0 Vic Mensa - Orange Soda (music video)

Showing a little love to one of Chicago's own, and a Hyde Parker, Vic Mensa.  The name should sound familiar to you since Vic was the flow on Kids These Days and featured on Chance the Rapper's Acid Rap mixtape that damn-near everyone has been raving about. ...

0 What We're Reading Today (5-29-13)

Cubs-White Sox are on TV and a thunderstorm is gonna roll in tonight before Chicago has some real summer heat without the wretched mugginess.  Jay and I are taking someone to task on Facebook.  Jameelah is looking for a book to read in the summer and YOU are probably wondering what is on the internet today for your edification!  We got you covered. John Hope Franklin: Apologies aren't enough - Indyweek olufunke moses Selling Food Stamps for Kids' Shoes - ColorLines Seth Freed Wessler Will and Jaden Smith Give Fucking Insane Interview About Patterns - Gawker Caity Weaver Notes on Elevating the Conversation about African-American...

0 What We're Reading Today (5-27-13)

First and foremost, we would like to recognize the contribution of those for whom Memorial Day exists.  We would have said "Thanks" but my buddy who is a Marine, Vijay, said that is one of the most difficult things to say to someone who has served and he wished people wouldn't say thank you as much as they would just recognize his service. Global War on Terror, R.I.P. - The Nation Bob Dreyfuss The AP's Privacy, and Ours - The Nation David Cole The Secret Donors Behind the Center for American Progress and Other Think Tanks - The Nation Ken Silverstein Letter to 'The Nation' From a Young Radical - The Nation Bhaskar Sunkara College Grads...

0 What We're Reading Today (5-26-13)

California Will Be Spared the Obamacare Apocalypse - The New Republic Jonathan Cohn Jerry Brown's Political Reboot - The Atlantic James Fallows The Rise and Fall of Charm in American Men - The Atlantic Benjamin Schwarz What Commencement Speeches Leave Out - The Atlantic Andrew Guthrie Ferguson What 'Fast & Furious 6' Could Teach 'Star Trek Into Darkness' About Half-Naked Women - Slash Film Angie Han Kanye West Stands Alone - NPR Frannie Kelley No More Excuses?: The Myth of Black Uplift - NewBlackMan (in Exile) David J. Leonard Why the New York Yankees and Man City Are Buying Into US Soccer - Time Bill Saporito Who Will Survive in...

0 What We're Reading Today (5-25-13): Champion's League Final Edition

I should be at my friend's graduation party right now but the Champions League final already started so that's that. In the early minutes, I found a few links that might add a little color to your viewing (because, you know, you should be watching it).  Hat-tip to my buddy, Victor, for hooking me up with the Klopp article on Dortmund.  Sam didn't do the same for Bayern so I guess these links will have a little Dortmund slant. I'm still reeling over Real's loss but the news that Real will likely (hopefully) pull Bale over the summer is huge (especially considering how Barça are so close to signing Neymar). Jurgen Klopp rallies neutrals...

0 What We're Reading Today (5-21-13)

Now that I'm back in Chicago, I should be able to update more often but no promises.  I have to read a book for TFA and get my butt in shape!  Before continuing to the list of links below, take a minute to check out my buddy, Fred's, Crowd Tilt page as he tries to bike across America.  Seriously, Fred is spending his summer before he starts revolutionizing our lives in Palo Alto doing a major service project so have a peek at what he is up to! Baccalaureate Student Address - Tufts Now Kristen Ford Life Lessons in Fighting the Culture of Bullshit - The Atlantic Jon Lovett The Earth-Shatteringly...

0 What We're Reading Today: (5-15-13)

Hump day news round up and some tunes to jam to:  Top Brazilian court rules that there is no legal reason to deny same sex couples marriage licenses, Agence France-Presse, The Raw Story Activists protest possible sale of the Los Angeles Times to the Koch brothers, Rory Carroll, The Guardian On Wayne Brady’s Rebuking of Bill Maher,Arturo R. García, Racialicious.com Obama's dangerous new narrative, , Alexander Burns and John F. Harris 'White Girls Club' Is Neither Cool Nor Clever, Helena Andrews, TheRoot.com Op-ed: Human Sexuality Is More Than Gay And Straight, R.J. Aguiar, TheAdvocate.com Now...

0 What We're Reading Today: (5-13-13)

Been a nice weekend here in the Hub, here's some news that's been bubbling: Map Shows How Racist Twitter Really Is by Evette Dionne, Clutch  The Rise of Beyoncé, The Fall of Lauryn Hill: A Tale of Two Icons, Janell Hobson, FeministWire.com  The Great Gatsby Movie Needed to Be More Gay, , Noah Berlatsky, The Atlantic  Can A White Guy Represent For His People?, Channing Kennedy, CodeSwitch, NPR 'Seeking Asian Female' Takes A Close Look At A Fetish, Kat Chow, CodeSwitch, NPR also Kendrick Lamar's B*tch Don't Kill My Vibe [Explicit] video ...

0 What We're Reading Today: Finals Distraction Early Morning Edition (5-10-13)

Check up on it, more thought provoking news and music musings as we awake on the last day of finals: No More Fake News, Luke O'Neil, New Republic How labels like 'black' and 'working class' shape your identity, Adam Alter, The Week Proof that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Had Assimilated? He Spoke Black, John McWhorter, The New RepublicOn Behalf Of [BLANK] People Everywhere ... Gene Demby, NPR Hip-hop’s infatuation with Assata Shakur: It’s complicated,  Chuck 'Jigsaw' Creekmur, The Grio Shonda Rhimes on TV’s Lack of Diversity: ‘I Think It’s Sad, and Weird, and Strange’, Jamilah King, Colorlines Images of a Scarred Chicago,...

0 What We're Reading Today (5-9-13)

So close to being done with my undergraduate career -- had to clear the tabs again. The Ghetto is Public Policy (May 9, 2013) - The Atlantic Ta-Nehisi Coates Social Power and the Central Park Five - The Atlantic Ta-Nehisi Coates A Good Reason to Leave New York - The Atlantic Ta-Nehisi Coates The Last Empire? - The Nation Tom Englehardt Infographic: Is Your State's Highest-Paid Employee a Coach? - Deadspin Reuben Fischer-Baum The End of Hands-Off Hillary - Politico Glenn Thrush and Maggie Haberman Draft Farm Bill aids pork, beef lobbies - Politico David Rodgers Thoreau's Radicalism and the Fight Against the Fossil-Fuel Industry - The Nation Wen...

0 What We're Reading Today: Finals Distraction Wee Hours Edition (5-9-13)

So, I have another 20 page paper due on Friday at 5pm. I'm reading, watching, and listening to these things instead.  Read: Census: Black Voting Surpassed White In 2012, Matt Stiles, NPR The Surprising Sartorial Culture Of Congolese 'Sapeurs', Angela Evancie, NPR Where’s the fund for these victims?:  Margery Eagan, The Boston Herald An Open Letter From Assata, Assata Shakur, Revolutionary Frontlines [MUST READ] OMG. The Great SOCIAL MEDIA IMPLOSION of 2013, ChartGirl Escorting Stacey, Josh Ryley Listen: Franke Leone – It’s Love, first heard: FakeShoreDrive Kendrick Lamar- Bitch Don't Kill...

0 What We're Reading Today: Finals Distraction Morning Edition (5-8-13)

Instead of the pressing 15-pager due in 5 hours, I've been reading the news and watching music videos for the last 2 hours.  Are We Laughing With Charles Ramsey? -Gene Demby, National Public Radio What Charles Ramsey and Amanda Berry Knew - Amy Davidson,The New Yorker A Look at African-American Trans Trailblazers -Monica Roberts, aka the TransGriot, Essence Suicide By Cop -David von Ebers This Week in Blackness The Defamation and Assassination of Ms. Lauryn Hill -Eco.Soul.International, rippdemup.com Obama Administration Rejects Science in Morning-After Pill Appeal -Chloe Angyal, MSNBC A Black Jockey At The Kentucky...

0 Terror in America: A Suite in Black and Brown

            On April 15, 2013, just after 3pm, getting home from a lazy day in the dining hall, I was 9 years old again and it was the second day of school. Early September of 2001, I had just moved out of my Los Angeles suburb and was commuting two hours to school every morning. California traffic satiated by colorful conversations over spelling word with my mommy. It was the terror in my mother’s face as her mother calls her before western sunrise. My mother turns on the radio, for the first time. The red Ford Explorer which had carried us from Baldwin Hills to Pasadena to the Valley to Church and beyond...

0 What We're Reading Today: Finals Distraction Edition (5-7-13)

What We're Reading Today: Finals Distraction Edition. We know you need an excuse to not do your work and Facebook just isn't cutting it. When you're done reading you should list to The Great Gatsby Soundtrack because it is quite literally everything you want and need... and then some. Stop ‘Rescuing’ African Children Through Corrupt Adoptions Tarikuwa Lemma; Clutch Magazine Dear Glenn Beck: NRA gun, confederate lore have nothing in common with King Blair L.M. Kelley; TheRoot.com Despite Apologies from Racist Frat, UC Irvine Black Students Stick to Demands Omar Rick; Feminist Wire Another Flat-Earth Argument About Immigration’s...

1 STUDY FINDS: Loewenstein, Roy - He has "Hella" Facebook Likes

In an informal study, Snakes on McCain has found that Roy Loewenstein has had a drastic improvement to his number of Facebook "likes" for his profile pictures since late 2011.  You can click to expand the picture. We are calling this the "Santa phenomenon"due to the meteoric rise to the sharp increase in number of Facebook "likes" since Roy posted the famous "Dappin' up Santa" photo (found below). Likes Year 1 5 2007 2 0 2008 3 1 2008 4 0 2008 5 0 2008 6 0 2009 7 0 2009 8 36 2009 9 5 2009 10 6 2010 11 4 ...

0 A Bunch of Reviews About Chance the Rapper's Acid Rap (Stream)

I have been listening to this mixtape incessantly for the past 24 hours.  I had it playing in the library.  Listened to it on my way home.  Put it on at the pregame and then found the music at the party I went to and changed it to this.  I'm tossing up a bunch of reviews that endorse what I had ot say about the album.  This is so. damn. good. Mixtape review: Chance the Rapper's stellar, infinite 'Acid Rap' - LA Times Randall Roberts Chance the Rapper Talks The Chicago Scene & His "Acid Rap" Mixtape - Hip Hop DX Dan Rys Q&A: Chance the Rapper Talks 'Acid Rap' Mixtape, LSD Trips and Working With Skrillex and...

0 What We're Reading Today (5-3-13)

I have accumulated too many tabs because I keep opening links but not reading them because of finals.  Ugh.  This is terrible.  So I'm basically just dumping all these links onto this post from the past week.  Enjoy!  Honestly, I haven't even read most of these yet.  WOMP.  THIS IS NOT HOW SENIOR YEAR IS SUPPOSED TO BE. How the Media Have Misunderstood Dzhokar Tsarnaev's Miranda Rights - The Atlantic Adam Goodman Who is Defending Austerity Now? - The Atlantic Matthew O'Brien Hey, White Liberals: A Word on the Boston Bombings, The Suffering of White Children, And The Erosion of Empathy - Black...