I Agree!

I read comedian Michael Che's recent comment that Boston is the most racist city in America and I can say from my own experience in Boston years ago that I agree. After I was called a word I won't repeat here that starts with n and ends in r during a visit a potential college in Boston, I vowed never to spend my money in that place again. I've been back to Boston two times since then, but I went for work and I didn't drop my own dime to spend time in that place.

In other "I agree" news, I read about a woman whose children were forced to change their clothing before a United flight because the leggings the kids had on didn't comply with the airline's dress code for individuals flying on the kind of special tickets the family had. Hey, if an airline has comped you tickets or is allowing you to fly at a ridiculously low rate, I think you can comply with their dress code policy by putting on a pair of "real" pants. (And, no, leggings aren't "real" pants.)

Road Trip

I'm back home from a quick road trip to Detroit. One of the few nice things about living in Illinois is that I'm able to get to Michigan quickly if necessary and I'll probably have to return in another week or so due to family issues. The trip this weekend was nice because the weather was great Friday for the drive from Chicago and temps were in the 70s in Michigan when I got there. Of course it rained Saturday and on the way back home Sunday and temps weren't as warm, but at least there was no snow. Once again, a trip to Michigan prompted me to think about seriously going back to the mitten state, but I'm just not ready to make a move like that right now. Frankly, I'm tired of moving. I've moved from Michigan to Pennsylvania, then to New Jersey, then to New York, and then to Illinois within the last fifteen or so years. That's a lot of moving! But who knows what the future will bring.

Hair Net

I went to McDonald's this morning on my way to work and noticed that no one seemed to be wearing a head covering of any kind (hat, hair net, whatever). I was particularly concerned about the guy cooking the food in the back who had long braids. Aren't food service workers, particularly those who do the cooking and prep work, supposed to have their heads covered? I seem to recall having to wear a hair net or a hat when I worked at Burger King when I was in high school many moons ago. Have things changed? I don't think so. I think people are just ignoring the rules and cooking food without head coverings. This seems unsanitary probably because it IS unsanitary. Hair nets or hats are needed for food service workers. I don't want to bite into my Egg McMuffin and get a mouthful of hair (real or synthetic). Gross.

Stacey Kent

I went to see singer Stacey Kent perform last night at Evanston's SPACE and the show was great. I enjoy Kent's music so having the opportunity to see her live was really a treat. Her singing was wonderful and her band was tight. If you like jazz and Brazilian music, I highly recommend checking her out if she comes to your town.

Failing Pile of Garbage

A few months ago, Donny T. referred to Buzzfeed as a "failing pile of garbage." I found this description hilarious mainly because it was raised so many ridiculous questions for me. If a pile of garbage is failing, is there a way for it to be successful also? What causes failure in a pile of garbage? How, exactly, does one determine failure or success in a pile of garbage? I've been waiting for an opportunity to use this description and that time has, thankfully, come. The current administration headed by Donny T. and the Funky Bunch (TM) are our national failing pile of garbage. They're also the tire fire that won't go out, the fungus that won't stop growing, and a whole host of other unpleasant things. I've said it before and I'll say it again. If this governmental administration was popping off like this in another country, I'd find it amusing, but the fact that it's my own government isn't funny at all. It's pathetic. Donny T. behaving like a spoiled child with world leaders, his minions lying and tap dancing to back up his bullshit, the bigots and conspiracy theorists within the administration, the sheer ridiculousness of everything coming out of Washington, DC these days all just make me shake my head and roll my eyes. We get the government we deserve but, damn, do we really deserve this?

She Kidnapped Herself, Man!

When I heard about Donny T.'s 10-year-old tax returns being made public and the controversy surrounding who, exactly, provided this document to the press (Donny T. is the main suspect), all I could think about was The Big Lebowski. When Lebowski's trophy wife, Bunny goes missing and has supposedly been kidnapped, the Dude eventually speculates (rightly so, I might add) that Bunny wasn't missing at all and that she "kidnapped herself." I don't believe that some unknown person or persons provided the media with Donny T.'s 2005 tax returns. I do believe he (via his minions) dumped the tax document on the press to try and deflect from other problems in the administration and, more importantly, to make it look like Donny T. is an upstanding guy who pays a lot of taxes. And, the press took the bait and got hosed in the aftermath. When will these folks get smart and stop being gaslighted? They seem to know they're being gaslighted, yet they still fall for it. The 24-hour news stations are the worst. Hours upon hours of analysis over tweets and other such nonsense. I guess it helps their ratings, but it sure seems like a waste of time.

Classic Rock and Snowzilla

I was listening to one of the many local classic rock stations in Chicago and David Bowie's "Let's Dance" came on. I don't think of "Let's Dance" as a classic rock song. When I think of classic rock, I think of songs like "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin or "Light My Fire" The Doors, not Bowie's "Let's Dance." But, as my sister reminded me, it's been more than 30 years since "Let's Dance" came out, so I guess it does qualify as classic rock now. Wow! I feel old. I AM old.

For my friends on the East Coast, good luck handling tomorrow's Snowzilla. Get your milk and eggs before you head home and hunker down for the night.

British Invasion

The BBC video of the South Korean expert, Robert Kelly, discussing the recent political turmoil in the country with a BBC reporter via Skype who is interrupted by the arrival of his two young children is hilarious. The viral clip provided a welcome laugh to me and many others and a welcome break from the usual vitriol of the internet. Check it out if you haven't already.

In other British-related news, I read comments this week made by Samuel L. Jackson about British black actors taking roles of African Americans. Jackson faced backlash for his comments, but I think he was on point about this. So many movies it seems lately have British or non-American blacks playing American blacks. The latest is Get Out that has a British black actor playing the lead role. Others are Ruth Negga who played Mildred Loving in the recent movie Loving. Negga is a biracial woman of Irish and Ethopian descent. Selma featured a black British actor in the lead role as Martin Luther King, Jr., Twelve Years a Slave had a whole host of non-Americans (black and white) in feature roles (although the director himself is also a black Brit, so that may be why he chose to go with a largely European cast there). My feeling is that the directors and whomever backs these films financially just prefer to work with blacks who are European or just not American because they're cheaper to hire and because they think a foreign black person is a step above a black American. It's not just black Americans who are losing roles to foreign actors, it's white Americans also. There are plenty of white actors who adopt an American accent and ride it to stardom. Tom Hiddleston as Hank Williams? Charlie Hunnan in Sons of Anarchy? Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl? Seriously, were no American actors qualified for these roles? I'm not saying actors should just play roles in their native country. I'm saying we need to recognize that American actors are losing roles to non-Americans and this is not a figment of Samuel Jackson's imagination. I'm glad to see actors of all shades working, particularly minority actors, but charity starts at home and these Hollywood directors and producers need to maybe take a look at the theater grad from the University of Michigan rather than the Royal Shakespeare Company. Charity begins at home.

I remember being in a flight to Detroit and I was seated in the aisle seat of three-seat row. In the middle was a white woman, and a black guy with some kind of skin condition was seated at the window. The white woman in the middle didn't seem at all pleased to be seated between me and the skin guy until he opened his mouth to speak to her and his British accent came out. Then she and the guy chatted away during the flight and became best friends. Would this have happened if he'd been a plain old black guy from Detroit? Not bloody likely!

Two Nickels

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about moving (again) mainly because the location of my day job might be shutting down and all of us who work there may be forced to have alternate accommodations. No decisions have been made yet, but there's a possibility that I could be asked to go back to the East Coast. When I think about making a cross-country move again, the thought is not appealing. I do miss living on the East Coast for a variety of reasons, but I also don't miss it for a variety of reasons, mainly that the cost of living is too high. Even though I have serious issues with Illinois, at least I feel like I could get by out here on a lot less. I could rub two nickels together and make it work. (Well, maybe more than two, but you know what I mean.) In New York, that ain't possible. When I started this blog, I lived in Brooklyn (hence the URL "Detroiter in Brooklyn") but I haven't lived there for over three years now. However, if I moved back, the title would, once again, be accurate.

Finished (Finally)!

So I finally finished the book I'd been working on and the title is Fluidity. My working title had been Fall Back, but I decided to go with Fluidity in the end. It should be out in May and published by JMS Books. More details to come. It's a relief to have the book done. I struggled with this book for a variety of reasons (illness, I was working on something else that I ditched after 100+ pages, my own laziness, etc.). I am happy with the final product and I hope readers enjoy it as well. Once I have a cover and more information, I'll do some blog posts about the plot.

HBCUs WTF?

I've been meaning to do a blog post about the HBCU (that's Historically Black Colleges and Universities for those not in the know) presidents and their recent visit to see Donny T and the Funky Bunch (TM) at the White House recently. Atco Kellyanne showed her lack of home training (no surprise there) but what amazed me was that the HBCU presidents didn't realize that they'd been summoned for Negro Day Part Trois for a mere photo opp. They really thought they were going to be able to have "listening session" or whatever with Donny T, but they got hosed and used for publicity instead. They should have known not waste their time in making the trek to the White House. In other HBCU news, someone should tell Betsy Bell Biv DeVos (I wish I could claim credit for that one, but I can't--I read it on the internet), that HBCUs weren't schools of choice. They were schools of NO choice. Segregation forced the creation of HBCUs. There was no "choice." And this is the woman who is Secretary of Education. As Donny would say, "Sad!"