Lost Parkway

I’m lost – have they really closed the Parkway Speakeasy? Via Facebook I learned that some of my friends had joined the Save the Speakeasy group. I rarely join groups on Facebook, but this one was a no-brainer. I joined, only to find an image of a poster announcing their last night on Mar 22nd 09.

Even the closure of Stacey’s didn’t hit me like this. The Parkway Speakeasy was something else, not just a cheap movie theater with food and wine, but great vibes, a quintessential Oakland crowd (in it’s variety and unpretentious but hardcore taste) and of course the exceptionally silly, giggle-inducing preview videos from the owners before every show – it made me gloriously happy to just walk in.

I’m truly devastated. I might even use twitter to mourn with those who are in the same hole as me.

Smashcast hits Jetset Show

Just watch it – make sure you’re plugged in and/or wait for the show to download once. I’m very sorry for some of the girls comments on ‘why such few girls in Smashcast’. We’ll see if we can’t prepare a podcast on this at our next session. But cheers all in all. Just that moment with Vincent talking about downloading audacity, open source software etc. takes us miles ahead in breaking those dastardely stereotypes. Cameo by Moi. I had said ‘no’ to their videotaping me at the conference, figured it should be all about the Smashcasters. The cameo’s from some clever interjection of still photographs into the video. Permalink to show.

Hard out there …

Blackprof.com blogger Paul Butler talks about two articles in the Washington Post on “Hustle n Flow” – a black article and a white article.

The white article (front page of the Style section), by Philip Kennicott, begins hilariously:

“At dinner, say a month from now, perhaps it will be your very unhip great aunt who says it. Someone skimps her on dessert, so she looks plaintively down the table, waits for a moment of silence and then delivers the line — ‘It’s hard out here for a pimp.’ “

The other day, Boondocks had this to say (thanks Eric!)

Differing Realities

On another work-related project, I spent last Saturday interviewing amazing students for our Summer Math and Science Honors Academy for students of color. These students were inspiring. Not only are they smart, dying to get off the streets or couch and study over the summer – many live hard lives that they simply take for granted.

Not all will get in, and it breaks my heart.

Instead, I have to read articles such as the recent one in the Wall Street Journal. It straight-facedly describes “bought” community service sessions for rich kids -

‘work in a village in vietnam’ for 2 weeks, snorkel off the coast for four: 5000 dollars; college applications look good with ‘community service’ on those resumes: priceless.

And if that wasn’t wierd enough, the article slips out one-liners that lament the case of the student (whose parents can afford afore-mentioned application booster) who has to look for that little extra something since those ‘lucky’ students of color have affirmative action – or whatever remains of it.

So would the wall street journal students exchange their life with one of the students I interviewed? Here’s what Chris Rock has to say:

There ain’t no white man in this room that will change places with me – and I’m rich. That’s how good it is to be white. There’s a one-legged busboy in here right now that’s going: “I don’t want to change. I’m gonna ride this white thing out and see where it takes me.”

And the movie version: go watch Crazy/Beautiful. Carlos gets on a bus for 2 hours to get to the school from which Amy can’t wait to cut class. They fall in love. But that romance trajectory is full of moments that make you squirm. Amy just completely misses the reality and limited set of choices that make up Carlos’ life. The movie’s got its problems, but it sure makes the point of the yawning gap and completely different starting assumptions of the two worlds.