tuckergurl

Proof That I am A 15 Year Old Girl Trapped in a 28 Year Old Woman's Body

1. I want to see The Notebook, really, really badly.
2. I really like the new Ashlee Simpson song. A lot.
3. I am upset that Hillary Duff left Lizzie McGuire because that was a really good show.
4. I see bad movies because I think the lead guy is really cute. (See #1 -- Ryan Gosling is going to blow up by the way.)
5. I can't understand why people, mainly me, have to work for money instead of getting permanent allowances with increases for good behavior.
6. I can't wait for The O.C. to come back on and think that though the guys on North Shore are really hot (especially the multi-culti bartender), it is a poor substitute.
7. I think Law and Order, CSI and especially The West Wing are just too serious for me.
8. I can listen to a song 100 times and not get sick of it.
9. I can like a guy for a really long time and not tell him a thing about it.
10. I am making this lame list.

Note: I really want to create links for a lot of these things but I came to the ephiphany that what has kept me from posting for the past few days was just the thought of having to find all of the urls for the things that I reference. So, if I know it off the top of my head, then I list it but if not ... well, google isn't a multi-billion dollar company for nothing.

New York's Death Penalty Invalidated

Check out the news from New York Newsday. I have to admit it took me a few reads to get it:

"ALBANY, N.Y. -- The state Court of Appeals has overturned the death sentence of Stephen LaValle and, in the process, has invalidated the state's death penalty.

The court, in a 4-3 decision, ruled that the law's deadlock instruction violates the state constitution. The law requires juries to be told that if they cannot unanimously agree on a sentence of death or life without parole, the defendant will receive a sentence that includes the possibility of parole. The court said that instruction could coerce jurors into imposing a death sentence they felt was inappropriate to prevent the defendant from ever being freed.

Until the state legislature fixes this instruction, the court said the death penalty may not be imposed. The decision did not address the fate of the remaining three men on Death Row -- Robert Shulman and Nicholson McCoy from Suffolk and John Taylor from Queens -- but legal observers said they expect those death sentences to be thrown out, as well.

LaValle was convicted of first-degree murder in 1999 for the death of teacher Cynthia Quinn, who was killed on May 31, 1997 in Yaphank as she was jogging."

A moratorium is closer and closer every day!

I Want Barack Obama To Win Like The Next Person But ...

... even I think that The Chicago Tribune went a bit too far by allegedly getting a judge to unseal Jack Ryan's divorce records. I mean, Ryan wasn't my favorite candidate but Obama makes a good point in this article by saying, "I think our politics has gotten so personalized and cutthroat that it's very difficult for people to want to get in the business." I think the lesson to be learned here is resting on your pedigree to get you elected, when you have no real experience, probably isn't a good idea. Once all of the rumors started spreading, Ryan hadn't established enough of a base to have his back. I don't know what went down in Jack Ryan's marriage but I never wanted to. It will be interesting to see who the Republican Party digs up. That poor guy. He doesn't stand a chance.

Learn what the hell I'm talking about here.

duh!!!!

This was on IMDB today. It was the big news story of the day. I don't have much else to say about it other than if this comes as a shock to you, I am willing to talk to each of you personally about the secrets of black women and our hair (both real and fake). Clearly many people need a seminar.

Knowles 'Wears a Wig'

The secret of sexy singer Beyonce Knowles' immaculate hair has been revealed - she reportedly wears a wig. The Crazy In Love star is always perfectly coiffured, and sometimes dons a hairpiece when she's having a bad hair day. A friend tells British newspaper the Daily Sport, "She wears one sometimes because she has really thick Afro-Caribbean hair and she just can't manage it that well all the time. If there's an option to get better-looking hair then why not? I'm just not sure if she wanted the world to know."

Affirmative Action Blues

An excerpt from an article in yesterday's New York Times entitled: "Top Colleges Take More Blacks, but Which Ones?"

"While about 8 percent, or about 530, of Harvard's undergraduates were black, Lani Guinier, a Harvard law professor, and Henry Louis Gates Jr., the chairman of Harvard's African and African-American studies department, pointed out that the majority of them — perhaps as many as two-thirds — were West Indian and African immigrants or their children, or to a lesser extent, children of biracial couples.

They said that only about a third of the students were from families in which all four grandparents were born in this country, descendants of slaves. Many argue that it was students like these, disadvantaged by the legacy of Jim Crow laws, segregation and decades of racism, poverty and inferior schools, who were intended as principal beneficiaries of affirmative action in university admissions."

Isha forwarded me this article and while she and I were excited that it existed, were surprised that it was news worthy. It’s great that The New York Times is reporting on this story but sometimes I am blown away at how long it takes people to figure things out when if they just talked to a single black student who attends an ivy league or any liberal arts college in America, they could’ve told you the same thing. I can't believe Harvard just did this study. Geez.

No real solutions are really brought up and in my cynical way, I am curious as to how much this article has to do with Henry Louis Gates promoting his new book and documentary. Still, any discussion about the issues around affirmative action (and its disappearance in thsi country) is a good dialogue to have.

I am a big fan of affirmative action and know that my "B" average, working class black butt would've never gotten into Wesleyan University without it. And after seeing Fahrenheit 9/11 (a review to come) and seeing just how fucked black people (and I say black to include Caribbean, African American, African immigrants and anyone else heavy in melanin) are in this country, people should just shut up and give us a few breaks.

And as my friend said in our post movie alcohol filled rant session, "Bush is the biggest affirmative action baby there is!" Ah, well said.

Can This Be Happening?

On Wednesday, June 16, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Arts Caucus Amendment to increase funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) by $10 million and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) by $3.5 million. The amendment passed by a vote of 241 to 185. Thank you for your calls and emails!

To go straight to the list of supporters and opponents of this amendment, click here

Mi Casa

I just moved into a bigger room in my lovely apartment. If I had a camera, I would take a picture. It's pretty amazing how being able to do yoga in the morning and be able to extend my arms without hitting a TV or my bed can bring so much joy to my life. Plus, I have two windows and a ton of natural light. Ah, joy and rapture! It's nice to be home for a while now. Travelling for the film has been great but it's really hard to do things for yourself when you're staying in a hotel or on someone's couch.

J Lo's Done It Again

At Argo Tea Cafe in the swanky Lincoln Park section of Chicago, I heard the following:

Teenage Girl #1: (reading from a newspaper) "J Lo does it again! After a quickie divorce, Marc Anthony married Jennifer Lopez ..."

Teenage Girl #2: That's not funny.

Teenage Girl #1: I'm serious! It's right here.

Teenage Girl #2: Oh, she really needs help.

Teenage Girl #1: I think she's a serial monogamist.

Teenage Girl #2: Oh, yeah. That makes sense.

Obama Fever

Growing up, my Mom always was behind some candidate. I can remember her volunteering on Mario Cuomo's campaign and the joy she experienced when he was elected. How psyched she was to meet him and how much she clearly admired him.

My whole life I've been chomping at the bit to find a someone, anyone that I actually whole heartedly believed could make a difference AND better yet, could actually win. This is not the same as a leader who will make things better in the world but is someone I have no real emotional connection to (ala John Kerry). I have a feeling that person might be Barack Obama.

At first, I was skeptical. I've heard his name mentioned here and there for years. In Illinois (the state I know more about politically than New York!!), he drafted and passed landmark legislation requiring the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases, and was chief co-sponsor of comprehensive reform of the death penalty system in Illinois. Still, my main thought was: Why should I care about a candidate I can't even vote for? Well, as my friend said, "Because he's going to be the first black president!"

Well, his politics are on point and he just has that something ... that inexplicable quality (that goes way beyond charisma) that makes heroes out of simple politicians. Many people whose opinions I value have gotten on board and you can get more info about him online on at The New Yorker, The New Republic (who makes you pay to read their articles -- those bastards!!) or The New York Times. Another great thing about Obama is that he uses the internet in a smart way. Check out his website and see how many folks like me are supporting him from different states.

If Obama wins, he will be the third African American to get a seat in the Senate. (The last one being Carol Mosely Braun also in the state of Illinois --the rest of the states really need to catch up. The one before that being during Reconstruction which just seems really strange to me but hey, stranger things have happened!) And we all know where everyone wants to go after being Senator ...

It's not lost on me that his "exotic" background (half Kenyan/half white with a childhood in Hawaii of all places) makes him a black man who is a bit more palatable people. (If I meet another person in Chicago who says, "And his background is so interesting!" I think I'm going to hurl.) That's something I have to think about but is not necessarily something that is his fault, per se.

Now, I know that I am a cliche. A misguided twenty something looking for a leader. An African American girl looking for a movement. I'll buy that. But you should still check him out because the train almost left the station without me too.

More Travel Thoughts

I am on my way to Chicago for the premiere of Deadline. I am bit nervous about the film's reception but am excited to have the film have a fancy premiere in it's true home state.

Anyway, I am running late but as always make time for my cup of coffee. Now, if you make coffee to be drunk on airplanes, why is that coffee always the hottest coffee you've ever drank in your life. I'm not quite sure. I did land safely and was not burnt to death though I rode on a plane so small I couldn't fully stand up on it.