Just for Fun, Searches that Make Me Laugh

DEFINITION OF RACE (from Merriam Webster):
chiefly Scottish : the act of running2 a: a strong or rapid current of water flowing through a narrow channel b: a watercourse used industrially c: the current flowing in such a course3 a: a set course or duration of time b: the course of life4 a: a contest of speed bplural : a meeting in which several races (as for horses) are run c: a contest or rivalry involving progress toward a goal race>5: a track or channel in which something rolls or slides; specifically : a groove (as for the balls) in a bearing


Now search "race" on google or cnn.com right now... let's see which definition people care about.

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION ENDORSES OBAMA!!!!

hmm... I wonder why Hillary hasn't insisted that the word Race be not used in the context of talking about the election... cuz this race business is giving Barack a double bump in the search results... racial race and election race... ooo that Obama campaign is tricky tricky with this internet stuff....

Polling Gone Too Far

According to Cnn.com:

"The results in Pennsylvania followed trends set in previous contests: Clinton won the white vote, Obama won the black vote; Clinton won the older vote, Obama won the younger vote; Clinton won in rural areas, Obama carried the urban vote"

A good friend of mine is black. most people assume she's italian. she's young, but isn't in college and spends most of her time with older adults. She's spent have her life in Philly and half in one of those Jersey suburb areas that represents why it's called the Garden State.

She also voted in Pennsylvania on Tuesday.

Her mix of demographics is not unusual.

Polling these days seems to be taking up too many headlines and newscasts. Demographic polling doesn't seem to represent real people. Maybe if the media stopped drawing conclusions, the candidates could talk to actual individuals for a CHANGE... and stop trying to appeal to demographics.

It's really time to put polling in it's place... it's kind of on an ego trip right now.

The song that brings multiracial tears to my eyes

I know what your first question... other than what's the song... is... tears have a race? Since my post about my ears, I've been doing some research on the racial identity of my body parts. Here is what I've found out. My hips are white. My butt is black. And apparently, my nose and eyes are mixed. Thus, since tears come from eyes, they must also be multiracial. And so are my boogers. That may have been too much information. Sorry.

Anyway back to the cause of the tears...

Kevin Michael and his song , "Don't Make a Difference to Me," have gotten me hooked. I've grown up hearing songs about race (hiphop loves the topic), but could never really connect to them. His song talks about his biracial identity and the struggles of his parents' interracial marriage. i.e.MY LIFE! I have to admit that i put this song on when I need a pick me up after a bad mixed moment (an incident where someone or some event brings up or questions my racial identity). It feels so good to finally have a song about race that I can fully connect with.

I wonder how BET feels about him... is he black enough to be played there? Or, Hot 97 (my favorite nyc hip hop station)? I wonder if they'll play him... and if their audience will accept it... Barack Obama almost wasn't "black enough"... but Halle Berry was... let's see how this one plays out...

p.s. It also doesn't hurt that this gentleman is quite adorable... he can sing to me any day!

Tell me what you think about him.

Mommy, Where Does Race Come From?

Hellooo..... No One!

As I begin my first post, I must admit it's nice to know nobody is actually paying attention yet. (except for mom of course, but luckily, as my mom, she'll tell me it's wonderful)

WARNING: I'm about to moonwalk across that line. I will be discussing race and how it affects our everyday life - and not in the pc Martin Luther King, JR versus Adolf Hitler in a history textbook kind of way. (PHOTOS left to right Martin Luther King, Jr. and Adolf Hitler)

Here's how race became an inevitable part of my life:

Twenty years ago, on a warm August day my black father and my white mother got together and made a child. (no further details necessary here... please... i don't want to know anymore) Nine months later, I entered this world and almost immediately my race became a part of my life. At the time, I of course didn't know anything more than screaming and breastfeeding, but apparently, the color of my skin caused many discussions.

My mom often tells me this story, which I consider the beginning of my racial identity formation:

Several weeks after I was born, my mom brought me to her friend's house. Two of her female friends, one black and the other white, were waiting in anticipation for my arrival! (I doubt an exclamation point is really needed here, but my mom would put one so I did) We arrived to the house and my mom did the big reveal to the women. The white woman did the normal cooing and ooing at me (she had met me already the night I was born when my mother requested she bring a large tunafish sandwich, a hershey's bar, and a diet coke) The black woman stood there for a moment in silence and then said to my mom, "Hey, you know that baby isn't white." The friend obviously thought she had an incredible revelation. My mom responded to her friend, "Yes, I know that."

And, that's how it was confirmed that I am not white. Interestingly, my mom's friend now gives a more detailed explanation for how she knew. Apparently, it wasn't my dark features or darker skin color. It was my ears! I had black ears!!! When I look in the mirror, they look tan to me. My "black ears" have been confirmed by several other experts on "black ears," but I am yet to learn the characteristics of "black ears." I'm still dying to know what makes my ears "black," so I can one day know if my children have "black ears." Can someone explain to me what "black ears" are?

(PHOTO My ear that apparently demonstrates my race. Clarification: The line on the inner lobe is from a pulled earring and is not genetic.)