Bhangratheque!

If you're still in the city this week, work off that post-Thanksgiving turkey at Bhangrafest!

Post Secret

I've been thinking a lot about who I am, why I do the things I do, why I feel the way I feel and it left me in a pretty depressed mood. If I could have that operation done in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" I would and just start removing all the memories I have that I replay over and over and over again that put me in such a bad mood. Maybe its SAD (what an ironic acronym) now that the weather has turned wintery. I had all of this in mind when I stumbled upon Post Secret. Most of you may already know about this, but Post Secret is a website where people mail in postcards they've altered to reveal their deepest, darkest secrets.

Fair warning: while some of them can be extremely life-affirming, there are others that are just super depressing and makes you think about how much pain people inflict on themselves and others. Here are a few that especially spoke to me today...


This one made me think of my boyfriend, and how he continues to love me despite my best efforts to push him away.


This one made me think of my best friend Cassie, and a story she used to tell us about how she put earthworms in her pockets during recess when she was a kid. She still has the sweetest heart and I love her so much for it.


It must be great to have such an unshakable faith in a higher being... it must make life at least somewhat easier.


I'm sure plenty of people (myself included) do this...

Now I'm off to get diner food with my boyfriend and watch a movie I hope will lift me out of this funk I'm in.

Pop Art, Kanye West

I didn't think it was possible...but this video made me like Kanye West even more.

Precious

I need something to wipe the bitter taste of sour grapes Nader (saying Obama could either be an Uncle Sam or Uncle Tom for this country), possible arson involved in a black church burning down in Springfield, MA hours after the historic election, and a press release announcing Westboro Baptist Church's plans to picket President-Elect Obama's grandmother's funeral. And if you didn't know any of this before reading that previous sentence, you probably will to.

My offering:



This article in the New York Times.

'I will tell my children of this day, and they will pass it on from generation to generation and know about the first black president,' [10-year-old Torin Wlson] wrote in his essay. 'And I know that he will certainly not be the last.”

In the Mood for Love..At the Obama Rally

While it was impossible to find my boyfriend and close friends among the throngs of people at Grant Park last night, some people were able to find their next potential mate for a few fleeting moments before the crowd swallowed them up. That's where Missed Connections comes in. Missed Connections is a forum on Craigslist where people can post descriptions of people they had brief, yet chemistry filled encounters with in the hopes that person will stumble upon it and contact them.

My friend and facial hair enthusiast posted a pretty good one this morning and it got me the thinking: how many people put up Missed Connections from the Obama Rally? The results are hilarious. My favorites?


Petite Woman with Huge Chest at Obama Rally - m4w - 32
Asked for a cigarette when Obama won - m4m - 35
MC at Obama Rally - "There's another state I'm not going to" - w4m - 28
to the trio of girls at Grant Park who took me to a bar, then left - m4w - 23
Rally Photographer, all in black, dapper hat and brass cuff buttons - w4m

Obama brings so many people together!

Pictures from the Rally

I'm so glad I got to be a part of the rally. The magnitude of Obama's election didn't fully hit me until I saw Jesse Jackson cry, saw people dancing in Kenya, spoke to my father about how family in Nigeria called and congratulated him as if he had won, and did a quick review of civil rights history unmarred by talking heads' analysis. Being of my generation where a lot of the groundwork has already been done to become whatever I want to be, it's easy to forget or gloss over how far African-Americans and women have come. I had a "post-race" view of the election; of course Obama would win—he was the best man for the job despite the racially driven anxiety and attacks right wing voters.

But man... he has broken a tremendous glass ceiling for African-Americans. He had the weight of an ugly history on his shoulders, and is toting it along with acknowledgment of its presence but a confidence that it can be shaken off, allowing for a united America.

Enough with my ramblings. Click here for a slideshow sampling of the pictures I took:

The Time For Healing Has Begun

I was at Grant Park with thousands of other Chicagoans watching the polls roll in as America rallied and elected our next president of the United States, Barack Obama. My heart swelled about 3x its size. my face hurts from smiling so hard. I felt the presence of history tonight and I am both excited and scared to see what the next 4 years hold for us. I hope Obama's message resonates across the nation: we are Americans not red Americans or blue Americans, not black, brown, yellow, or white Americans.

I'm going to go to bed, but here are some images from Jezebel to look at before I show you some of the pictures I took while there.

It's Really All Quite Simple

It's Election Day: exercise your right to vote.