hypothesis that the color line of the twentieth century will remain firmly entrenched in the twenty-first. Using as his point of departure the popular projection that whites will soon be a minority group, Yancey opens his book by arguing that whites will remain the majority despite the growing populations of Latino/as and Asian Americans. How can the increase of Latino/as and Asian Americans enforce, rather than disrupt, the color line? Simple. By 2050, according to Yancey, most Latino/as and Asian Americans will be white.
...his argument is grounded in an understanding of how whiteness, like any racial category, is socially and politically defined yet enacted in real and meaningful ways. Whiteness is also fluid and maintains itself when threatened by incorporating previously excluded groups. In the chapter “How to be White,” Yancey covers ground commonly discussed by practitioners of what is becoming institutionalized as “whiteness studies,” including the racialized discrimination and nativism that different European ethnic groups faced before they eventually became socially accepted by Anglos and then later by a more expansive pan-European race simply known as “white."
Previous research on majority group domination tends to be built upon either the concept that white supremacy is, or was, the dominant ideology among majority group members, or the concept that dominant group members utilize notions of color blindness to protect their racial position of privilege. Both concepts lead to an understanding of an American racial hierarchy formed by a white/nonwhite dichotomy. In such a system all non-European groups face social rejection and theoretically all non-European groups deserve an equal amount of academic attention – even if they have not been receiving it. Yet given the merging of nonblack racial minorities into the dominant culture, this white/nonwhite dichotomy is losing relevance. A black/nonblack dichotomy produces more understanding about contemporary race relations. It suggests that the informal rejection of African Americans, rather than a tendency by the majority to oppress all minority groups in a roughly equal manner, is the linchpin to the American contemporary racial hierarchy.
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Read entire review click here
Saturday, May 21
Thursday, May 19
RIP
UPN has cancelled Kevin Hill. Hill joins the list of dramas featuring a black cast or a black central character not able to make a successful run on a major (non cable) network.
The list of other short lived black dramas includes: “Frank’s Place,” starring Tim Reid, in 1988; ABC’s “Gabriel’s Fire,” starring James Earl Jones, in 1992; CBS’s “Under One Roof” starring Jones, Joe Morton and an ensemble cast, in 1995; and “City of Angels,” starring Blair Underwood, Vivica A. Fox. Most of them barely lasted one season.
Excluding City of Angels, it deserved to be cancelled 'cause it was terrible, some good, quailty dramatic shows have gone by the wayside because time and time again white America refuses to even try and identify with our experience on a serious level. They seem more willing to laugh at us, but ask them to see us as human beings with similar life experiences/issues/values and you run into an obstacle. Moreover, the major networks don't support black dramas like other (white) shows with poor ratings because black shows with poor ratings have a limited demographic - which tranlates into less advertising dollars the networks can sell to advertisers. The networks get to say they tried to launch a black show but it just didn't work.
Hill had potential. I'm sad to see it go; especially after watching last night's season finale. The last 20 minutes were the show's best of the season.
RIP - Kevin Hill
RIP - My Wife & Kids
-I wasn't a fan but understood it's significance. Black shows on the major 4 networks are hard to come by. There's no telling when ABC will find another. For that reason, I am sad to see it go.
The list of other short lived black dramas includes: “Frank’s Place,” starring Tim Reid, in 1988; ABC’s “Gabriel’s Fire,” starring James Earl Jones, in 1992; CBS’s “Under One Roof” starring Jones, Joe Morton and an ensemble cast, in 1995; and “City of Angels,” starring Blair Underwood, Vivica A. Fox. Most of them barely lasted one season.
Excluding City of Angels, it deserved to be cancelled 'cause it was terrible, some good, quailty dramatic shows have gone by the wayside because time and time again white America refuses to even try and identify with our experience on a serious level. They seem more willing to laugh at us, but ask them to see us as human beings with similar life experiences/issues/values and you run into an obstacle. Moreover, the major networks don't support black dramas like other (white) shows with poor ratings because black shows with poor ratings have a limited demographic - which tranlates into less advertising dollars the networks can sell to advertisers. The networks get to say they tried to launch a black show but it just didn't work.
Hill had potential. I'm sad to see it go; especially after watching last night's season finale. The last 20 minutes were the show's best of the season.
RIP - Kevin Hill
RIP - My Wife & Kids
-I wasn't a fan but understood it's significance. Black shows on the major 4 networks are hard to come by. There's no telling when ABC will find another. For that reason, I am sad to see it go.
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