A place for Huey

When I realized that I did needed to know how to calculate compounded interest post college and that I did not know/remember how to do so even as an Economics major (b/c it was not stressed as important)... And when I realized that all of the jobs I am applying to ask for proficiency in MS Excel, Outlook, Access, or other programs such as Raiser's Edge but that I had not once used it in anything at all in college or prior.... I remembered the quote below by Tupac. Don't get me wrong, I love learning most things - abstract, theory, or otherwise. But if schools truyly aim to prepare the next generation of global citizens, we need to instruct them on how to perform basic administrative tasks, have financial literacy - ie. investment, home ownership, etc  - especially for students in minority groups. One can make an argument here about how the lack there of is a deliberate act to keep the tools of power in the hands of those in power. But I am not even trying to get too deep ...

I just received an email from Change.org on how to register/ check my status to vote [link below]. The website I received in the email was really helpful in easing some of my concerns as I did not know whether I was registered or not and had no idea on how to check for that information. So if you want to register to vote: http://www.ourtime.org/ Want to check if you are in fact registered to vote: https://www.usvotefoundation.org/state-elections/state-election-dates-deadlines (Click on your state and fill out the information to check you voter status. It should say active) If you need an absentee ballot or have questions about deadlines, the site is also a good resource. The organization On The Count: The Prison and Criminal Justice Report shared this on their page on facebook and I think that it is important to share. &&&&& It is National Voter Registration Day... My next post will be on my thoughts on the "debate" of whe...

 For Women Who Are 'Difficult' To Love you are a horse running alone and he tries to tame you compares you to an impossible highway to a burning house says you are blinding him that he could never leave you forget you want anything but you you dizzy him, you are unbearable every woman before or after you is doused in your name you fill his mouth his teeth ache with memory of taste his body just a long shadow seeking yours but you are always too intense frightening in the way you want him unashamed and sacrificial he tells you that no man can live up to the one who lives in your head and you tried to change didn’t you? closed your mouth more tried to be softer prettier less volatile, less awake but even when sleeping you could feel him travelling away from you in his dreams so what did you want to do love split his head open? you can’t make homes out of human beings someone should have already told you that and if he wants to leave then let him ...

Thinking a lot about love, man.

"Lately I’ve been thinking about who I want to love, and how I want to love, and why I want to love the way I want to love, and what I need to learn to love that way, and who I need to become to become the kind of love I want to be…….and when I break it all down, when I whittle it into a single breath, it essentially comes out like this: Before I die, I want to be somebody’s favorite hiding place, the place they can put everything they know they need to survive, every secret, every solitude, every nervous prayer, and be absolutely certain I will keep it safe. I will keep it safe." - Andrea Gibson

Free Mumia: Notes from the panel discussion on Mass Incarceration, the Prison Industrial Complex, Closing Attica, & Political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal Juan Mendez - UN Special Rapporteur on Torture (via video): Solitary confinement is considered torture under international law but the U.S. still upholds the practice [What role do the international community, UN, ICC, NGOs and other civil society actors play in holding the U.S. Accountable? How does the status/soft and hard power of a country influence if/how it responds to international pressure?] Mumia Abu-Jumal (via phone): The truth is that reform does not work Time for revolutionary transformation: Build a movement! Abolish the ingrained ideas, do not rebuild or reform the different facets of prisons “Power concedes nothing without demand” “Politics is the cruel art of betrayal” Angela Davis: Prison industrial complex [PIC] has a great deal to do with global capitalism which is fueled ...

Synthesizing a lot of the issues, articles, and conversations I have discussed, read, and had in the last two weeks, I notice that a reoccurring topic has been gender as it relates to how women treat men. This has led me to think about misandry, the hatred or dislike of men or boys, and what people's thoughts on it are, if/when it has tangible effects on society, why do we talk or shy away from it, who does it affect and so on. How do men feel about it? To preface, I use the word feminist or feminism very loosely here to suggest someone who cares about gender relations and its implications on the world and how we live in it. Even though some of my friends have called me a feminist, I am very new to this world and would not necessarily consider myself a feminist, at least not yet. I am not sure if I believe in all of its principles. I think that gender relations in general is very interesting to me however because I want to be adamant about how I treat people in my life;...

I had orientation today for my job as the Peacebuilding Commission Intern at the World Federalist Movement - Institute for Global Policy. I absolutely love the staff who presented today, I love the other interns at the office, it looks like my boss and I will get along, and most importantly, I love the work my "department" does and what the organization seems to stand for as far as I understand. I hope to do a post explaining what I will be doing and to a limited extent what WFM-IGP is. It is truly an amazing organization so do some research on it if you are curious.  So very briefly, my first four reflections on working: 1. I have to sleep and wake up EARLY as a working adult!!!!! Real world has officially hit me.  2. Needing money to have this sort of internship (b/c these sort of internships do not pay) can make this field very demanding and exclusionary to an extent. I will elaborate in another post.  3. Working is going to be hard. I was starving toda...

9/11 is never an easy day. So many thoughts, feelings, stories, experiences, news, revelations, perspectives, commemorations, consolations, tributes,... There are so many things.

From what you have shared with your fans and the world, it seems like you have a lot of your mind and that your heart is heavy so I will try to keep this concise and straight to the point. I am a big fan of your music, your politics, and what you represent as a person. I love hip hop and I am working hard on organizing my life, career, and politics around the basic principles of love, peace, and happiness for everyone. It is not easy and a lot of times I feel disillusioned, confused, angry, sad, and inconsequential, primarily because of the world we have inherited and then because of our agency in perpetuating the ills of this world. From reading your tweets after the Chief Keef twitter feud, it sounds like you have felt or feel some inkling of those feelings that I listed. I am writing to tell you first, that a lot of people identify with your heartache and second, thank you for your music, essence, and for all that you have shared with the world. The heartache: When I saw the vi...

 "And every day, the world will drag you by the hand, yelling “This is important! And this is important! And this is important! You need to worry about this! And this! And this!” And each day, it’s up to you, to yank your hand back, put it on your heart and say “No. This is what’s important"." - I Wrote This For You: The Grand Distraction "It is painfully easy to define human beings. They are beings who, for no good reason at all, create their own unnecessary suffering." - Natsume Sōseki "Some things you’re not letting happen right now because the timing isn’t perfect for you. Some you’re not letting happen because you are very aware of where you are. But all things, as they are happening, are happening in perfect order. And if you will relax and begin saying, ‘Everything in its perfect time. Everything is unfolding. And I’m enjoying where I am now, in relationship to where I’m going. Content where I am, and eager for more,’ that is the p...

Michelle Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention last night is one of my favorite speeches of all time. There is so much I can say about the speech and about her but suffice it to say that she is the kind of woman that I am working on becoming. Wow, Mrs. Obama! Wow!

I am a popular urban culture junkie. I love narratives and people and people's experiences so I enjoy avenues where this is encouraged and show-cased (and even, commercialized). Enter reality television. I have no issues with watching the shows that I do watch: no shame, guilt, or remorse. The caveat is that I do not watch every reality show. I am actually very selective about the shows that I do watch so they are not guilty pleasures. In fact, it is a conscious activity which is not entirely pleasurable or just entertaining. To me, reality television is like everything else that I do which involves prodding into people's lives, hearing what they have to say, and seeing how they live. Perhaps, this is the "anthropologist" in me so while I understand the criticisms and the flak that these shows and networks receive, overall, my engagement with reality tv is a learning experience not only about specific people or families, but about people in general and our social/...