drylongso's archives
back to archive index
January 15, 2003
Sports
Venus Wants a Place in the Universe 
"Nonetheless, Venus has never quite shed her outsider status in the tennis world, largely because of her family's conscious insularity and the intimidating level of confidence this seems to instill. As Capriati throws hissy fits and Hingis snipes, as losers cry and winners gloat, Venus tends to drift above the sometimes histrionic women's tour with an aloof brand of dignity -- and with Serena trailing demurely just behind. If other players gossip and trash-talk, the Williams sisters practice an even shrewder form of psychological warfare, living in a kind of splendid isolation, barely acknowledging that their opponents exist. Martina Navratilova has criticized them for their lack of humility; McEnroe has called them 'cold as ice.' Venus understands that others in tennis view her as conceited, but she doesn't worry about dispelling the notion. 'What can I do?' she says, adding that there aren't a lot of opportunities to get to know one's rivals anyway. 'Everyone's got their own schedule, their own coaches and trainers. It's like a lot of little shows going on, but everyone's separate.'" New York Times
January 14, 2003
Music
Hit Man "But the more love the public and critics lavish on Motown, the more hate they heap on its founder: Berry Gordy ran his company like a benevolent tyrant, stuffed his pockets with other people's money, commissioned portraits of himself dressed as Napoleon, and betrayed his hometown by decamping for Los Angeles—there has been a general reluctance to credit the bastard for anything at all. Given all this, it's not surprising that people have fallen into two camps when writing about Motown's product—let's call them the 'labor' and 'management' camps—and that the two have been at war for years. The slings and arrows keep on coming: This season's include a book by Gerald Posner and an affectionate, but amateurish, documentary that seeks to rescue the members of Motown's brilliant house band, the Funk Brothers, from the dustbin of memory." Slate.com
Political Animal
Clarence Millionaire Thomas has now pierced that great black veil of secrecy, but only just enough to cash in. He has chosen to put himself in the public eye but to immunize himself from any kind of publicity that might upset or embarrass him. Thomas has already announced, for instance, according to the New York Times, that he will simply not appear on any TV show 'unsympathetic' to his conservative views, which category he defines (with keen legal insight) as anything that isn't Fox News, with maybe a Barbara Walters caveat built in for extra flexibility. The man entrusted with the fate of abortion rights and the future of affirmative action is too scared of little Katie Couric to do a morning show. In theory, the quid pro quo for an enormous book agreement is that the writer exposes himself to hard questions and public discussion, yet this complete and paranoid control over any promotional appearances, he claims, is being exercised solely to preserve 'the dignity of the court.'" Slate.com
January 13, 2003
Political Animal
The Cruelty of Invisibility: A First-hand Account of Child Slavery in Haiti " As a slave child, my day began at 5:30 in the morning and ended when the last adult went to sleep. I had to sweep the yard, water the plants, fill the tub for everyone’s bath, empty and wash chamber pots, hand-wash diapers, boil baby bottles, wash the car twice a day, dust the furniture every day, serve people drinks in the front yard every evening, wash people’s feet every evening, run errands, wash women’s monthly napkins, fetch water from afar, be borrowed by the family’s friends, and cook my own food. I worked seven days a week with no pay and no time for rest or play. I was also excluded from all family activities—meals, school or church attendance, birthdays, Christmas, New Years’ celebrations, weddings, First Communions and even funerals. And I couldn’t speak unless spoken to. For any minor infraction, such as not answering quickly enough when my name was called, I was beaten without mercy. Like all restavec children, I was only an observer rather than a participant in my Haitian culture and society." Satya Magazine
Political Animal
The New Gulf Oil States "While the United States marshals its forces to attack Iraq, it is also engaged in an equally strategic battle several thousand kilometres away. This calm offensive, as the Nigerian daily The Vanguard (1) calls it, targets oil reserves south of the Sahara and is designed 'partly to avoid antagonising its Middle Eastern allies and partly to avoid generating a perception that it cares only about Africa's resources' (2). According to Walter Kansteiner, US Under-Secretary of State for African affairs, African oil 'has become a national strategic interest' (3). Ed Royce, the influential Republican senator for California and chairman of the Congress African sub-committee, maintains 'African oil should be treated as a priority for US national security post 9-11' (4). ...and up through the ground come a bubblin' crude
Oil that is, Texas teaaaaaaa...... Le Monde diplomatique
January 8, 2003
Political Animal
Malcolm X Trove to Schomburg Center "Donning a pair of white cotton gloves, he gingerly showed reporters two sample items: a photograph of Muhammad Ali surrounded by Malcolm X's daughters dating from late 1963 or early 1964, and a spiral-bound diary, one of five in the collection. Dating to 1964, Malcolm X's turbulent final year, during which he broke with the Nation of Islam, made two trips to Africa and the Middle East, and renounced racial separatism in the dawning conviction that all whites are not 'devils,' the diaries generated a surge of scholarly interest last spring when their existence first became widely known." New York Times
Political Animal
Studying Race, Privilege And Intellectual Levels "On paper, he had all the advantages that predispose youngsters to academic success. In reality, however, something was missing. His parents, while educated and successful, never actually taught him to study, he said, or actively encouraged his intellectual development. 'I don't recall a lot of attention to the details of my education,' he said. 'I learned about being a person from them, but not about being a learned person.'" New York Times
Political Animal
Mamie Mobley, 81, Dies; Son, Emmett Till, Slain in 1955 "Mrs. Mobley became an outspoken champion for children in poor neighborhoods and spent more than half her life keeping alive the memory of Emmett and the hope of bringing his killers to justice. At the time of her death, she was writing a book, 'Death of Innocence,' which is to be published this fall by Random House." New York Times
January 5, 2003
Political Animal
Prestigious Colleges Ignore the Inadequate Intellectual Achievement of Black Students "At the very least, colleges like Colgate should no longer recruit black students without alerting them to the nature of life in an academically competitive, rigorously white upper-class environment. Black students should understand such institutions' academic and social milieu from the beginning. High-school students who visit the campuses should not be sold a bill of goods: that they will live in a world of close social and intellectual relationships between students of different classes and racial backgrounds." The Chronicle of Higher Education