tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-243034272024-03-12T21:28:16.603-04:00seen?writing cuz the world is ________.call me ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954711801205248441noreply@blogger.comBlogger118125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24303427.post-27644137468581840902007-06-12T11:59:00.000-04:002007-06-12T12:00:43.638-04:00check it out. not just cuz i'm in it, but cuz everyone else in it is more brilliant than i am.A collection of poems, stories and essays about the fallible woman, the sensitive girl-child and the fearless warrior, His Rib, offers an inside look at her story. The written works featured in this project includes women from both the literary field and the performance poetry circuit, creating a symbiotic kinship between the two art forms. After combing several continents, the women within these pages were found scribing folk tales in California, sonnets in New York, producing prose in London and breaking stereotypes with each stanza in Colorado, Texas and Canada. The result, a quilt weaved perfectly of compassion, self-respect, discipline, lust and hunger. Enjoy the crack and thunder of His Rib.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src=" http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j288/mobrownee/hisribcover-copyweb.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a><br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br />!!!PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY NOW!!!<br /><br /><form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post"><br /><input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_s-xclick"><br /><input type="image" src="https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/x-click-but5.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="Make payments with PayPal - it's fast, free and secure!"><br /><img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif" width="1" height="1"><br /><input type="hidden" name="encrypted" value="-----BEGIN PKCS7-----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-----END PKCS7-----<br />"><br /></form>call me ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954711801205248441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24303427.post-1902525476711007342007-05-18T20:27:00.000-04:002007-05-18T20:46:59.424-04:00poetry for fashionistas: trimmings by harryette mulleni recently bought harryette mullen's <span style="font-weight:bold;">recyclopedia</span>, an anthology of 3 of her books of poetry: Trimmings, S*PeRM**K*T, and Muse & Drudge.<br /><br />i've read muse & drudge, and it was a bit over my head. they say it is the book that is inspired by hip hop. she's clever in it, she manipulates language masterfully - but i'm not always sure what it means, if anything. i haven't yet read S*PeRM**K*T, so i won't comment on it.<br /><br />but i am a complete believer in trimmings. it's all about women and their clothing and their relationships to their clothing and the world's relationship to women and their clothing. which is something i always love to read about. my collection of fashion magazines is actually shameful in its depth. i read fashion blogs. i shop too much. because i love and i hate women's clothing.<br /><br />i'm also currently infatuated with prose poetry, trimmings is actually one long prose poem. here's one of the entries:<br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><br />Lips, clasped together. Old leather fastened with a little snap. Strapped, broke. Quick snatch, in a clutch, chased the lady with the alligator purse. Green thief, off relief, got into her pocketbook by hook or by crook.</span><br /><br />aside from the lovely rhyme, the double entendre is incredible. upon reading this, i was immediately reminded of the scene in maya angelou's <span style="font-style:italic;"> i know why the caged bird sings</span>, when young marguerite has her conversation with her glamourous mother about her ladyparts. she calls them, 'her pocketbook.' her mother immediately interrupts her, tells her not to use the southern, country euphemisms to go ahead and use the word vagina if that's what she means.<br /><br />the green thief gets into the pocketbook. remember when you were a little girl, and you mother always reminded you to be a lady, keep your legs closed? you're also supposed to keep your purse closed. how interesting. what is it our mothers are telling us? <br /><br />harryette mullen writes really rich poems that are really economical on words. i have a very short attention span, so, much as i love language, i don't love wordiness. give her a read - it won't take long to read, but it will give you something to think about long after. <br /><br /><br />at any rate, i highly recommend. and since we're talking about pocketbooks, i mean handbags, i might as well post one here:<br /><br /><div class="tn_post"><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; float: left; margin-right: 10px;"><a title="Erva Woven Flower Metallic Pouchette Box" href="http://www.thisnext.com/item/3BA02CF3/Erva-Woven-Flower-Metallic?u=ajah&p=/item/3BA02CF3/8F120448/Erva-Woven-Flower-Metallic&t=blog"><img src="http://www.thisnext.com/media/blogit/25B44856.jpg" width="230" alt="Erva Woven Flower Metallic Pouchette Box" style="margin: 0; padding: 0; border-left:1px solid #dddddd;border-top:1px solid #dddddd;border-right:1px solid #bbbbbb;border-bottom:1px solid #bbbbbb;" height="240" /></a></div></div>call me ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954711801205248441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24303427.post-76388486539292737612007-05-10T16:53:00.000-04:002007-05-10T19:28:57.676-04:00hate to say it: a netflix review full of regreti think they are near genius creatively.<br /><br />i was excited about seeing the film.<br /><br />idlewild.<br /><br />i missed it in theaters. i miss lotsa movies in theaters. haven't been to a theater in ages, so i rely on my netflix. most of the time, i just add movies to my queue as soon as they come out in theaters, cuz i'm very likely not to go see it.<br /><br />so i finally got idlewild and watched it. <br /><br />it bored me. <br /><br />5 minutes into the film i wondered if i was going to like. then i thought about how i needed to make some flashcards for learning the preterite conjugations in portuguese. and i did that for a while. then i worked on a poem. then i realized it was over 30 minutes into the film, and i knew what was going on, i just didn't particularly care.<br /><br />why?<br /><br />it was a bit all over the place. and much as i love outkast's music, it played too much like a video anthology that they tried to loop together with the odd bit of drama. <br /><br />basic story: percy and rooster are friends. percy is the quiet and dutiful young man, rooster the flashy and ambitious (but still somewhat dutiful) one. due to a couple of shady deals and murders, rooster inherits the nightclub where he's been performing with percy as his pianist. but he also becomes indebted to the local gangsters. o, and a beautiful young woman shows up who totally bewitches percy. <br /><br />yeah, not terribly hard to follow. and it could have worked except it was disjointed...every once in awhile there was a song break which didn't advance the plot. relate to the plot, they did. but it the film kinda dallied around, went off on tangents, threw in effects just for the sake of it. it would've benefitted from a less is more approach. <br /><br />if the songbreaks had advanced the plot, the film would have been gold. i loved the effects and animations - the rooster on rooster's pocket flask, the musical notes that came alive on the paper, the cuckoo clocks. but they were extra, not integral, and it's all gotta be bigger than the sum of its parts. <br /><br />cohesion. it lacked cohesion. <br /><br />oh outkast. i will say, though, that it was a first of its kind foray for them. they have the talent, and they have the bravery. i hope the next one works out better for them. <br /><br />and since i really like shoes, here is a pair that i adore.<br /><br /><div class="tn_post"><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; float: left; margin-right: 10px;"><a title="Le silla Wedge sandal" href="http://www.thisnext.com/item/3C7EC648/Le-silla-Wedge-sandal?u=ajah&p=/item/3C7EC648/F2D4BA26/Le-silla-Wedge-sandal&t=blog"><img src="http://www.thisnext.com/media/blogit/68400FA2.jpg" width="230" alt="Le silla Wedge sandal" style="margin: 0; padding: 0; border-left:1px solid #dddddd;border-top:1px solid #dddddd;border-right:1px solid #bbbbbb;border-bottom:1px solid #bbbbbb;" height="240" /></a></div></div>call me ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954711801205248441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24303427.post-33058193746361001782007-05-04T05:03:00.000-04:002007-05-04T11:07:07.185-04:00bits & bits & bitsfolks, it's been a long time.<br /><br />but i couldn't sleep, so i thought i'd check this thing out. looks about the same as when last i blogged it. <br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><br />minha aula de português é dificil mas vai bem. estou aprendendo muito.</span><br /><br />one day in class we discussed the word <span style="font-style:italic;">saudade</span>, the notoriously untranslatable portuguese word for the feeling you have when you are separated from someone by a great distance of some sort, and you miss them, and you wish to be with them. longing is an approximation in english, i guess, but it looks that way only cuz describing it in english is not quite grasping the depth of meaning in portuguese. we concluded in my class that there is no real, exact equivalent in spanish. (the class designed for those with a background in spanish. in fact, i am one of the maybe 3 non-native or heritage spanish speakers in the class.) <br /><br />people always say english sucks as a language because it is not very expressive. i disagree. i think english is incredibly rich. and i got to thinkin about english words that are untranslatable. and i did a google search (of course) and stumbled across this <a href="http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2004/08/lost_in_transla.html">list</a> as voted upon by the linguists a couple of years ago. notice anything about it?<br /><br />1 plenipotentiary<br /><br />2 gobbledegook<br /><br />3 serendipity<br /><br />4 poppycock<br /><br />5 googly<br /><br />6 Spam<br /><br />7 whimsy<br /><br />8 bumf<br /><br />9 chuffed<br /><br />10 kitsch<br /><br /><br />i noticed that it kinda sucks. cuz most of these are not words in common usage. and kitsch isn't even english. and i don't know what a bumf is. however, i thought whimsy and serendipty were absolutely brilliant additions.<br /><br />well, my point, i suppose, is well suited for describing the world that english speaking people live in, and it has some brilliant and beautiful words. what other english words would be hard to translate? maybe i'll try and keep a running tally. <br /><br />speaking of brilliant and beautiful, i saw a girl on the street yesterday wearing some skinny jeans and these:<br /><br /> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.soleredemption.com/pics/2006/09/MM.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://www.soleredemption.com/pics/2006/09/MM.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />the mork & mindy dunks. oh my, they are lovely, lovely sneakers.call me ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954711801205248441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24303427.post-55369934890765905422007-03-17T10:22:00.000-04:002007-03-17T10:26:05.885-04:00things i'd like to learn*wine tasting<br />*and how to make pretty mixed drinks<br />*every language spoken by man<br />*how to sew (i know a little bit)<br />*how to make those pretty graphics people make on the computer<br />*how to write a good story<br />*how to win a pulitzer<br />*how to move to another country without having to be an english teacher (not that there's anything wrong with teaching english)call me ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954711801205248441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24303427.post-49510623895427431132007-03-15T19:09:00.000-04:002007-03-15T19:37:25.746-04:00attempted cultural immersionoi,<br /><br />i'm on to a new endeavor: learning portuguese. specifically, i'm taking a class entitled "brazilian portuguese for spanish speakers." the idea behind it, seemingly, that knowing some of the rules of spanish make it easier to learn portuguese. i am finding that portuguese looks a bit like spanish, not a whole lot, in my opinion, but enough for me to be able to gather enough info on a particular bit of writing in order to infer a meaning. but...it sounds not a thing like spanish. in my opinion. i tend to think spanish is a clean, easy language: if you know the general rules of pronunciation, diction, and spelling, while there might be a lot of them, are pretty much always applicable. in portuguese, i'm getting a lot of sometimes, maybe, and because. <br /><br />that said, i LOVE my class. it's a great challenge, and i really wanna learn the language. my teacher encourages the class to visit brazilian websites, listen to brazilian music, watch brazilian movies. hmmm...i own <span style="font-weight:bold;">city of god</span> (<span style="font-weight:bold;">cidade de deus</span>, yes, i finally know how to actually pronounce that properly) so i've been watching it. which leads me to the most recent film i saw.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.tesco.com/pi/entertainment/DVD/LF/584081_DV_L_F.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://img.tesco.com/pi/entertainment/DVD/LF/584081_DV_L_F.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />and a couple of weeks ago, i got the documentary <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://www.bus174.com">bus 174</a></span> from netflix. took me a while to get into it, but i enjoyed it once i did. it's a no frills documentary about a man, sandro rosa do nascimento, who boarded a crowded bus one day in day in 2000 in rio de janeiro and took everyone on board hostage. in an attempt to get at the reasons why he did this, the doc. examined his background (his mother had been stabbed to death in front of him when he was a kid, homeless, living on the streets with a bunch of other kids, many of whom were massacred in front of the church where the slept). an examination of social ills that manage to be both peculiar to brazil and analogous to lots of other places. the criminal - human, understandably frustrated and paradoxically troubled to the point of committing completely incomprehensible acts. didn't offer remedies, though it did reflect on the rightness/wrongness of the principal players. the filmmakers interviewed the hostages, police involved in the standoff, sandro's aunt, some of his friends. <br /><br />the one thing that made me go hmmmm: they also interviewed a random college professor who read a whole lot of literary theory into the incident. now, in life, i love literary theory, but it didn't seem appropriate here. the rest of the documentary seemed so unpretentious, and seemed to examine its central character as though he were a real human being, not an archetype. that did not sit well with me. i got the dvd becase i had seen <span style="font-weight:bold;">favela rising</span>, and after i rated it on netflix, i read some of the reviews and found some people who found it to be too adoring and a touch out of touch, given that the film is the work of outsider americans. and one of the reviewers recommended bus 174. and yet, i thought this professor man that the makers of bus 174 brought on board the project - it would have made more sense to me if they had loaned him to favela rising to talk his theory there. because favela rising was obviously framing its protagonist as a archetypal figure, and bus 174, without any camera tricks, without much other allegory, otherwise not spinning any (anti) fairy tales - it seemed so earnest and grassroots. and the strict intellectual seemed out of place.<br /><br />and by the way, bus 174 is long. i've watched it all and sent it back, so i suppose now i need another film in brazilian portuguese to watch. gotta keep those skills sharp. i really love languages. i should've been a comp lit major in college, or something.call me ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954711801205248441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24303427.post-33081074896094965432007-03-13T13:29:00.000-04:002007-03-13T13:43:27.191-04:00throwback picsbecause i really love brooklyn, bed stuy specifically, and photography, i'm posting these: <a href="http://www.brownstoner.com">brownstoner</a> has had a couple of great historical photos of bed stuy up recently from waaaay back in the day. <br /><br />window awnings on herkimer street<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/herkimer2b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/herkimer2b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />corner of lexington & ralph avenues<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/bedstuy1923.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/bedstuy1923.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />so then i started looking for more pictures, and i found this at <a href="http://www.nyc-architecture.com">nyc-architecture.com</a>:<br /><br />hancock park<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.nyc-architecture.com/BES/Telling_stories_in_Bed_Stuy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://www.nyc-architecture.com/BES/Telling_stories_in_Bed_Stuy.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>call me ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954711801205248441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24303427.post-89549566721221209222007-03-09T06:48:00.000-05:002007-03-09T06:53:48.129-05:00harlem stage on screen: film festivalthought this event, taking place this weekend, sounded interesting...<br /><br /><a href="http://harlemstage.org/SEASON/index.php?id=23">11th Annual Harlem Stage On Screen</a> (formerly Harlem Film Festival)<br />Curated by Michelle Materre & produced by Neyda Luz Martinez<br /><br /><br />FRIDAY – SUNDAY, MARCH 9 – 11, 2007<br /><br /><br />Don’t miss thirty-six provocative, engaging and innovative documentaries, features, shorts and stories that resonate with and convey the spirit and passion of communities of color.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Program I: OPENING NIGHT<br /><br />Friday, March 9th, 7:30 PM, $10<br />2006 Sundance Film Festival Winner<br />"American Blackout" by Ian Inaba & Jean Phillipe Boucicaut<br /><br /> <br /><br />Program II : LIFE LESSONS<br /><br />Saturday, March 10th, 12 PM, $10<br />Seven shorts -fact and fiction- related to education, personal and political histories. <br /><br /><br />Program III: THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME<br /><br />Saturday, March 10th, 2 PM, $10<br />Seven documentaries about displacement, gentrification, migration and cultural memory question,“Where do we go from here?” <br /><br /> <br />Program IV: 4TH ANNUAL SALUTE TO WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH<br /><br />Saturday, March 10th, 4 PM & 6 PM, $10<br />NY Premiere: "Some Kind of Funny Porto Rican" by Claire A. Watkins<br />Presented in collaboration with New York Women in Film & Television<br /><br /> <br />Program V: GIRLS NIGHT OUT<br /><br />Saturday, March 10th, 8 PM, $10<br />Eight shorts by or about women exploring themes of motherhood, aging, relationships and determination.<br />Presented in collaboration with New York Women in Film & Television <br /><br /> <br />Program VI: TIES THAT BIND<br /><br />Sunday, March 11th, 2 PM, $10<br /><br />Seven shorts about family, dreams, tradition and the everyday heartaches and joys life brings. <br /><br /> <br />Program VII: REVOLUTION AS ART<br /><br />Sunday, March 11th, 4:30 PM, $10<br />Three films on Lorraine Hansberry and what it means to be an artist and committed to the cause. <br /><br /><br />For full schedule click each program or call 212.650.7100.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Discounts available through the Harlem Stage Box Office!<br /><br />Weekend Pass $56, Saturday Pass $32 & Sunday Pass $16<br /><br />Harlem Stage & NYWIFT Members $8.50<br /><br />Students 12 & Under $5 w/valid ID.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Harlem Stage at The Gatehouse<br /><br />150 Convent Avenue at West 135th Street<br /><br />New York, NY 10031<br /><br />www.harlemstage.org<br /><br /> <br /><br />For passes and/or discounts call 212.650.7100 or visit Harlem Stage Box Office, Mon. – Fri., 1PM – 6 PM, located at Aaron Davis Hall, W. 135th St. & Convent Ave. at The City College of New York. Also, open two hours prior to events.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Harlem Stage on Screen is made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.<br /><br /> <br /><br />For information on other Harlem Stage presentations, Click HERE or call 212.650.7100call me ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954711801205248441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24303427.post-46701006711305504192007-03-01T17:23:00.000-05:002007-03-01T17:46:34.253-05:00i am a bad mothero, my poor little blog, i know how terribly i have neglected you. if you were a real kid, i would certainly have been declared unfit by now. i still love you though.<br /><br />i am currently in save money mode, so that means i haven't bought any music or books lately. well, except for my <a href="http://www.alicesmith.com/">alice smith cd, <span style="font-style:italic;">for lovers, dreamers & me</span></a>, which is brilliant, and btw, she is a brooklynite.<br /><br />but that's it, and in life i'm trying to step my cd buying game. i don't really care about mp3's so much, i buy them sometimes but i don't have an mp3 player, plus i like cover art and linernotes, plus i like having a shiny little slice of the artist i can hold in my hands. but anyway, as i said before, i am in save money mode and i have not been buying much music. but these are the albums that are on my radar to buy when i should suddenly become flush with cash:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">amy winehouse</span> - she has a great name, and i like her sound. i got my hands on a free copy of ghostface killah's <span style="font-style:italic;">more fish</span> album (which came out quietly (i think) last year after <span style="font-style:italic;">fishscale</span>) and their duet, "you know i'm no good" is on there. very soulful, i like.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">regina spektor</span> - is there anyone who doesn't like that one song of hers? "fidelity?" if there is such a person...evidently, they have been defeaned by the brainless pop machine (of course, not all pop is brainless, but the brainless variety is quite defeaning).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">k-os</span> - supposed to be the truth. i don't know much about him, but i'm willing to give him a listen. i hear he's west indian- canadian from toronto, and we all love our west indian-canadians (that one's for my very lovely mother). <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">amel larrieux</span> - where was i when her 3rd album was released? obviously, i was asleep, but i will need to get up on that. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">nas</span> - yes, yes, i know i'm late, yes, yes, yes, yes...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">the hidden beach "unwrapped" series</span> - heard one of the volumes (there are 4) one night at fashion 40. very lovely. jazz type covers of popular hip hop songs. <br /><br />that's all i can think of at the moment. as for books, i'm finishing up reading <span style="font-style:italic;">for whom the bell tolls</span>...long, i guess it's trying to illustrate one of it's main conceits, the idea of a full and entire life lived in a few days, cuz it surely does use 200 some odd pages to cover three days...i do, however, really appreciate hemingway's phrasing - his characters are mostly spanish-speakers, and though he writes mostly in english, his english syntax and diction imitates spanish as though it were a literal, word-for-word translation. for instance, a character asks, "did you divert yourself last night?" (from the spanish verb divertirse) for "did you have fun last night?" i think it's really great, and a good way for a writer to really inhabit a character.call me ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954711801205248441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24303427.post-54702708090188536692007-02-04T12:10:00.000-05:002007-02-04T12:16:06.826-05:00a very special update to the rejection threadearlier this week i got an email rejection from <a href="http://www.epiphanyzine.com/">ep;phany magazine</a>. now, they've been on the rejection thread before - i submitted to them at least a year ago, and when i didn't hear from them, and saw no new activity on their website, i didn't submit again. so while rejection is usually difficult, this put a smile on my face:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">On 1/30/07, Epiphany Magazine <epiphany.magazine@gmail.com> wrote:<br /><br /> <br /><br /> e p ; p h a n y<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Sorry we been so long in getting back to you, but we suspended reading for a while. We have now resumed. This piece doesn't work for us, but don't let that discourage you. Keep writing. Never mind what we say.</span><br /><br /><br />well, ep;phany, i'm glad to see you are back at it. i'm still at it, too. so maybe, one day, i'll submit you some other poems, and maybe you'll accept them.call me ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954711801205248441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24303427.post-73014445583564265372007-01-29T21:30:00.000-05:002007-01-29T21:41:33.203-05:00volver?i'm taking this spanish class, just to keep up with my language skills, and during the first class, the teacher said that she will bring in a movie each week, and we will watch it. someone asked if we could watch <span style="font-weight:bold;">volver</span>.<br /><br />volver is supposed to be a great movie, and ms. cruz is getting plaudits left and right for her performance and mr. almodovar is as well. but thinking about it on my way home last night, i had to ask myself a question:<br /><br />why is it that we, as english-speaking americans, call the movie volver? obviously, that's the name the filmmakers gave it, but don't we usually translate titles? cidade de deus became city of god, Wò Hǔ Cáng Lóng became crouching tiger, hidden dragon. these were popular foreign films, in foreign languages, subtitled in english, titles translated into english. <br /><br />probably to draw in viewers. is pedro almodovar a big enough draw to not have to translate the film's title? is penelope cruz? i mean, she's pretty, but her films, as far as i know, have not exactly been blockbusters, and she's possibly most well known in the us for having dated tom cruise. <br /><br />the only other two films that came immediately to mind with untranslated titles were amorres perros and y tu mama tambien (aside: i did <span style="font-style:italic;">not</span> get the hype about that movie, i just did not think it was that good, and not even gael garcia bernal can change my opinion on that). <br /><br />i don't think i really have an answer for this question...unless...we're all so busy being scared of arabic-speaking islamic terrorists that spanish (obviously, in carried here by illegal aliens bent on stealing our jobs) are less of a threat...call me ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954711801205248441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24303427.post-89987304482435750242007-01-29T21:22:00.000-05:002007-01-29T21:30:29.181-05:00al green, meet nasdj swindle has made a mash up of nas and al green. he calls it <span style="font-weight:bold;">almatic</span>. i call it yay, nice. listen <a href="http://www.myspace.com/almaticmusic">here</a>. i especially like the love & <span style="font-weight:bold;"></span>happiness/made you look (remix). you can also buy the cd for $6, which i call, not bad at all. <br /><br />if you're not convinced by what you hear on the myspace, check out the <span style="font-weight:bold;"></span><a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/06-dj-swindle-almatic-oochiewally-mp3.html">oochie wally/right now right now</a> mashup. i <span style="font-style:italic;">hated</span> oochie wally, but this mashup, i quite like.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.undergroundhiphop.com/store/covers/SWINDLE01CD.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://www.undergroundhiphop.com/store/covers/SWINDLE01CD.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />first read about it at over at <a href="http://www.lavishmag.blogspot.com">lavish</a>.call me ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954711801205248441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24303427.post-56919147361460126782007-01-23T21:22:00.000-05:002007-01-23T22:06:45.343-05:00and the tower of...interlopersi really loved it when alejandro gonzalez inarritu, the director of <span style="font-weight:bold;">babel</span> told mr. governator schwarzenegger (when accepting the best picture award at the golden globes) that he promised that all his papers were in order. cheeky, i thought.<br /><br />i was also very glad that babel won some awards, because they put it back in the theaters, so i got to finally see it last night. the tales of several families, interwoven: a moroccan family trying to survive and looking for the best way to defend its goats (vital to life) from desert jackals buys a rifle; an american woman, marriage falling apart, on vacation in morocco with her husband gets shot; a deaf japanese school girl who can't get along with father, tries to deal with the recent death of her mother and tries to fit into a hearing world; a mexican woman working as a nanny in california takes her charges with her to her son's wedding in mexico when her employer informs her that no one will be relieving her so that she can attend.<br /><br />it's this last story that strikes me most. possibly because gael garcia bernal plays her nephew who comes to pick up her and the kids and take them to mexico. and mr. garcia bernal is indeed quite striking. but i have to say, his character is the strangest interloper (perhaps a cipher?) i've seen in film for quite a while. the way his character just completely disappears is so...odd...and kind of unbelievable. i'm not trying to give too much of a spoiler here, but his role is solely to advance the plot, to get the woman and kids across the border, whereas the other characters seem to have actual lives and lifestories. <br /><br />a lot of critics have decried the film for its complexity. i refuse to criticize a film for being complex. instead, i say pay better attention, watch intelligently. the events of the film are presented in strict chronological order, although the way the stories skip about may seem to suggest that they are. the film that i couldn't help but compare it to was <span style="font-weight:bold;">syriana</span>, but syriana is quite different in that (if i am not mistaken) most of the events of the film are told in chronological order. the major difference seemed to be that, in syriana, the main characters of the main stories all converge at a single point. in babel, in the end all of the characters are unseen interlopers in the lives of the other characters - and the fact that they are unseen is the key. if the world of the film continued to exist on a real plan simultaneous to our own, we'd assume that most of the characters would never ever cross paths. <br /><br />for some reason, i can't help but think of jorge luis borges and his ruinas circulares, the concentric circles of existence that various worlds are organized about. the worlds of the film's characters, my world, your world, the world of all americans, the world of all north americans, and so on, and so on, and so on. and on that note, i'm gonna end this post with two pictures, one of brad pitt and one of gael garcia bernal. because i can. because our spheres of existence are concentric, but as shown by the film, these circles can be bisected. (thanks.)<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://msnbcmedia1.msn.com/j/ap/749c246c-9c0d-4342-85ad-fec41255fd0c.hmedium.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://msnbcmedia1.msn.com/j/ap/749c246c-9c0d-4342-85ad-fec41255fd0c.hmedium.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.celebrities.pl/gael_garcia_bernal/gael8.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://www.celebrities.pl/gael_garcia_bernal/gael8.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>call me ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954711801205248441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24303427.post-73444442110704806802007-01-23T09:57:00.000-05:002007-01-23T10:06:42.722-05:00the namesakei went to go see babel last night (really liked it, though it surprised me in one key way, more on that later) and i was really excited to learn...<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://foxsearchlight.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/namesake-poster-766860.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://foxsearchlight.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/namesake-poster-766860.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />...that <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://www.foxsearchlight.com/thenamesake/">the namesake</a></span> jhumpa lahiri's really beautiful novel has been turned into a film, directed by none other than mira nair. i just think that's really great. the novel is about a young man, gogol ganguli, who is caught between cultures. born the son of bengali immigrants in new england, he is simultaneously the great american hope for his family and a crucial link in upholding tradition. i think there are a lot of people, from a lot of different cultures, who can relate to that situation. i recommend the novel, and ms. lahiri's other book, the pulitzer prize-winning<span style="font-weight:bold;">the interpreter of maladies</span>, and i'm definitely planning on seeing the movie.<br /><br />o yeah, ms. lahiri received the columbia university medal for excellence at commencement the year i graduated, 2005. just wanted to throw that out there. and you will probably recognize kal pen, the guy who plays gogol, from harold and kumar go to white castle...which i so did not think was a funny as everyone else did...and everyone else thought it was so funny that there is, in fact, going to be sequel...but i'm still gonna support him in the namesake.call me ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954711801205248441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24303427.post-60648159726072298652007-01-21T21:54:00.000-05:002007-01-21T22:06:35.502-05:00how did they figure out my master plan?so i was reading overheard in new york, and i came across this quote - note the headline of the quote. and then note where it was heard - on the c train. who was spying on me?<br /><br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/archives/008768.html">2008: 'Clone Your Own Aja' Kits Go on Sale for 50 Dollars</a></b><br/> <p><!-- ID = 44941 -->Ghetto girl: Ladies and gentlemen, sorry to bother you. I am not selling these things to raise money for my school or a basketball team. I am selling them to raise money for me. I have a half-drunk bottle of Sprite, 25 cents.<br/>Ghetto guy: That's got your saliva in it.<br/>Ghetto girl: I am gonna be famous some day -- it will be worth a lot of money.<br/><br/>--C train<br/><br/>Overheard by: eej</p><br/>via <a href="http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/">Overheard in New York</a>, Jan 20, 2007call me ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954711801205248441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24303427.post-48007007579962332712007-01-20T11:20:00.000-05:002007-01-20T11:46:55.629-05:00reading these daysso i've been wondering what to read. i am open to suggestions. in fact, i crave them, so if you have any, please leave them.<br /><br />currently, i'm reading the latest novella by gabriel garcia marquez, <span style="font-weight:bold;">memories of my melancholy whores.</span> the coworker leticia loaned it to me. i saw it sitting on her desk, and i thought it had a beautiful cover, but i couldn't read the title or the author from where i was standing. when she told me the author and the title my first reaction was: what a magnificent title. my second thought was, when did that come out? she offered to let me borrow it, and i jumped at the chance.<br /><br />the cover art reminds me a lot of the cover of edward p. jones's latest book, all aunt hagar's children. see:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images.alibris.com/isbn/1/4/0/0/0/1400095948.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://images.alibris.com/isbn/1/4/0/0/0/1400095948.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />and see again:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.harpercollins.com/harperimages/isbn/large/5/9780061205255.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://www.harpercollins.com/harperimages/isbn/large/5/9780061205255.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />similar color schemes, the random plant leaves, only difference is that one has a naked woman on it, and the other has a house. i guess this is a trend, a bit the way that the cover font from jonathan safran foer's books pops up in the hp comercials. <br /><br />anyway, <span style="font-weight:bold;">memories of my melancholy whores</span> is about an old man who wants to spend the night with a young virgin on his 90th birthday. and he finds one, but he finds that living a life of lust has made him miss out on a life of love...and now he's trying to find that life of love. and he just might be falling in love with this girl...although they've never spoken and all he's ever done is watch her sleep...despite the title, despite the sound of the initial premise, <span style="font-weight:bold;">lolita</span> this is not; it's not a tale of sexual exploitation, it's a meditation on figuring out how to spend one's days. and the small things that can change one's outlook on life. i'm about halfway done, and i'm rather enjoying it. garcia marquez is, of course, a bit of a literary genius.call me ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954711801205248441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24303427.post-85140438226300953152007-01-15T21:28:00.000-05:002007-01-15T21:31:06.626-05:00another throwback: bag ladyposting videos is making me rather happy of late. this weekend, i had a distinct urge to hear a lot of erykah badu. so i decided i'd put the genius <span style="font-weight:bold;">bag lady</span> video here. the concept for the video is based on ntozake shange's seminal choreopoem <span style="font-weight:bold;">for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuff</span>, which enjoyed a good long run on broadway, won lots of awards, made ms. shange famous, and continues to be put up by theater groups everywhere. enjoy this one, too.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-lFWuZlNOUc"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-lFWuZlNOUc" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>call me ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954711801205248441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24303427.post-89096261100606765272007-01-13T08:39:00.000-05:002007-01-13T08:42:07.997-05:00and another onefound this video and i just had to share it: celia cruz and patti labelle on stage. does it get any better than that? yeah it does, sheila e. is in there, too. <br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Dh94MNhg7Cw"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Dh94MNhg7Cw" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>call me ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954711801205248441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24303427.post-40163021865709619192007-01-13T08:19:00.000-05:002007-01-13T08:30:53.021-05:00a throwback momentso, i will admit that since my sympathies have been with melanie b. recently (eddie murphy really didn't have to go and cast public doubt on the paternity of her baby, geeez), i have been watching the video for "wannabe" on youtube a lot. also, it takes me back to the halcyon days of middle school. but i'm not gonna post that video here. i'm going to post <span style="font-weight: bold;">the fugees, "fugee-la,"</span> which also takes me back to those halcyon days, but in much less cheesy way. enjoy.<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_AvSUCgTgUs"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_AvSUCgTgUs" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></object>call me ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954711801205248441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24303427.post-85560084703722265512007-01-09T21:27:00.000-05:002007-01-09T22:46:36.445-05:00free music: talib kweli<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTdGMXn1TgnFhAC659cnXJsPRB04IF1WRubVhNmfqC8P1wyRixzJbN9rPWfhK6osrv_LdxxV39YWdfFbasU6h45KndNCQsX1y2bafTQsac2SZ7ZMYEBJIMKgI-8r1YZAWC4CBb/s1600-h/liberation1.pg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTdGMXn1TgnFhAC659cnXJsPRB04IF1WRubVhNmfqC8P1wyRixzJbN9rPWfhK6osrv_LdxxV39YWdfFbasU6h45KndNCQsX1y2bafTQsac2SZ7ZMYEBJIMKgI-8r1YZAWC4CBb/s320/liberation1.pg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5018224764691682770" border="0" /></a><br />becky my computer is back up and running, but my music is gone gone gone...i have a lot of it backed up, but until such time as i feel like pulling out the cd and putting on the computer, i am making myself content with the free talib kweli album i downloaded. yes. free.<br /><br />mr. kweli has collaborated with madlib on an album that is available for download on his myspace page. go get it.<br /><br />and i have to say, i understand that the music industry is corrupt, that they don't put a lot of money in the pockets of artists, but honestly, cd's are overpriced and one would go broke nickel by dime buying songs on itunes...so most folks who don't have a ton of disposable income are trynna to get their music for free. of course, it's important to support artists as well, but when artists, like talib, toss out a gratis thank you to the supporters it means a lot. i appreciate.call me ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954711801205248441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24303427.post-39784110079284406322007-01-09T07:39:00.000-05:002007-01-09T07:47:49.190-05:00a lil more brooklyn love + 1 hip hop mysteryi originally spotted this on brownstoner.com, but over on <a href="http://www.clintonhillblog.com/">clinton hill blog</a> they've posted some pics of <a href="http://www.clintonhillblog.com/?p=367">the building where biggie grew up</a>. and as they mention on clinton hill blog, it is immediately apparent that this address is in clinton hill, not in bed-stuy...hmmmm...so i guess it's not that big a hip hop mystery....<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/131/339248169_15ea6880fc.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/131/339248169_15ea6880fc.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>call me ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954711801205248441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24303427.post-53301951626023281552007-01-08T19:35:00.000-05:002007-01-08T19:37:18.099-05:00...but she keeps tryingsent off the first batch of poetry submissions to magazines for 07...let's see what that does for me...got a bunch of movies from netflix that won't play (this is my second chance tryin to see capote, grrrr...and i got the vagina monologues and nuyorican dream, still.).call me ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954711801205248441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24303427.post-18363384469818683582007-01-08T19:12:00.000-05:002007-01-08T19:33:02.485-05:00the pursuit of happynessguess who fixed her own computer?? yes ma'am (or sir), i fixed my own computer, cuz i'm just brilliant like that, plus i figured i'd google a few tips to get the old girl back up and running while i was at work. so yay, becky (maybe i'll call the computer becky) is back in biz just in time for me to write my hundredth blogpost.<br /><br />this weekend, i went to go see the <span style="font-weight: bold;">the pursuit of happyness</span>. and yes, it was inspirational, and a bit of a tearjerker, and i enjoyed the movie, but now that i have seen it i can say that the misspelling of <span style="font-style: italic;">happiness</span> is just not justified in my eyes. sorry. in truth, it's probable someone would have to have lost their life for correctly spelling the word in order for misspelling it to be ok with me. i am not a fan of intentional misspelling. and i mean to differentiate intentional misspelling from typos (lord knows i do enough of it on this blog...but NEVER in anything i consider to be a professional bit of writing, i proofread like it's my job.) and from spellings that attempt to represent the phonetics of vernacular speech...although that can also be taken slightly overboard. but to throw in a y where there should be an i, just to point up the misspelling, it irked like nothing else. <br /><br />ok, but the point is the movie is good. though if i were to criticize it (i mean, besides for the messy title) i would say that it didn't give me enough shots of him at work to make me understand why mr. gardner was so good at his job that he ended up getting hired. the movie makes it seem as though he deserved the post because he suffered so much, but we know good and well his employers didn't know that. they didn't hire him because they felt bad for him, they hired him because of all the good results his work brought. they attempt that with the pension fund manager guy at the football game...but the pension manager guy ends up turning him down...and they talk about his reasoning and work ethic...but never any results from that wonderful efficiency and ethic. by results, i mean accounts landed, that sort of thing. <br /><br />also, if i may point something out that is tangentially related: in the movie hitch (which i will admit was entertaining cute date movie, and i'm not a fan of cute date movies), will smith starred opposite eva mendes not just because she's gorgeous (she is) but because the producers feared that if they put a black woman in the lead actress role, white moviegoers would go see it...and if they put a white woman in that role, moviegoers both black and white would be turned off. in the pursuit of happyness, thandie newton plays the traviata wife - but i had no idea she was even in the movie until i got to the theater. and she leaves midway through the movie. and she is sufficiently ambiguously ethnic...when she was in mission impossible, i heard folks refer to her as that latina girl (she's english and zimbabwean). so what gives with black women on film? why is film afraid of black women? on another tangent, seeing that movie made me understand why my girl sheena said thandie newton, despite her pretty face, is just too skinny.call me ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954711801205248441noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24303427.post-27933030317616152362006-12-21T17:57:00.000-05:002006-12-21T18:08:52.417-05:00long time: booksok, decided to divide up the long time posts. bought 2 new books last night.<br /><br />slate.com told me that<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span>beasts of no nation,</span> by uzodinma iweala was genius debut fiction. i set a lot of store by slate, so i bought it. i'm all of 8 pages in, but i can say that mr. iweala has a gift for capturing voice - this is story of a west african boy who becomes a child soldier. and it's not like i know the author, but he just graduated from harvard, he's a year older than i am, and he's got this award-winning, highly praised book published. i have enormous amounts of respect for that.<br /><br />and on the poetry front (i love you poetry!) i bought yusef komunyakaa's book <span style="font-weight: bold;">taboo</span>. i enjoy mr. komunyakaa's style - no trickery, and he knows the difference between a word that's big/obscure/otherwise impressive and the word that does the job and functions perfectly in the line/stanza/poem/collection. i mean, i guess he would, he's published 11 books of poetry, won the pulitzer and the ruth lilly prizes, etc, etc, etc. <br /><br />a tangent: sometimes, i have a hard time understanding when people say they don't like poetry. then, i pick up some books and realize that the poet is working really hard at showing everyone how poetic he or she can be, but isn't saying anything the average reader can make heads or tails of without a map. and i guess all poets will fall into that trap at some point, it makes you feel smart and awfully talented. but it's also awfully isolating to the poet and to poetry as a genre. and mr. komunyakaa blessedly proves that less can be more, that poetry can be understandable and beautiful. so i'm reading him to hopefully pick up a little of that.call me ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954711801205248441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24303427.post-13582618669806121102006-12-21T17:32:00.000-05:002006-12-21T17:57:39.565-05:00long time: film (and a lil music)yup, it's been a while. so i thought i'd give you a quick rundown of what's been keeping me occupied, then run and go buy some pants to keep the legs warm. it's getting to be winter.<br /><br />anyway, as far as movies, got <span style="font-weight: bold;">the sea inside/mar adentro</span> - gotta love the netflix. beautiful film, about a paraplegic man in spain who is fighting a legal battle for the right to end his life by means of assisted suicide. thought-provoking, to say the least, and great acting and cinematography.<br /><br />i got <span style="font-weight: bold;">capote</span> on netflix, but it wouldn't play...so i sent it back and got a replacement, which also won't play...sent it back and got <span style="font-weight: bold;">basquiat,</span> which i very much enjoyed. didn't know that jeffrey wright was in that film, i am a fan (well, of wright and of basquiat's work). and if you don't know, jean-michel basquiat was a graf artist who became a darling of the art world and died of a heroin overdose just shy of 28 years of age. in 05, the brooklyn museum mounted a retrospective of his work. if mr. basquiat was anything like he is portrayed in the movie, then he was weird, but brilliant. watching the film about his life and death made me think of all the to-do over nas's new album <span style="font-weight: bold;">hip hop is dead</span>. not too sure why, though. i can't think of an artist at the moment who's celebrity quite matches mr. basquiat's - any suggestions? and maybe i can't quite think of a rapper who people believe has the ability to resuscitate hip hop quite like nas? (sorry jay-z, i know you're now billing yourself as the savior, but i'm not quite buying it. el presidente, ceo, king, emperor, whatever, but not savior.)<br /><br />anyway, at home, i've got <span style="font-weight: bold;">nuyorican dream</span>, a documentary about the struggles of one puerto rican family in nyc. looking forward to seeing it.call me ajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954711801205248441noreply@blogger.com0