#read citizen: an american lyric

[sprinklesandwaffles]

claudia rankine the woman that you are

[trulynamelessworld]

Hey so after watching six episodes of The Handmaid's Tale I have come to the conclusion that we are approximately two steps left from it happening.

Look, the show practically gives a step by step guide. Look at the American election results, and the way Canadian politics are leaning. We're getting there.

So, heres what you're going to do:

Stash some cash: If you have extra funds, withdraw some. Stash it somewhere you would think to look that other people would not. Useful in all kinds of emergency situations.

Update your paperwork: My passport is expired, I should update that. In my case, I'm a dual citizen so I could get out of dodge fast if I needed to. Keep it somewhere safe with the cash. We're talking passports, birth certificates social security numbers, etc.

Keep physical copies: This is the digital age, but guard physical copies of what you do have closely. I have lots of cds and a cd player, pictures of me and my partner, books. Burning books is already a thing, I highly recommend purchasing books straight off of banned book lists.

Read up on your herbs: Its not witchy voodoo shit if it works. Theres simple stuff, mint tea for nausea, raspberry leaf for cramps, mugwort for you know what. Be careful, I am not saying this is safe, but it may be necessary. Also everybody likes a good cup of tea.

Bug out bag: For if you're really committed. This is a bag for survival situations, or if you have less than two minutes to leave your house. Read about it online. It should have everything you need (clothes, toiletries, food, medication) if you need to leave with what you can fit on your back.

Write: Keep written record about anything you don't want to forget. Journal entries, song lyrics, recipes, whatever. It does not matter, notebooks are something you can throw under one arm and go.

Powerful men are not your friends, religious leaders are not your friends, that acquaintance with questionable world views is not your friend. Create a close network of people you trust with your life. I'm not joking.

I am aware I sound cuckoo bananas to some of you and thats fine. I sound cuckoo bananas to myself. Women are losing agency, queer people are losing their lives, disabled people are being forced further and further under the poverty line. I check all three of the boxes above, this is reality.

If you have to pick one or two, pick Stash some cash and Update your paperwork.

[caffeinatedcatlover]

Books read in 2024 📖

I read a total of 41 books, around 15,500 pages (average book length 376 pages).

⋆ Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

⋆ Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

⋆ Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas

⋆ Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas

⋆ The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J Maas

⋆ Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas

⋆ The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid

⋆ Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas

⋆ A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid

⋆ Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine

⋆ Tower of Dawn by Sarah J Maas

⋆ Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J Maas

⋆ House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas

⋆ House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J Maas

⋆ House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J Maas

⋆ Foreigners: Three English Lives by Caryl Philips

⋆ Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

⋆ Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

⋆ A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare

⋆ The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary

⋆ Bride by Ali Hazelwood

⋆ My Roommate Is a Vampire by Jenna Levine

⋆ Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

⋆ Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

⋆ You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry

⋆ Book Lovers by Emily Henry

⋆ Happy Place by Emily Henry

⋆ Daisy Miller by Henry James

⋆ Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands by Mary Seacole

⋆ The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore

⋆ The September House by Carissa Orlando

⋆ The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enríquez

⋆ Song of Myself by Walt Whitman

⋆ The Waste Land and Other Poems by T.S. Eliot

⋆ A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner

⋆ Dracula by Bram Stoker

⋆ Recitatif by Toni Morrison

⋆ Millennium Approaches by Tony Kushner

⋆ The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty

⋆ The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

⋆ The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

[jungkookjiminlovesu]

https://x.com/jmnpromise/status/1820402605258052036

https://x.com/jmnpromise/status/1820403462762602618

Any new explanations and excuses ? 🎤 or you pretend not seeing this ask so you can continue to gaslight followers and yourself thinking Jkk is real ? Weren't you all celebrating WHO being gender neutral earlier ? Now Jimin himself said asking HER out as Slowdance meaning. Also you all said Rebirth is most personal song, turns out it's him falling in love with his crush which again is a girl who he's inviting for a dance in next song. And both songs are written by him.. Let it go already guys.. Jikook isn't real nor JM is with a man. He's throwing at your face at this moment that he's searching for A GIRL, A HER. While you misunderstands his message and bends his words to fit your non existent gay ship narrative.

First of all, this is the first time I have ever received this kind of ask, so enjoy the answer I have devised for you.

Any new explanations and excuses ? 🎤 or you pretend not seeing this ask so you can continue to gaslight followers and yourself thinking Jkk is real ?

I didn't know that you (Taekooker or an anti-gay supporter apparently) wanted an answer like your life depended on it.

Anyway, don't worry about it, my dear anon!

Well, I never said, to make any of my reviews about "the Jikook relationship" or anything like that.

If you read the name of my highlight it's a review on music (reviewonmusic) and not about "the actual relationship of Jikook" through their music, so I don't think you understood the point of my music reviews.

I don't deny it either, because no one has asked me or cares, but we don't need cheap cures to prove anything.

You will see countless photos, videos, moments of BTS as a group and just BTS, and if you have any brains when you see this duo, you can't forget what you just saw.

If you still have doubts, go see "Are you sure?!

The first two episodes are already available on Disney+ (not a sponsor), from 8 August.

I know they never said there would be a honeymoon vlog, but they both weren't sure, at least as shown in their teaser promo, if it was okay for viewers to watch it, because we'd be seeing a lot, like A LOT of their stuff.

Weren't you all celebrating WHO being gender neutral earlier ?

As for the "WHO", if you were a real army, you should have already watched the video entitled

here's the link for you, sweetheart

지ㄴ미 (Jimin) 'MUSE' Recording Behind

As you can see, when he was about to write another word in Korean, on the board, you can clearly see "WHO's" original lyrics and yes, they were ALL gender neutral.

But that's how the American industry works.

They had to change the lyrics from you, to her.

They just wanted to make a hit, not a personal song this time.

If you wanted that, you should have listened to the rest of the album, 'MUSE'.

And like I said, if you were a real army, you would be happy for every comrade he had or would have in the future and not pretend that this is 1978 to see the first gay male president.

I'm talking, of course, about Harvey Milk saying that gays have rights too (I have to say I'm not an American citizen, but you get the point, it's 2024).

Now Jimin himself said asking HER out as Slowdance meaning.

As I see, you've already read all my reviews of the album 'MUSE', and that really means a lot.

As I said in my review of "Slow Dance", which is a huge difference from "Smeraldo Garden Marching Band", it was the hands-on piece, right?

So, you like the details.

And the connection between "Rebirth" and the songs I just mentioned, yeah, he was definitely in love when he was composing it, he was even when he was performing it live.

I mean, look at his face!

Here's the links :)

지ㄴ미 (Jimin) Rebirth + Slow Dance (feat. Sofia Carson) Live Clip

지ㄴ미 (Jimin) Rebirth + Slow Dance (feat. Sofia Carson) Live Clip Behind

Oh well, let's not forget the clip of "Mini Moni" about how he had help from one of their members to compose this song.

Here is also the link :)

교환앨범 MMM(Mini & Moni Music)- 지민 (Jimin) TEASER

Also you all said Rebirth is most personal song, turns out it's him falling in love with his crush which again is a girl who he's inviting for a dance in next song. And both songs are written by him..

You're absolutely right, he composed everything on that album - except the song "WHO" - but he could control the message with or without neutral lyrics via his MV.

Let it go already guys.. Jikook isn't real nor JM is with a man. He's throwing at your face at this moment that he's searching for A GIRL, A HER. While you misunderstands his message and bends his words to fit your non existent gay ship narrative.

I see you have a bit of a problem with not being straight.

Are you sure you're a real army?!

'Cause you must accept him as he is!

I mean, I could write for you, more about how many times he said, "what it's really like to be a man or what his photographic gender is like, and like he said in this video:

"Special film 8 reactions photo folio and his own clip "Me, Myself and 'ID: Chaos' Photo Shoot Sketch".

"Like personas (...) I wanted to express various emotions, "

Jimin expressed his journey of finding his own self, someone add it in the subtitles.

"Special film 8 reactions Photo-Folio Reaction Film #1"

Do you even remember the concept photos?

He made four (4), but the most memorable one is the one we took as the cover, with a Greek god next to him, Apollo - who was one of the first bisexual Greek gods.

As Jimin said, once again:

"It could (mentioned in his photo - folio) be my color."

"Me, Myself and 'ID: Chaos' Photo Shoot Sketch"

I'm a Greek citizen, so I know better about how Greek gods have a huge impact on the mention of gay or not.

So let's have logic and you take the lead in your delusional world.

I must thank you once again, because this was the first time I asked about such a matter. But I still think that this ask might won't for me but it's okay! ;)

It really means a lot and here's a little present.

"Love Yourself Seoul Commentary Film"

Have a nice day! 💅🏻💋

[johnmanciniwrites]

Attention: This Essay Will Take Approx. 5 Minutes to Read

An Introduction to Critical Thinking

We're fast approaching that hypothetical future point when robots will take over the hard jobs like making toast and folding laundry. The machines are closing the gap, and when we finally reach the "singularity," as it's called, the most immediately recognizable result will be unemployment. Not to worry. You’ll have all the legal pot you could want. Smoking it might make you paranoid about the likelihood you're under surveillance (which of course you are), but at least you won’t have to worry about remembering passwords or calculating tips. Maybe you can even get some reading done.

Whatever you do to prepare yourself for this dystopian inevitability, there are some basic human skills you might want to remember. Good old fashioned street smarts, for one. And other OG stuff like, say, critical thinking—you know, the ability to reason things out for yourself using logic and common sense. Having your own opinion may be your last vestige of liberty in this brave new world. So how might the industrious citizen go about forming an independent thought in today’s commercial landscape?

Step one: kill your television. At least, that was the simple advice offered in the eighties when this bumper sticker adorned the backs Civics and Escorts and Astro vans. Apparently, we used to have a healthy distrust of the establishment in this country. From the Vietnam War through 9/11, most Americans under thirty were skeptical of the Man. You know, "Don't trust anyone over thirty," as those free-speech-loving Berkeley students once said.

Now that I am over thirty and have spent more than a few years teaching writing to undergrads, I sometimes take a survey because I want to know what the kids read (not much, apparently). We compare screentime averages. After several semesters I learned that college students spend roughly six hours a day on their phones, not counting the other screens that crowd the remaining waking hours. The average adult spends only about fifteen minutes a day reading anything--and most of their time within view of a screen.

Don't get me wrong--I like my phone, but I try to remember that what's on the screen is not reality--not exactly. It's a curated representation of reality, a simulation or simulacrum as Baudrillard called it. The algorithm determines our desires and fears with increasing specificity and provides us with symbols to which we can relate--i.e. optimized and monetized content! When it comes to social media, we just happen to be the content they monetize.

Ever notice the way those memes leave an impression after you close your eyes? They return while you're lying in your bed unable to sleep, like a film on the underside of your eyelids, a vague blur that spreads like some drug from a Phillip K. Dick novel--the visual equivalent of earworms. Melodies and lyrics can do that. Or slogans, or words on a page. Images and language seep into our minds and spread like contagion, making contact, rewiring synapses. When we read or watch or listen for extended periods of time, an osmosis occurs.

People with short attention spans are easy to control. They don’t remember the last time they were lied to. Like Charlie Brown, they keep trying to kick that football and Lucy keeps pulling it away at the last second. We fall for the same trick again and again. Propaganda and revisionist history, fear and psychological manipulation, the exploitation of ignorance--Orwell illuminated all of these in both Animal Farm and 1984—two prophetic novels worth rereading (if you have more than fifteen minutes to spare).

So, quality control: Instead of doomscrolling through headlines and social media posts made to order by the almighty algorithm, one thing you might do to improve your critical thinking is read a book from beginning to end—in that order.

Reading is valuable in and of itself—we need not read for content alone. The sound, rhythm, and word order of well composed syntax is nourishment to the mind that thinks with language, that in fact uses language to illuminate the world outside and within. As we read, the brain looks for patterns--identifying the independent clause, retaining the subject and verb as the eyes track through multiple parallels, projecting the direct object or compliment, not to mention grasping the dramatic throughline, the structure and meaning. As W.B. Yeats noted: “As I altered my syntax, I altered my intellect.”

After all, how does one come to understand what a compound, complex thought looks and sounds like without reading one first? Our ability to follow a train of thought is enhanced by the ability to comprehend in parallel subordinate clauses.

Consider the following poem:

“I.M.E.M.” by Anthony Hecht

To spare his brother from having to endure Another agonizing bedside vigil With sterile pads, syringes but no hope, He settled all his accounts, distributed Among a few friends his most valued books, Weighed all in mind and heart and then performed The final, generous, extraordinary act Available to a solitary man, Abandoning his translation of Boileau, Dressing himself in a dark, well-pressed suit, Turning the lights out, lying on his bed, Having requested neighbors to wake him early When, as intended, they would find him dead.

This is one long sentence. The independent clause has four verbs. He settled (accounts), distributed (books), weighed (all) and performed (act). Then that “final, generous, extraordinary act” he performed gets modified by parallel clauses all beginning with their own verbs--abandoning, dressing, turning, lying--the last of which includes an additional adverbial clause (when...).

The first time you encounter this poem you may have some difficulty finding the independent clause (having to wade through a long left-branching introduction has this effect). But by doing so you achieve something similar to what Yeats was after. You alter your intellect.

We know the internet is a collection of stupid facts and sublime fictions, a carnival of conspiracies, a virtual reality curated by a host of companies for whom it would be more profitable to replace our views with their views. And there are oh so many ways to capture our attention-- say, for instance, through the clever means of wrapping a watermelon in rubber bands (as reporters from Buzzfeed did in 2016).

What will happen next? This question guides most content creation: it is a marketing principle known as the curiosity gap. When something surprising creates a gap in our expectations we feel a need to stay tuned, scroll down, click through or swipe. We anticipate more than we inquire.

When was the last time you read a user agreement on your phone? Like everyone else, you probably scrolled to the bottom and clicked accept. Who besides a lawyer can read the bloviated syntax and obfuscating lexicon of contract law and understand it?

Groucho: It's all right. That's in every contract. That's what they call a sanity clause.

Chico: Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! You can't fool me. There ain't no Sanity Clause! 

“Attention is life,” as the poet Mary Oliver said. In other words, when it's over, that which you paid attention to will have been your life. Spoiler: we are each allotted about four thousand weeks in which to figure this out. Which is not to say that you have to kill your television or take a hammer to your phone or stop playing video games, only to recognize, as John Lennon did, that we’re “doped with religion and sex and TV,” and develop an ability to discriminate between that which rots and that which enhances.

Solution: Learn a new routine. Read a new book. Life is full of distractions—some of which actually require our attention--like, say, an oncoming car (or a technological singularity). Unfortunately, Chico was right. There is no Sanity Clause.

[theskee]

Lately, as my child has started school, I've reflected on a lot of bad experiences I had where the system failed me entirely. But... I also started thinking about Mr. Ellison a lot.

When I was in 6th Grade I had a Geography teacher, and his name was Mr. Ellison. He had a very large collection of Chucks in various colors with various embellishments, and the two pairs I recall with the most clarity were the POW*MIA chucks, and his bubble gum pink ones.

On the first day of middle school when I walked into his class, he had a guitar in the corner and a POW*MIA flag on the wall. I was familiar with these things, as they were things my grandfather also had. But my grandfather was a deeply religious republican, and very pro military.

Mr. Ellison was not.

Mr. Ellison had this air of Quirky Hippie about him, with his salt and pepper mullet and his goatee, playing guitar in class sometimes. But It's been over 20 years since I was in that classroom, and he, of any teacher I ever had, stuck with me.

Day one, he was wearing his pink chucks, a pink button down, and said pink was his favorite color. He said you couldn't chew gum in his class unless it was Asper Gum and I don't think any of us knew what that was. He was light hearted fun and then one day, he made us design a US Flag with 51 Stars on it, and while we did this, he explained Puerto Rico. A subject that I had never once heard mentioned by the adults in my life. Prior to this lesson, I didn't know that Puerto Rico was a US territory, let alone that the citizens living there couldn't vote in Federal elections and weren't represented in congress. And then he mentioned how much they contribute to our military. And he asked us, a bunch of 12 year olds, if we thought that was fair.

And that was the first time I was ever encouraged to think critically about our country.

He pulled out his guitar one day and began singing the official state song of Florida (our state)-- "Old Folks at Home", otherwise known as "Swanee River". And this was pre-2008. The original lyrics hadn't been revised yet. So the second he got to a single mention of plantations, his fingers squeaked on the strings and strummed to a halt and he showed outward disgust. And asked us if we understood why it was already disgusting and then let us read the rest of the lyrics through the overhead projector while he introduced us to the concept of Racism.

It wasn't critical race theory by any means, but he urged us to be aware that racism is everywhere.

He showed us a video set to "Let the Bodies hit the Floor" that showed the horrifying aspects of the war in Afghanistan and after to we discussed Islamophobia, and the horrors of war.

Mr. Ellison was the first and to this day, only teacher I ever had that talked about American Imperialism, about colonization in a negative way, about the real impact that war has on soldiers, and how the country fails to care for the people who fight for it.

I must emphasize that this was a Geography Class and I think we looked at a map maybe 3 times the entire school year.

But in Ellison's mind, if we were going to talk about the world around us, it seemed like he felt that the thing worth knowing was our impact on it. He discussed climate change, geonicide against the natives, and how the land we sat on was stolen and soaked with the blood of people who cared for it far better than we do.

And all of these things were presented in questions posed to us: "What do you think about this?"

He challenged the concepts of masculinity and decried violence so often, showing the boys in the class that pink is just a color, that being soft is okay, and that there's nothing cool about being a war hero. But never so directly. He did it by offering up a chance to think about these things that were so widely accepted to be true.

I can't say for certain if Mr. Ellison was a leftist or a centrist or something else.  What I can say, is that I don't think I would have become a leftist myself, if he hadn't primed me to think critically about everything I know, and seek to form opinions based on what I believe to be right. Mr. Ellison was strange, but one thing I'm certain of: he hated the idea of human suffering more than anything else.

He was just some middle aged white guy with pink shoes and a guitar for some of the students around me, I know that. But for me, he was an important figure that helped shape me into the person I've become today.  He was the first openly anti-war and anti-racist person I'd encountered in my life. I come from a military family that watched Fox News and listened to Rush Limbaugh on road trips. I'd been inundated my whole childhood with ideas that ran completely counter to what Mr. Ellison taught me. And he taught me not by convincing me with arguments to agree with him, but presenting the chance to think about how things made me feel with the facts I'd been previously denied.

And then to decide what I was going to do with those feelings.

What kind of person I wanted to be.

And if I could go back and thank any teacher I've ever had, it would be him. I think I'm a better person for those lessons he taught.

But I cannot find jack shit on a map.

[e-b-reads]

Books of the Month: Oct 2023

If I consistently make these posts halfway through the next month, they're no longer late, that's just the posting schedule now. Anyway, I read some books in October (including Agatha Christie's Hallowe'en Party on Halloween itself, because I had the day off and thought I should read something nominally seasonal). Here are a couple that I recommend:

Our Wild Farming Life: Adventures on a Scottish Highland Croft (Lynn Cassells, Sandra Baer): This is one of those books that you can likely only find by 1) somehow already knowing about it (via British television, I guess) or 2) wandering through the nonfiction section in your local library and deciding it looks interesting. (Guess which I did!) It is a nonfiction book about the two authors (occasionally the first person narration makes it clear that Lynn was the main one actually writing the book) buying a farm in Scotland and making it work! I enjoyed this book because it was clearly a book written by someone who can write fairly well but not super lyrically or anything, and who loves what she's writing about. Lots of things to appeal to me - they balance a love for nature and a desire to do everything sustainably with a respect for the local farming community - but I think it is worth reading for others as well!

Snow Falling on Cedars (David Guterson): This one I found in a Goodwill. It was interesting to read because I did read it once before, in maybe early high school, and remembered very little. And what I did remember is enjoying the older jaded veteran character; but on this read, he's actually not far from my own age and while "jaded" still describes him, I think a better word is "depressed." Anyway, a good book about a small, maritime community (so again, things I that I specifically like) and how people are very complicated. The main "present day" setting is a 1950s murder trial, with flashbacks to WWII and the internment of Japanese-American citizens. But the ending also suggests that, despite their complications, many people are basically good, and I appreciate that, too.

[redwinesupernova]

today i sat in english and read the entirety of claudia rankine’s citizen: an american lyric in one sitting and it was so fucking good. its like a combination of lyrical essays/poetry and the overarching theme and story is about blackness and its just. so good.

[somethingsgottasaveyou]

I was tagged by @tomsmusictaste to post 5 songs that someone else introduced me to (and who introduced them)!

This is gonna be difficult as usually I'm the one introducing people to songs/artists but let's see! Somewhere In Neverland - All Time Low - some stranger on some chatting website urged me to listen to all time low and this song specifically (now look how that played out hah)

Anchor - Skillet - a friend of a friend's favourite band and favourite song of theirs (I specifically listened to it because I was getting customised shoe laces tags with lyrics from that song for their birthday)

If I Surrender - Citizen Soldier - my ex best friend

So Far Away - Mayday Parade - a friend I met online through music, who was really heavily into mayday parade

Timeless - American Authors - also my ex best friend

tagging @tessabennet, @eyeofthemoose, @safety-pin-punk, @when-the-music-fades, @katiiie-lynn, @sad-and-dumb (if you want!) and everyone else reading this who wants to do it!

[thebacklistbook]

Winners Circle - Backlist Book Awards

Best Cover: Little Women - Louisa May Alcott

The All-nighter: Tied

Listen to Me - Tess Gerritsen

Death on the Nile - Agatha Christie

The Appeal - Janice Hallett

The WTF Award: The Curly Girl handbook - Michele Bender, Lorraine Massey

Best Diverse Read: Dr. Siri Paiboon series - Colin Cotterill

Most Obvious Plot Twist: The Plot - Jean Korelitz

Villainless: The Martian - Andy Weir

Villainous: Desert Queen - Janet Wallach

Poetically Lit: Citizen: An American Lyric - Claudia Rankine

Wrapped up Tight: Rizzoli & Isles series - Tess Gerritsen

Be Careful! It's Fragile: Desert Queen - Janet Wallach

How about a little Respect: Taste: My Life Through Food - Stanley Tucci

Best in Ship: Fatima Ali and Life; Savor: A Chef's Hunger for More - Fatima Ali

Best in (Friend)ship: Nehemia Ytger and Celaena Sardothien; Throne of Glass - Sarah J. Maas

Best in Romance: Dragonfly in Amber - Diana Gabaldon

Burned on my Brain: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - Gail Honeyman

Best in Sci-fi/ time travel: Blackout/All clear - Connie Willis

Most Emotional Read: What Alice Forgot - Liane Moriarty

Best in Magical Realism: Tied

Midnight Sun - Stephenie Meyer

The Golem and the Jinni - Helene Wecker

You've Got Mail: Let Me Tell You What I Mean - Joan Didion

Best in Fantasy: Tied

The Wheel of Time series - Robert Jordan

Piranesi - Susanna Clarke

Best Debut: Evvie Drake Starts Over - Linda Holmes

Best in Horror: Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

Best in Dystopia: Uglies - Scott Westerfeld

Best in Contemporary: Mad Honey - Jodi Picoult, Jennifer Finney Boylan

Best in Non-fiction: Tied

Quackery - Lydia Kang

The Happiest Man Alive - Eddie Jaku

Bibliomaniac - Robin Ince

The Book Came First: A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Backman

The Movie Came First: My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult

Best LGBT+ Rep: Tied

Huntress - Malinda Lo

Tales of the City - Armistead Maupin

Classically Lit: Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

Best Worldbuilding: Deja Dead - Kathy Reichs

Best in Humor: Tied

Agent to the Stars - John Scalzi

How Y'all Doin'? - Leslie Jordan

Best in Historical Fiction: Tied

The Lincoln Highway - Amor Towles

Desert Queen - Janet Wallach

Best in Satire: Skipping Christmas - John Grisham

Graphically Lit: Big Panda & Tiny Dragon - James Norbury

The Independence of You: A Camp Without Fire - Ignacio Ramirez Bautista

[hagatha-christie]

Everything I read in February

Gravity - Tal Bauer: sweet! I liked that the conflict wasn’t homophobia but it was still genuinely distressing

The Pursuit of... - Courtney Milan: boring! Forgettable! Too many Hamilton references, authors please stop doing them.

1919 - Eve L. Ewing: a masterpiece! Genuinely great and impactful and a great accessible poetry collection.

Three Swedish Mountain Men - Lily Gold: definitely a book! There were words and characters!

Citizen: An American Lyric - Claudia Rankine: very upsetting and very good! I shouldn’t have tried this on audiobook first because i retained a lot more when I actually read it.

Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail - Ashley Herring Blake: cute! trope-y but not in a bad way! Astrid is a much more interesting character than Delilah, fight me about it.

Lakewood - Megan Giddings: mostly fine! Weird and sinister and I wish it would’ve cranked the volume all the way up if you know what I mean.

Are Prisons Obsolete? - Angela Y. Davis: genius! Clear and concise and a perfectly presented argument.

Life on Mars - Tracy K Smith: very good! I wish it was more cohesive but there’s some great stuff in there.

One Hundred Nights of Hero - Isabel Greenberg: dreamy and magical and immersive! So fun!

The Final Revival of Opal and Nev - Dawnie Walton: riveting! Better than Daisy Jones IMO!

What it Means When a Man Falls from the Sky - Lesley Nneka Arimah: very sad but very good! Confused at the blurbs that call it “playful” because wtf

Wilder Girls - Rory Power: disappointing! There’s a relationship in here that makes absolutely no sense! What even happened in this book

I’m almost done with Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson, gimme like 2 hours and I’m gonna be shrieking about this book

[contemplativereading]

Justice not Just for Us

Dear Friend, My first experience with Claudia Rankine was reading Citizen: An American Lyric. In my review for that collection, I wrote, “Rankine’s genius is in the slow building momentum of her work, the kind that meets us where we are at the beginning and builds with us as we take in more, as we press forward despite the discomfort, as we too rage and cry, distraught, in the end. And she ends…

[kyanako5972]

I finally finished this book, which I've had checked out since July 18, 2023. (I would always take it back to the library to return/check out whenever I reached the automatic renewal limit. That's a lot of library trips.)

Biting the Hand: Growing up Asian in black and white America by Julia Lee.

It's the book I wanted to see written.

When I was in college, I read Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine, which is largely about being black in white America. I asked, "Is there any room for Asians and other people of color?"

And the answer is yes! Biting the Hand even references Citizen a lot. Lovely conversation going on between these books.

Maybe I'll compile the list of references that I saw. Maybe I'll delve into the topics of these books. But right now, I should sleep. (Queued post, of course.)

[oxyvisualanalysis-fa23]

Discussion leader Presentation

Background: Part two of Pink Floyd's three-part composition of songs titled The Wall, serves as the most popular element of what would go down as the band's most notable piece of work. The song's obvious critique of the American Education system skyrocketed the song to an incredibly long mainstay on the top 40 charts. Eventually, the band felt the song's excessive popularity overshadowed some of their songs that they believed deserved more attention from fans. The widespread cultural impact of this song speaks to the truth that fans found within the dystopian-like critique of our education system as a whole.

Marx:

In Karl Marx's writing "The German Ideology", he argued that widespread cultural ideologies worked to benefit the ruling class, rather than the regular citizens within a society. ABITW argues a similar position with its crude images of a students being ground up into a lifeless putty. By claiming that the education system is working against the overall benefit of the students (with the context of Marx, the regular citizens of a society) Pink Floyd is agreeing with the notion that forced upon ideologies serve to benefit the ruling class, in this case, the education system as a whole.

Althusser:

ABITW also reinforces the ideological claims of Althusser by utilizing the voices of children for the chorus of the song. Althusser believed in the importance of an individual recognizing their legitimate place within an ideology, in order for the individual to partake in ideological change. When Pink Floyd employed children for the chorus and within the video, they were reinforcing Althusser's concepts by proving these education-wide issues were recognizable to those still within the system. Had Pink Floyd chosen to have Roger Waters and David Gilmour sing the entirety of the song, the message would have stood that the recognition of these system-wide issues are only possible following the individuals departure rom the ideological system.

Gramsci:

Gramsci argued that the ideological shaping of beliefs and values stands to be a ruling class' most effective weapon in the control of their followers. ABITW makes the argument that the modern education system targets those most vulnerable to ideological control, children. By appealing to the emotions of listeners through the vulnerability of children, Pink Floyd is better able to demonstrate their message. However, some fans speculate that ABITW has been misinterpreted and is not in fact a critique of the education system as a whole but rather speaking to ideological coercion in everyday life.

ABITW part 2 songwriter David Waters confirmed this message in a 2015 interview with The Wall Street Journal:

“It’s a protest song against the tyranny of stupidity and oppression, not just in schools but universally ... It’s about the malign influence of propaganda. Obviously, I care deeply about education. I just wanted to encourage anyone who marches to a different drum to push back against those who try to control their minds rather than to retreat behind emotional walls.”

In this quote, Waters revealed the broader message of the song, one that Gramsci would likely agree with.

Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley - Slave Mill (Acapella)

In his song Slave Mill, Damian Marley (son of Bob Marley) describes a similar social commentary as Pink Floyd does by arguing that ideological coercion and oppression still exists in a modern era. This acapella version of the song exists as the only music video of the longer, instrumental, album version of the song. This acapella medium shifts the focus of the song to a lyrical emphasis, clarifying Marley's message. The lyrics of this version read as follows:

What men won't and what they will

Working for a dollar bill

Sad to see the old slave mill

Is grinding slow, but grinding still...

Walking home, a youth gets killed

Police free to shoot at will

Sad to see the old slave mill

Is grinding slow, but grinding still...

Damian Marleys observation of what he refers to as the modern "slave mill" speaks to a similar message of Floyd's observation of modern oppression. Both artists are exposing what they view as a hidden/under the radar form of oppression. Following in the footsteps of his father, Damian speaks to a similar form of oppression that Bob did in his songs Get Up Stand Up, Redemption Song, and War.

I also believe it is important to note the relevance of Damian's race in this social commentary. Similar to Floyd's usage of children in ABITW, Marley exists as a legitimate representation of Althusser's argument that social change is most likely when a legitimate subject of an oppressive system is able to note their place within said system. Had this song been sung by a white man, or had Pink Floyd chosen not to utilize children in ABITW, neither song would have had legitimacy within their message and the cultural impact that they created.

Discussion Questions:

1: Do you believe legitimate social change can be sparked by a simple music video/song? Or are these artists, for all intents and purposes, screaming into a void?

2: Are there legitimate boundaries on who can point out social oppression or work to spread a specific message? Do you think social change is possible even when sparked by someone who is not directly affected?

3: With Damian arguing that the modern effects of Slavery are still being felt, and Floyd's obvious nods to Nazi-like ideologies, is it even possible for the effects of widespread oppression to be truly negated?

[xistential-thought]

BIPOC artists, writers, philosophers, and leaders to look up to for inspiration.

In recent years, I have been exposed to many influential artists, writers, philosophers, and leaders who are NOT cis-white straight men.

This is a list of people who I find inspiration from that are people of color. Many of the people I have included are also Queer (but not all) and the intersessions of their identities are at the forefront of their work. This is a continuous post and will be added as time permits. If anyone would like to add to this list feel free to send me a message and I can add them <3

Music/ Lyricists

Kendrick Lamar (B: Compton CA, 17 June 1987 – ): He is a rapper, poet, and songwriter. His works are reflections of life as a Black man growing up in LA and the social pressures that surround his community and identity. He is regarded as one of the most influential artists of our generation. His latest album

SZA (B: St. Louis MO, 8 November 1989-): SZA (Aka Solána Imani Rowe) is a black fem American singer and songwrtier. Her lyrics depict the soft and sometimes disheartening parts of love. As of 2/28/2023, her 2022 album SOS has been No. 1 on the Billboards 200 list for the last 10 weeks.

Kehlani

Artists

Mike "Dream" Francisco (B: ?- D: Oakland CA, 17 Feb. 2000) Dream was a Filipino American aerosol artist from the East Bay. He was one of the founders of a group of artists known as the TDK collective. His aerosol art was a reflection of the political and social movements of the 80s and 90s in the East Bay. His writing and calligraphy style was influenced by Hip-Hop books he would read. There are still preserved pieces of his work in East Oakland, Encinal High School in Alameda, and in part of the city ( San Fransisco). In honor of Dream's work, the city of Oakland created Dream day which is a celebration on Feb. 17th of each year.

Poets/ Writers

James Baldwin (B: Harlem NY, 2 August 1942 – D: Saint Paul de Vence France, 22 August 1987): He was an influential author and writer during the civil rights era. He worked side by side with leader with MLK, Malcomb X, Bobby Seale, and many other. He was a gay man who wrote critical pieces on America's treatment of its citizens.

Gloria Anzaldúa (B: Harlingen TX, 26 September 1942 – D: Santa Cruz CA, 15 May 2004): She was a queer Chicana woman who taught at UC Santa Cruz. She was a distinguished feminist poet and writer. Her most famous book, Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza (1987), talks about the intersections of being a queer first-generation Mexican-American woman in America. She officially coined the word Mestiza which historically was a word that most Latine folk previously used to describe their mixed ancestry, despite the creation of the word being used by Spanish colonialists. She taught generations of Latine and Chicano/a/e/x folks about the importance of reinventing identities and how to take back those identities to empower one another.

Ibram X. Kendi (B: Jamaica NY, New York 1982 –): Kendi wrote the book "How to Be an Antiracist" in 2019. He is a researcher and professor at Boston University.

Community Leaders

Huey P Newton (B: Monroe CA, 19 June 1942 – D: Oakland CA, 22 August 1989): He was the Co-founder of the Black Panther Party with Bobby Seale. Newton was an African American Political Revolutionary who helped create mutual aid and community support from within the Black Panters. He was assassinated in 1989 and is buried at the East Oakland cemetery next to the former private women's institution "Mills College".

Bobby Seale (B: Liberty TX, 22 Oct. 1936– ): He was the Co-founder of the Black Panther Party. Mr. Seale is an African American Political Revolutionary who created the party's 10-point program and helped to create massive reform within California and nationally with grass-roots community activism. He is also an engineer, a professor at Merrit college in Oakland, and still an active community activist.

[jjr1971]

Argument with an older white atheist on Facebook.

Apologies for this tangent away from cool anime discussion but if you've followed this Tumblr long enough you know I do sometimes dive into US politics, etc. because besides being an anime fan I'm also a news junkie, a librarian, and also an unabashed lefty. I'm also a secular humanist and an atheist and moreover lean towards anti-theism, e.g. the philosophical view that in the main religion does more harm than good in society. That said, I'm not always in agreement with some of my fellow atheists, especially other older white guys (and especially those of a more libertarian-ish bent of which there are far too goddamn many online ready to mansplain themselves to anyone in virtual earshot and who look at a civil servant like me as some kind of wannabe Jack Booted Government Thug {JBGT (tm) } . Anyway, I'm Facebook friends with one of these old codgers who uses an alias on Facebook and I think his main online identity is that of the "Atheist Camel", and he was having a moral panic attack over the singing of the so-called "Black National Anthem" and going right into a slippery slope argument (an assertion without evidence) of "oh god what next, the Jewish National Anthem? The Chicano National Anthem? The AAPI National Anthem?" Meanwhile I'm like DUDE....back the fuck up and calm down. The name of the song is "Lift Every Voice and Sing" and is a hymn with lyrics by James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938) and set to music by his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson (1873–1954). Written from the context of African Americans in the late 19th century, the hymn is a prayer of thanksgiving as well as a prayer for faithfulness and freedom, with imagery that evokes the biblical Exodus from slavery to the freedom of the "promised land." {per Wikipedia} {also per Wikipedia} After its first recitation in 1900, "Lift Every Voice and Sing" was communally sung within Black communities, while the NAACP began to promote the hymn as a "Negro national anthem" in 1917 (with the term "Black national anthem" similarly used in the present day) AND: {per Wikipedia} The use of the term "the Black national anthem" in reference to "Lift Every Voice and Sing" has been criticized. Timothy Askew, an associate professor at the historically Black Clark Atlanta University, argued that the use of the term "Black national anthem" could incorrectly implicate a desire of separatism by Black communities, that the lyrics of the hymn do not overtly refer to any specific race (which has inspired people to perform it outside African American communities), and "identity should be developed by the individual himself, not by a group of people who think they know what is best for you."[11] Some Conservative commentators have similarly criticized performances and references to "Lift Every Voice and Sing" as the "Black national anthem" as separatist and diminishing to "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the national anthem of the United States.[12][13]

SIDEBAR: Francis Scott Key owned slaves and his own views on the institution of slavery were nuanced but he ultimately wound up opposing abolition and felt black slaves should be returned to Africa instead. {again per Wikipedia} In response to Askew's remarks, the NAACP's then-senior vice president of advocacy and policy Hilary O. Shelton told CNN that the hymn "was adopted and welcomed by a very interracial group, and it speaks of hope in being full first-class citizens in our society", used in conjunction with the U.S. national anthem or the Pledge of Allegiance during public events, "It is evident in our actions as an organization and here in America it is evidence that we are about inclusion, not exclusion. To claim that we as African-Americans want to form a confederation or separate ourselves from white people because of one song is baffling to me."[11] I posted a link to this full article referenced above on Atheist Camel's Facebook post's comment section and told him to go read it before going off half-cocked like that. He berated me as an idiot with nothing useful to say. I replied that if he refused to actually read the article and have a rational discussion then I had to reluctantly agree (that I had nothing useful to say). He didn't care about truth, he cared about being mad and being "right", in his own mind. He got defensive and said he wasn't a right-winger or a FOX News Viewer...which immediately brought this little scene to my mind as a reply.... You will be. YOU WILL BE.