May 2010

The Emerald City

May 22, 2010

I had imagined a city where trees outnumbered humans and rain clouds loomed above; a city where grunge and indie music played in the background and hipsters drank Starbucks and Seattle’s Best as they wove through streets on skateboards. And instead of seeing any skateboards, I saw policemen riding segways in stylish shades. Yes, Seattle was basking in sunshine the day I walked near the Space Needle and discovered Pike’s Market and the first ever Starbucks store, then watched cargo ships sail into port as orange cranes welcomed them with their brontosaurian demeanor. view more →

{ 1 comment }

Identity & Culture

ROFLing With The Internet—Literally

May 4, 2010

This past weekend, I was in Boston for #ROFLCon, since Teresa and I were invited to speak on a panel about “race and the internet”. According to Ethan Zuckerman, “the panel on race – I can haz dream? – was one of the best conference panels” he has ever attended, because Baratunde Thurston and Christian Lander sat next to us on stage, of course!

For those unfamiliar, Baratunde is the editor of The Onion, co-founder of Jack & Jill Politics, and author of the upcoming book, How to Be Black, while Christian is the author of the well-known blog and book, Stuff White People Like. As Zuckerman writes, “…a late night show based around Baratunde Thurston and Christian Lander would kill” — because they really are that good at being comedians. In fact, they were so good at entertaining the crowd that when our moderator or the audience asked sensitive questions about racism, homophobia, religion…no one was fidgeting. view more →

{ 0 comments }