A great friend of mine from middle and high school, Grace Fardella, has just written a profile of me as a comic for the brilliant (relatively) new blog The Faster Times. Grace is a wonderful writer and uses her magic to make me look far more clever and funny than I am, but I am ever so grateful to her. Check it out here!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
In 2010, No More Internet Fights!
It's one of my resolutions to stop spending so much time fighting commenters on the interwebs. I've included one of my internet debates here for your perusal. Feel free to laugh at my pettiness and my inability to let some things go.
Below is a personal message I received on youtube (they do that? yes they do!) re: comments I made under the video featuring slam poet Black Ice on Def Poetry:
Seems that I'm 11 months late to this discussion, nonetheless lets continue. I understand you and you articulate your point very well. Your comprehension of the premise of the poem is wrong as well as some of the supporting ideas you used to support your disapproval. The poet attacked the morality of the men discussed and compared that to the immoral sale of pussy. Most have understood the comparison that allowed your thoughts to digress on the poet's respect of womanhood. You asked the question in one of your post why are inadequate males referred too as pussy. You use your misunderstanding of that to suggest that the poet has a perverse disrespect for femininity. Pussy has many different meanings, the original meaning is cat. Take a survey, ask the men u know when they call a man a pussy are they referring to him as a coward or a vagina. I'm 39 and whenever i called anyone a pussy it was to suggest they were a coward or a wimp not a vagina. You made the assumption that he looked down on all of womanhood by using the word "pussy" & "fractionally vaginal". These terms in no way reflect on or mean womanhood. The poet suggests that he started to but refrained from calling the subject a female, this gives the points u make some substance. To suggest u know the poets thoughts and motivation because he used terms you admittedly did not understand is a disrespectful & irresponsible jump at best.
The poet compared the immoral act selling coca to the immoral act of selling vagina. Do you suggest that the immoral act of selling vagina is womanhood or moral ? See how I ask you rather than make assumptions and then behave as if my assumptions are fact ? Thats a respectful way of discussing and disagreeing. It seems that you only came to promote your way of thinking by discrediting the artist. I met this man before he had any fame & assure you your accusation couldnt be further from the truth.
To which I responded:
1. i take exception to being told that i'm "wrong" in understanding the premise of the poem. i understand very well what black ice was trying to do; i disagreed with how he did so.
2. what u didnt take from what i was trying to explain is that the word "pussy" in itself is problematic; the idea that the slang word for a woman's privates is also used to refer to a man who is inadequate/cowardly is troublesome in the first place. then, black ice uses this double entendre-- he plays on the double meaning to articulate his point about inadequate males, thus reinforcing (perhaps inadvertently, as u will see i allowed for more than once in my original comments) the long held view that an inadequate male is a female. there is a tradition of this; men who are "inadequate" are referred to as "bitch", "pussy", and a whole slew of gendered terms that set up the contrast between an adequate male and an inadequate one, likening the latter to a female (or, as we see in this case, her sexual organs).
3. i never said he looked down on all womanhood, i merely took his words to show that his representation of manhood in this poem is sexist, as it requires/demands men to not be female private parts. he makes no mention of male private parts. y not? certainly the point can be made without referencing "vaginal" fractions.
4. i never said i didnt understand his word choice. i do understand his word choice. i disagreed with it. it's not disrespectful to do so.
5. i do not think "selling vagina" (as u put it) is immoral. i think that is a personal choice, and will not make any impositions on another based on their decisions to express sexuality in a way that's different from mine. and it seems that YOU have misunderstood his point in drawing that parallel. i don't think he's making any moral judgments of prostitution in creating that metaphor; he's saying that the men standing on the corner are being USED the way that prostitutes often are, despite the belief that what those men are doing is being men.
6. i never made claims to know the poet's thoughts or intentions. i merely analyzed what he put out for PUBLIC CONSUMPTION. when u make art and share it with the world, that's what happens. people analyze the art u put out there. i've nothing to promote. i took offense to some part of his work, and expressed why. it's not a personal attack. it's a comment about HIS WORK.
with all due respect, i don't care if u met him. i don't care if he has shown himself to be messianic in his real life, i care about the poem i heard. u care more about this than u should, as it seems u took personal offense on his behalf to what i said about his words and did not really concern urself much with what is actually said in the poem. so don't call me disrespectful, don't say i made assumptions and behaved as if they are fact-- argue the points, and please refrain from doing anything else, including making assumptions about me or MY intentions.
2. what u didnt take from what i was trying to explain is that the word "pussy" in itself is problematic; the idea that the slang word for a woman's privates is also used to refer to a man who is inadequate/cowardly is troublesome in the first place. then, black ice uses this double entendre-- he plays on the double meaning to articulate his point about inadequate males, thus reinforcing (perhaps inadvertently, as u will see i allowed for more than once in my original comments) the long held view that an inadequate male is a female. there is a tradition of this; men who are "inadequate" are referred to as "bitch", "pussy", and a whole slew of gendered terms that set up the contrast between an adequate male and an inadequate one, likening the latter to a female (or, as we see in this case, her sexual organs).
3. i never said he looked down on all womanhood, i merely took his words to show that his representation of manhood in this poem is sexist, as it requires/demands men to not be female private parts. he makes no mention of male private parts. y not? certainly the point can be made without referencing "vaginal" fractions.
4. i never said i didnt understand his word choice. i do understand his word choice. i disagreed with it. it's not disrespectful to do so.
5. i do not think "selling vagina" (as u put it) is immoral. i think that is a personal choice, and will not make any impositions on another based on their decisions to express sexuality in a way that's different from mine. and it seems that YOU have misunderstood his point in drawing that parallel. i don't think he's making any moral judgments of prostitution in creating that metaphor; he's saying that the men standing on the corner are being USED the way that prostitutes often are, despite the belief that what those men are doing is being men.
6. i never made claims to know the poet's thoughts or intentions. i merely analyzed what he put out for PUBLIC CONSUMPTION. when u make art and share it with the world, that's what happens. people analyze the art u put out there. i've nothing to promote. i took offense to some part of his work, and expressed why. it's not a personal attack. it's a comment about HIS WORK.
with all due respect, i don't care if u met him. i don't care if he has shown himself to be messianic in his real life, i care about the poem i heard. u care more about this than u should, as it seems u took personal offense on his behalf to what i said about his words and did not really concern urself much with what is actually said in the poem. so don't call me disrespectful, don't say i made assumptions and behaved as if they are fact-- argue the points, and please refrain from doing anything else, including making assumptions about me or MY intentions.
I cc'ed the poet himself who had, a year ago invited me to message him to discuss my thoughts on the poem, and asked him to debate this with me.
Hi there,
I've just been pulled back into the discussion of your poem from about 11 months ago. If u still care to debate with me, I'd love the exchange. I didnt see that u made the offer last year, and i think u deserve the chance to talk with me about the work u created.
i've copied and pasted an exchange i've had with another commenter (and cc'd him on this message). please respond where u see fit, i'd love to have more of your perspective. thanks!
I've just been pulled back into the discussion of your poem from about 11 months ago. If u still care to debate with me, I'd love the exchange. I didnt see that u made the offer last year, and i think u deserve the chance to talk with me about the work u created.
i've copied and pasted an exchange i've had with another commenter (and cc'd him on this message). please respond where u see fit, i'd love to have more of your perspective. thanks!
Neither have replied to my message. I guess it's safe to say I'm the winner, though it is more probable that I'm the loser, as I've nothing to do except try to debate folks over the internet. More to come.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
KRS Kringle Destroys the Reindeer
I was rooting for Blitzen & Co. but Krs Kringle kills the updated version of his classic The Bridge is Over as Kobe and Lebron destroy our reindeer friends. Enjoy.
KRS-One As KRS Kringle
KRS-One is the truth, even as Black Santa! Check his diss to Blitzen for the Nike MVPuppets campaign:
You aint even Real Nigga, Your nose is black. OMG.
Blitzen ain't no punk though. Lupe Fiasco spits hard as the beef instigating "#1 reindeer in the world" Blitzen.
The thrill of victory is something that u never feel/Something elves can't build.
I'm like way too amused.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
My Apologies
It's been a while. I been busy working, and telling jokes, and drinking. It's a hard living.
In the time since I last blogged, I've begun taking a class with the brilliant, inimitable Jessica Kirson, I've had two paid gigs, a few more unpaid ones (it's that starving artist living, people), and have met some of the finest underground comics NYC has to offer. I'm pretty happy.
Oh, and I've turned 22 years old. That means I'm old enough to be 22, I guess. Yippee!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
What?!!
I've just gotten confirmed for my first real gig. Wheee!
I'll be doing a 15 minute (whoa) set at Bleacher's Bar in College Point, Queens next Wednesday (Nov. 18) at 8. The theme of the night is Women of Comedy, and I, along with my dear friend Jackie Cheng, and 2 other lovely young women will be telling jokes about our vaginas. Or something.
I'm excited!!!
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