From Wired via ZillaSays:

The actor Damon Wayans has been engaged in a 14-month fight to trademark the term “Nigga” for a clothing line and retail store, a search of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s online database reveals.

I feel like the “is-it-ok-to-say-’nigga’-even-if-you-are-black” controversy has popped up a bunch of times for me lately. The first was the infamous Oprah Crash episode (no homo), which included such hilarious quotes from the audience as:

If I say “yeah I will just jew down the price a little for you” is that racist?

Um yes. Anyway the panel — the actors from the movie Crash — chatted for a bit about calling each other “nigga.” Everyone on the panel was black except Sandra Bullock, who like most white people, kept out of the discussion. Also discussed was the “Nigga vs. Nigger” conundrum. I tell you, it was a good show (no homo).

I think using the word “nigga/er” is a similar situation to flying the Battle flag of Northern Virginia. There are lots of people who fly various Confederate flags as a message of hate and racism. Just like there are a lot of people who use the word “nigger” with hate and racism. But there are people who fly the flag with no bad intentions at all. The problem is there is so much connotation that comes along with that particular flag that what ever it may actually factually mean doesn’t matter any more. To a lot of people it is a symbol of racism no matter what you say or believe.

There is a lot — a lot — of pejorative connotation that comes along with the word “nigger.” So when black people use it out of the pejorative context, with positive/neutral connotations, it confuses white people like me. What compounds the problem is in Richmond (America?) we don’t like to talk about race issues. We don’t even like to acknowledge they exist, how could they it is 2k6!?

I don’t pretend to even have the slightest glimmer of understanding what is like to be black so I don’t know what the answer is. What we need, in general, is a dialogue. Especially in our city.

Technorati Tags: race, Richmond, Virginia

So here is Dune, by Frank Herbert. It’s a verifiable classic of Science Fiction writing, it spawned a movie which is a classic of Science Fiction filmmaking, and I found a battered old copy of it at the by now famous Fredericksburg Library Booksale.

It has a picture of Monument Valley on the spine. Don’t know why.

Read the rest of this entry »

From the RTD:

The boy and a parent - whom officials would not name - climbed a 4-foot wooden fence to enter a restricted area around the bear habitat on Saturday. The boy apparently tried to feed one of the bears an apple through the 10-foot chain-link fence that surrounds the bear exhibit and was bitten.

As you probably know I loved the bears. I mean I even included them in my list of super awesome Richmond things. Now they are dead because some idiot parent thought it would be ok to climb into a bear enclosure? What a waste. My illustrious wife wrote a scathing letter to the editor the other, which if printed, I will post.

The whole thing is strange, but feels like something all of Richmond will be mad at. I would hate to be that parent I tell you what.

Feel free to vent below.

Technorati Tags: bears, murder, Richmond, Virginia

I don’t know if many of you saw this, but the Danish guy who published the cartoons wrote a thing about it. I don’t 100% agree with this guy, but he has some really interesting points, like the following:

I commissioned the cartoons in response to several incidents of self-censorship in Europe caused by widening fears and feelings of intimidation in dealing with issues related to Islam. And I still believe that this is a topic that we Europeans must confront, challenging moderate Muslims to speak out. The idea wasn’t to provoke gratuitously — and we certainly didn’t intend to trigger violent demonstrations throughout the Muslim world. Our goal was simply to push back self-imposed limits on expression that seemed to be closing in tighter.

So, you wanted to prove that you weren’t scared of Muslims bombing things? Guess what: Muslims bombed things after all.

In January, Jyllands-Posten ran three full pages of interviews and photos of moderate Muslims saying no to being represented by the imams. They insist that their faith is compatible with a modern secular democracy. A network of moderate Muslims committed to the constitution has been established, and the anti-immigration People’s Party called on its members to differentiate between radical and moderate Muslims, i.e. between Muslims propagating sharia law and Muslims accepting the rule of secular law. The Muslim face of Denmark has changed, and it is becoming clear that this is not a debate between “them” and “us,” but between those committed to democracy in Denmark and those who are not.

I guess this is a case of standing up to the bully because, even though you get punched in the face, at least his friends know that he’s not so strong anymore. It kind of sucks to gamble with other people’s lives, though. So, because this guy decided Denmark needed a dialogue, some innocent people die? That’s unfortunate. Then again, he wasn’t the one who bombed things.

Last night at the Strawberry Street Cafe Matt proposed to my sister making him my newest brother! This is seriously sweet. First, I love getting new siblings because I didn’t have any of my own until I married my wife. Second Matt is killer sweet. Matt loves Richmond probably as much as I do. He *has* an RVA tattoo. I mean come on people. So I am really excited about my new brother.

Also, havoc, Robin is engaged so your dream of dating sisters has ended. Looks like you will have to look elsewhere. Alas.

Bonus

Other family blogs.

PharrOut is going to redo/upgrade the ol’ RVABlogs one of these days. What I need from y’all is feature requests. We have some pretty neat ideas bouncing around, but I’m sure there is stuff we haven’t thought of yet. So if you would drop a comment with your request, gripe, whatever it would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Sometimes I feel like I live in Blacksburg not Richmond. I’m not sure how much more of this “winter” I can handle. I swear just yesterday ice and snow remnants sat on my deck and now today! My Dashboard weather widget claims it’s 70° outside. I think I can hear “RIDE YOUR BIKE” blowing in the wind, or whispering in the trees, or wherever that kind of stuff comes from.

Man I am ready for summer.

Hey, in lieu of anything else to post, does anyone have a link to a color coded Richmond gang map? It had areas of the city shaded in with different colors for different gang presences.

I want, no need to find that map.

Drop me a comment if you have a clue.

In an ongoing discussion on our message board re: the Muhammad cartoons, I said:

The longer there is a lack of outspoken moderate muslims, the more people will think Muhammed wears a bomb turbin.

I realize that “moderate” and “outspoken” typically do not describe the same individual. But when the several continents have gone nutz, those who have reasonable things to say need to say them loudly.

Luckily for us some local (moderate) Muslims have said some very reasonable things regarding the Late Unpleasantness. Reasonable things typically aren’t good press, so I think it is important to draw attention to them whenever possible.

Via nic.

Any thoughts?

Google video has kindly created a nice page of all the commercials for your viewing pleasure.

Overall I thought it was a weak set of spots. The thing that irritates me is the slap stick kicker at the end of each commercial. I thought lots of the commercials were decent but then added a lame slap stick joke on the end.

Also one of my friends said during the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty commercial “She’s not beautiful, she’s ugly.” Humorous.