Priscilla Wald has suggested that academics expand their notion of what comprises theory. In the spirit of her idea I give you noted Hip Hop theorist KRS-One. This song should be #OWS theme.

This is a fancy way of saying that Cee-Lo Green’s new song is ridiculously enjoyable. In fact, if it doesn’t bring a smile to your face I seriously doubt you have a sense of humor.

Seeking to limit further self-inflicted damage to his image, Gilbert issued a statement declaring his unwillingness to discuss his attack on LeBron further. I think this is a mistake. After all, how could his letter have betrayed a slave owner’s mentality when it paraphrases Celie from the climatic scene in The Color Purple?

Consider that Gilbert claims that LeBron’s

heartless and callous action can only serve as the antidote to the so-called “curse” on Cleveland, Ohio.

The self-declared former “King” will be taking the “curse” with him down south. And until he does “right” by Cleveland and Ohio, James (and the town where he plays) will unfortunately own this dreaded spell and bad karma.

Just watch.

Until you do right by me… Now where have I heard that before? [skip ahead to the six minute mark]

I was hoping to see Gilbert cite his appreciation for Walker’s novel as proof of his racial enlightenment, but I guess it’s not to be.

MJ’s son Marcus is not the most objective observer, but I think he put it best on twitter

NO ONE…And I mean NO ONE should EVER com par kobe Bryant to my dad an say that he is anywhere near close to my dad He’s jagging this game

Kobe is a great (albeit selfish) player, but he’s nowhere close to Michael.

Just sayin….

and that’s one to grow on…

Over the weekend it was my privilege to participate in Understanding Superheroes at the University of Oregon. There will be much more in this about that terrific conference. But I wanted to share here a video that I learned about on my way to the west coast that celebrates Black superheroines.

Enjoy.

So the usual suspects in the media are commenting about Chicago losing the opportunity to host the 2016 Olympic games to Rio. Despite what they say, this effort was neither arrogant nor a fool’s errand. If that was the case, the President of Brazil, Prime Minister of Japan and the King of Spain would have skyped in their statements of support for their own bids instead of flying to Copenhagen to deliver them personally. Of course, facts will not stop Obama’s critics.

What’s truly interesting is why Chicago lost out to Rio: affirmative action. No South American nation had ever hosted the Olympics, the USA has hosted more than any country except Greece. Brazil is an emerging economy, right on the heels of China and India. US economic shenanigans almost pulled the nation into a world-wide Depression. Brazil is a multi-racial nation and Rio a sprawling city with too many guns and too much crime. The US is a multi-racial nation and Chicago a sprawling city with too many guns and too much crime. So I guess that last point evens out.

See, if William Safire or Irving Kristol were still alive they might point out the delicious irony of the US’s first Black president making an appeal for the Olympics only to lose out to another country primarily for the sake of fairness and (geographic and economic) diversity. I guess it’s much more satisfying to crow about Obama failing, even if it isn’t true.

A path-breaking anthology, and the first to map this emerging field. Leading scholars and activists from diverse disciplinary backgrounds explore the pervasiveness of prejudice based on body size, and challenge conventional policy responses. By focusing on goals of health, fitness, and social tolerance, The Fat Studies Reader redefines the ‘problem’ of weight and invites more promising solutions.

See, this is why academics are so easily mocked. I haven’t read any of the essays, but here is an interview with two of the editors, Sondra Solovay and Esther Rothblum. You can listen below:

Fatness Studies interview

If you don’t feel like sitting through the entire thing, just know that the editors engage in sophistry throughout, refusing to answer basic questions about the difference between being slightly overwieght and obese.

They also repeatedly compare fat discrimination to racial discrimination! Um, being overweight is not the same as being Black!  Just ask Jarad from Subway!

I can’t believe this even has to be said, but clearly…

I don’t mean to demean the problems associated with being fat, and clearly there needs to be a more nuanced approach to this issue in America, but Fatness Studies? This is foolishness.