http://artspolitics.today.com Just another Today.com weblog Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:39:22 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I admit I didn't like Conan at first. When he took over Late Night from David Letterman in '93, I didn't understand why this pale man I never heard of got this show. However, watching his show one night in the summer of '97, I finally got it, with the hilarious bits ... http://artspolitics.today.com/2009/09/25/why-i-love-conan-o-brien/ I've been on Al Gore's side since he was cheated in 2000. If he says something is true, I believe it because he believes in something the last "president'' didn't- science. When he said global warming is real, I believed him and bought reusable grocery bags because he had Powerpoint presentations full ... http://artspolitics.today.com/2009/09/23/what-im-reading-now-the-assault-on-reason-by-al-gore/  My new guilty pleasure show is Eddie Griffin's new VH1 reality show, Going For Broke. In the show, Griffin is literally going broke- he spends far more than he makes and the premise of the show is about his economic hardships. No, he's not applying for food stamps or in line ... http://artspolitics.today.com/2009/09/22/does-money-make-black-celebrities-crazy/ I love Lifetime's preachy, feel-good shows, from Strong Medicine to Any Day Now. You can have your Mad Men, Rescue Me and all your critically acclaimed white-male shows. Give me women hugging and tackling issues. The latest Lifetime drama, Drop Dead Diva, is another feel-good show about a plus-size lawyer, ... http://artspolitics.today.com/2009/09/21/new-show-i-love-drop-dead-diva/ I love sitcoms. I watch so much sad news, so sitcoms are the perfect pick-me-up after  hearing about all the murder and mayhem . However, the sitcoms on the air today don't feature many people who look like me. I love 30 Rock and The Office and I hope they ... http://artspolitics.today.com/2009/09/18/where-have-all-the-black-sitcoms-gone/ When I read the blurb on the back of this book, I was hooked immediately. Two teenagers, Emily Gold and Chris Harte, had a suicide pact, but only Emily died.  They were supposed to shoot each other, but Chris's fingerprints are on the gun, and Chris is wounded, but survived. ... http://artspolitics.today.com/2009/09/17/what-im-reading-now-the-pact-by-jodi-picoult/ These are just some of my favorite songs of summer 2009. 1. ''1901'' by Phoenix. This song is so dance-y. The smooth bassline alone from this French "electro-pop'' band makes this such a fun, summery song. 2. Any song from Music for Men from the Gossip. From the blues-rock of " Dimestore Diamond'' ... http://artspolitics.today.com/2009/09/16/songs-of-summer-2009/  Yes, Kanye West was a jerk for cutting off Taylor Swift for winning whatever she won a VMA for, but his and Serena's ( wrong) tirades point out a big problem in our society: the problem with black anger. Whites tolerated the non-violent protests of Martin Luther King, but were terrified of Huey ... http://artspolitics.today.com/2009/09/15/the-problem-with-black-anger/ I've had a love-hate relationship with Oasis since I heard " Live Forever'' on the radio in 1995. I loved the song, but I hated hearing Liam Gallagher, the lead singer, or Noel Gallagher, the guitarist-songwriter, talk. No, I didn't hate their thick Northern England accents that required subtitles when ... http://artspolitics.today.com/2009/08/30/why-i-love-oasis/ I've suffered a lot because I'm quiet. Ironically, as a librarian, I'm told I'm too quiet. Really? In loud, rambunctious, surround sound America, quiet is bad. Quiet is weird. Quiet is serial killer material. Not all quiet people are serial killers. Being quiet isn't always bad. Some people are like Karen O and ... http://artspolitics.today.com/2009/08/29/in-praise-of-quiet/