You’ve heard about them, I’m sure. Special interest groups who think it’s fine to disrupt the everyday routines of ordinary people so that they (the special interest people, that is) can promote their own agenda. Shutting down major roads, blocking traffic, getting large crowds of people to yell in the streets for hours on end […]
Fifty shades of red
The more I read about the Rachel Dolezal story, the angrier I get. But not at her. Because, as I mentioned before, none of us know enough to say with any certainty who or what she “really” is. Race isn’t that simple. Identity isn’t that simple. Yet all sorts of people — too many to […]
Fifty shades of black
I don’t know the truth about Rachel Dolezal or her heritage. And neither do you. Yet an awful lot of people seem quite confident — even as they acknowledge the slipperiness of racial identity and/or the artificiality of race itself — that they know she’s really white. Maybe they’re right. Maybe. But the swiftness with […]
2015 ACS Institute: updates, Early Bird registration deadline approaching
Register now to secure a spot at the 2015 ACS Institute! This is a reminder that early-bird registration for the third Association for Cultural Studies Institute ends on the 30th of July 2015. The Institute will be held from 7-12 December 2015 at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa. The theme […]
Good books come to those who wait for price drops
A few months back, I pointed out the outrageous price being charged on Amazon for a “gently used” copy of Stuart Hall’s book, The Hard Road to Renewal. Much as I wanted to (re)add this volume to my library, $3000+ was more than I was willing to pay. A lot more. Patience is a virtue, […]
You know you’re a regular somewhere . . .
. . . when you leave town for a month, and the bartenders/servers at your home away from home make it clear that they missed having you around to abuse.
Moving time? [Rerun Sunday]
Once again, as happens every year about this time, the calendar has rolled over to February. Once again, as happens every year about this time, some people (usually, though not always, people of color) start doing things to commemorate Black History Month. And, once again, as happens every year about this time, skeptical souls start […]
Baghmore? Baltidad?
“While no one condones looting, on the other hand, one can understand the pent-up feelings that may result from decades of repression and people who have had members of their family killed by that regime, for them to be taking their feelings out on that regime,” he said. “And I don’t think there’s anyone in […]
A long overdue separation [Rerun Sunday]
I got an email from the nice folks at Mitsubishi Motors today about “Important Windshield Wiper Tips.” I appreciate that Mitsubishi wants to keep me safe on the roads. Honest, I do. Though I’m not sure that they need to send me a special email full of tips to make this happen . . . […]
Push off [Rerun Sunday]
[I’ve already forgotten where I first read this tip — and since my efforts to backtrack to it by googling around are only helping me find dozens of seemingly independent versions of the same advice, I’m not going to worry as much as I might about a hat-tip the “original” source here. I send apologies […]