Sometimes saying nothing is saying too much.

- Fuck You, Terrorists: My prayers are with the people of London. This world sucks. People suck. Fuck. Here’s a rather beautiful essay by English Professor at Chapel Hill John McGowan over on Berube’s blog (where McGowan posts every Thursday). Good stuff denouncing violence, but it raises a lot of questions about the efficacy of pacifism as well. We need to think hard about this shit—so hard that it starts to hurt in the back of our heads; so hard that we get frustrated and confused and thoroughly annoyed with the complexity of it all; so hard that we don’t want to think about it anymore. But, once we get to that stage were we can’t, won’t, and don’t want to think about it anymore—once we are so overwhelmed with the potential hopelessness and the mind-boggling intricacy of these difficult questions—we shouldn’t stop thinking. No. That’s when we know the productive thinking has really started. So, for those of us who don’t know what to do, and don’t know where to put our energy, and don’t know how to react to any of the bullshit that has cropped up since 09/11/2001 (and, to be realistic, long before that), the only truly revolutionary act I can envision that will eventually bring about true and lasting change, Change, CHANGE is: thinking really fucking hard about this shit. Which of course doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do other more traditionally “active” tasks (teaching, volunteering, protesting), but the most important thing we can do right now is think hard about how we can make the changes we need in this world and stop assuming that the conventional wisdom(s) that we rely on are “common sense” and “tried and true.” We must accept the possibility that what we’ve been doing isn’t “right” or “enough” or “effective.” We must challenge everything—especially ourselves.

- Capitalism: So, if Baudrillard is right and there’s no “outside of Capitalism” (unfortunately, he is right) the obvious answer to combating the system is working “through it,” right? Well, yeah, but Steven Shaviro articulates the predicament we’re in beautifully in this essay. Absolutely breath-taking stuff like: “The thing to remember is that, even when we strive to resist the commodity’s allure, and the ubiquitous domination of the marketplace, it is only in the terms set forth by the commodity itself that we can do so.” Brett Easton Ellis was right: “There is no exit.” But perhaps there’s “wiggle room,” no?

- Blog Notating: Anybody know if the MLA or APA is planning on adding a standardized way to quote and notate blog citations in an academic essay? I know they’ve got web address shit and personal email shit, but I wonder if they’ll come up with a Blog-specific format since there’s so much interesting stuff being written on blogs lately.

- And now for something completely different: Got Ray Allen, but old Seattle mainstay Nate McMillian is heading down the highway. Weak.

- Lil’ Kim: So, yeah, Lil’ Kim is going to jail. Just a few things to say about this shit. First, I think it’s pretty cool that the judge compared it to the Martha Stewart case, basically stating that he couldn’t justifying sending Lil’ Kim to jail for much longer than Martha for basically committing the same crime. True, Lil’ Kim lied about a “violent crime” while Stewart lied about a “white collar crime,” but I think the judge was aware of the racial elements that are necessarily involved in cases like this and probably made the right decision. Secondly, I don’t understand why all these idiotos are talking shit about Lil’ Kim on messageboards and whatnot. Sure, she lied, but she did it to protect her friends. Fuck the fucking justice system! I’d commit “perjury” in a second to protect all of my close friends. Lil’ Kim basically just didn’t snitch. Y’all motherfuckers hating on her for it are all a bunch of snitches. Now I’ma go cop a “Stop Snitchin’” Dipset shirt and shoot you.

- Zey Call it Murdaaahhh: So “Welcome to Jamrock” has gotta be the official summer jam… at least of the East Coast. “Gimme That” and “Stay Fly” are contenders as well, but “Welcome to Jamrock” is knockin’ the tri-state. There’s some interesting discussions goin' on about the song courtesy of a Brown student and her professor. Yeah, there’s a bunch of authenticity arguments being thrown around by the student, but dude at wayne and wax sets the argument in the right direction. Interesting stuff that is way more interesting than my Saul Williams tirade (which I might update with new thoughts or just let die). Thanks to Dr. Robert for putting me up on the debate.

- A Shit Load of Rap Videos: I kinda feel like I posted this before, but I dunno. Here it is again anyway. I’d never seen Kanye’s “Two Words” video, but now I have… and it’s effin’ awesome.

- Penis Snipping: Awesome post by Junichi over at Poplicks where he first presents his original argument against circumcision (which is damn convincing), but then changes his mind back to the pro-knife stance because of a new study that shows significant benefits. That Junichi dude is smart and hilarious. Go. Read.

- Basketball Season Is Over: Saddest thing about the NBA season being over? Free Darko is now in remission. Maybe we can convince them to tell silly anecdotes that have nothing to do with basketball over there on an almost-daily basis just so I’ll have something funny and provocative to read. We should at least convince Bethlehem Shoals to talk more about Freestyle Fellowship and jazz (you didn’t know he was uber-nerdy about that shit too, did you? Not particularly surprising is it?). Anyway, get at it Shoalsy!