So, who’s planning to watch The Expanse this weekend on Amazon Prime? Raises Hand
I see folks posting their Spotify 2019 Wrapped results. I go one better and post Spotify and Apple Music results. On Apple Music, my top artist was Beyoncé and on Spotify it was Hozier. Weird. 🎵
🎵 Just think, next week will be the two year anniversary of this legendary freestyle.
Hard to trust sites that try to integrate Facebook functionality in order to use them. #mbnov
I won NaNoWriMo and it feels fantastic! Gonna go collapse now. #mbnov
Today’s Microblogvember word make me think of God’s Property, that gospel choir that was popular in the 90’s.
Kirk Franklin voice: GP are ya with me! #mbnov
🎧 From The Nod: Why We’re Watching Watchmen >This week, Eric sits down with Watchmen writer Cord Jefferson (The Good Place, Succession) to talk about what makes the show so singular in its unflinching look at race in America.
‘Tis the season to eat rich foods and drink fine beverages in either moderation or excess! #mbnov
I tend to mix up my tenses when writing first drafts. That’s gonna be a pain to edit. #mbnov
Who offers the most secure cloud storage? #mbnov
May your characters be good company this NaNoWriMo. #mbnov
Looking forward to December and the end of my woebegone sleep schedule. #mbnov
I like the hum of background noise before going to sleep. #mbnov
I gave up on broadcast networks when they kept cancelling shows I loved like Almost Human, Sleepy Hollow, and Pitch Now streaming services have left broadcast eating their dust. #mbnov
Forgot to post yesterday. Trying to keep up my writing pace during my second NaNoWriMo. I miss sleep. #mbnov
My need for sleep does not abate during this busy month. #mbnov
Here’s the setup I’ve managed to build for this year’s NaNoWriMo: Drafting in my 750Words.com account and copy/pasting into one document. 750Words gives me flexibility to write anywhere, plus a daily word count that I can enter on the NaNoWriMo website. Ta-da! #mbnov
So many superb choices in TV, music, and books. So little time to consume it all. #mbnov
I’m not selective about audiobook choices at the end of this year’s reading challenge. #mbnov
Made it through the murky middle of NaNoWriMo! Now to finish the month off strong. #mbnov
Celebrating birthdays isn’t like it used to be. Less cake and more back and neck pains. :( #mbnov
I haven’t been able to maintain the same amount of words as last week. (Mbnov)
Disney+ launched right when a lot of NaNoWriMo newbies are ready to give up on their draft. Gonna be hard to stay away when I could watch Gargoyles or animated X-Men anytime I want. #mbnov
I think that many of the people who were excited about HBO’s Watchmen were not prepared for what he and his writer’s room were trying to say with this series. And they end up sounding deeply out of touch in their podcasts and recaps. #mbnov
I want to watch Snoopy in Space but I don’t want to sign up to another streaming service to do so. (mbnov)
It’s cold in the DMV. (mbnov)
Bait and Switch is a real fear of mine as a TV watcher and a consumer of pop culture media. Especially when a person of color is purported to be the star of said media. (mbnov)
The frightening feeling when you’ve gotten up early to add to your NaNoWriMo word count before work and can’t think of anything to write. (mbnov)
I’ve been able to stick to a routine where I get my word count knocked out before sleep. It just takes me hours to get there because I’m so tired. (mbnov)
I’m so glad it’s finally Daylight Savings Time. Was getting tired of driving to work in darkness. I don’t like driving when the streets are dark. (mbnov)
My daily word count goal is 2K. That’s no mean feat to achieve during the work week. (mbnov)
I’m not trying to do anything fancy in my draft for NaNoWriMo tonight. I’m just hoping I can get most of it done in time to watch the latest episode of Watchmen. (mbnov)
Picked up this lapdesk from Costco as a mark of my seriousness about winning NaNoWriMo this year. It’s very comfy and I wish I had gotten one sooner! #mbnov
No shade to NaNoWriMo (which I’m also foolishly embarking on this year) but IMO there’s a bit too much socializing crammed into what I’ve always enjoyed as a solitary activity. The key for me is balancing the frenzy of NaNoWriMo with something less demanding. (mbnov)
Capitals won the Stanley Cup last year. Mystics won the WNBA FINALS two weeks ago. Nationals won the World Series last night.
Welcome to Title Town!
Truer words…
{Image is a Tweet from Linday Gibbs (@linzsports) that reads: “20 days after the Mystics won a championship in deciding Game 5, the Nats will play in a championship deciding Game 7.
DC is dramatic AF.“}
🎧 ✍️ Listening to various writing podcasts and wondering if I can commit to NaNoWriMo this year.
NBA is back. Forgive me if I’m much less enthused about my NBA team than my WNBA (Champion) team. 🏀
🏀 One day I’ll stop talking about WNBA basketball. Today is not that day. Ahem, heads up, @grayareas! Liberty to Play in Barclays Center Starting 2020 Season
🏀 ⚾ 🏒 My Mystics are sprinkling their championship magic over other DC franchises. And it’s working. You’re welcome!
🏀 ⚾ This is cool. Mystics’ Elena Delle Donne Will Throw the First Pitch Before Game 4 of the NLCS
🎧 Listening to this made me realize how conservative Brokaw was on his broadcast. From Latino USA: The Movement for Indigenous Peoples Day
🏀 Some amateur photos from the Washington Mystics’ Championship Rally. Parade in the spring as many teammates have to start playing for their international teams right away. #EqualPayForWomen
🏀 The Washington Mystics are your 2019 WNBA Champions! Emma Meeseman won Finals MVP. 🏀
Okay, we’ll try again on Thursday. Go Mystics! 🏀
So proud of my team tonight! One more win for a WNBA Championship! Shout out to Elena Delle Donne and Ariel Atkins for playing through injury. And shoutout to Kristi Toliver for keeping the team calm and composed plus hitting some big shots! 🏀
Congrats to the Connecticut Sun. They definitely outplayed Washington in Game Two. Mystics look like a different team without their MVP. Game 3 is Sunday. 🏀
We’re never getting live-action Miles Morales in the MCU, are we?
🏀 Mystics win Game 1 of the WNBA Finals!
It’s wild that Brittany Howard almost scrapped this beautiful song because the sound was too ‘traditional r&b’ and she was afraid of being put in a certain box musically. Black women musicians sometimes turn themselves inside out trying to defy categories instead of just doing the music that makes them feel good.
🏀 WE BACK! Back in the Finals that is. #GOMYSTICS
Great game from the Aces. Mystics will try again in Game Four. 🏀
🏀 WNBA playoffs: Meesseman leads Mystics to 2-0 series lead - The Washington Post
Toliver capped the sequence with a deep corner three in front of Vegas Coach Bill Laimbeer, bringing her hand to her ear, readying for cheers, before the ball even swished through the net.
🏀 The score tells a story. What a game!
🏀 Someone besides the Aces won the WNBA Draft Lottery! Congrats to the New York Liberty. (cc: @grayareas)
🏀 Teams are getting ready for the playoffs. My Mystics have secured a spot already but dropped a winnable game against the Chicago Sky tonight. Now the Connecticut Sun have tiebreakers over the Aces and the Mystics as well as the No. 1 seed. :(
My Mystics are back on top after defeating the Minnesota Lynx today! 🏀
”I can accept the labels because being a black woman writer is not a shallow place but a rich place to write from. It doesn’t limit my imagination; It expands it. It’s richer than being a white male writer because I know more and I’ve experienced more”
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The WNBA All Star Game was fantastic and fun. My team lost and I don’t even care! Shoutout to Erica Wheeler for making history as the first undrafted player to win WNBA All Star MVP!!! 🏀
The internet is down so I’m reading Bad Muthaz by Bill Campbell David Brame and Damian Duffy. 📚
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Lashana Lynch Will Reportedly Be Introduced As The New 007 In Upcoming James Bond Movie
This is Summer of Making Racists Mad™ and I am here for it!
I love Lamy’s fountain pens. Will I love their notebooks as well?
Lamy Adds Notebooks to Their Product Line
Real G’s move in silence like Kawhi.
Can’t stop listening to “Love Again” by Daniel Caesar feat. Brandy. To be honest, I’ve had Tracks 2, 3, and 4 on a loop all day. 🎵
The WNBA is fantastic too! Especially since my Washington Mystics got the No. 1 spot after beating the Connecticut Sun. Four wins in a row! 🏀
NBA Free Agency started at 6pm and it’s already WILD. Kyrie and KD are reportedly going to Brooklyn. Al Horford just signed a four year deal in Philly. And Kemba’s going to Boston. The NBA is fantastic! 🏀
Pose began its second season last night. The premiere was great! 📺
No Other Show Cares or Serves Quite Like Pose
More discussions like this please.
5 Black Men React to Netflix’s ‘When They See Us, Ava DuVernay’s Series About the Central Park Five
I’m just beginner when it comes to fountain pens. I don’t know if I’ll ever part with more than $30 or $50 on a pen. So I’m glad to know I have choices in that price range. 🖋 8 Fountain Pens That Won’t Break the Bank
So the Rise of Giannis™ was interrupted by the Return of Kawhi. I like when the NBA gives us what we weren’t expecting. 🏀
13 Books by POC That Could Be the Next ‘Game of Thrones’ >Some of them are set in a fantastical past, or far in the future. Some of them subvert classic fantasy tropes, while others take the genre in new directions entirely
The WNBA Announced the 20 Games It Will Livestream on Twitter
This upcoming season games will be televised on ESPN, ESPN2, NBATV, CBS Sports Network, and ABC, with the hopes of bringing in a wider audience, or at the least providing current fans with more opportunities to watch games on a national TV platform. In addition to those broadcasts, the league announced 20 games that will be streamed live on Twitter this season, on the league’s @WNBA account.
This WNBA Season just got even more interesting.
Sources - Wings trade Cambage to Aces
I just want to say a couple of things before the 2018-2019 season draws to a close for my Boston Celtics:
P.S. Bye Kyrie. Good luck in New York!
Why Speculative Fiction is Needed Now More than Ever
Because speculative fiction and media takes place in worlds with different “rules” than our own, it allows people to imagine different kinds of societies.
Music Sermon: The Quiet Storm Is Still Brewing - Vibe
“Back in the day… people had dinner with the Quiet Storm. People studied to the Quiet Storm. People ironed out their clothes for the next day to the Quiet Storm.”
We’re ghettoized into talking about race and white entertainment but never asked to offer our perspectives on these topics as a whole.
The Man Who Put Marvel in the Black
“Giving kids heroes reflective of their experiences is important. Treating those heroes with the same level of respect to story as the Captain Americas and the Iron Men of the world, is really important.”
Shoutout to Nate Moore.
IAAF Uphold Sexist Testosterone Rules in Landmark Caster Semenya Case
Semenya has been dogged by a campaign against her genetics and her gender. This ongoing harassment at the hands of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has been occurring for over a decade.
Irving, Horford Lead Celtics Past the Bucks
“Our focus was to make sure that we just made it tough on him every time, just making sure he earned everything he got,” Horford said. “I felt like we did a pretty good job of that.”
I watched the game and I’m just as astonished as anyone that the C’s pulled this out.
The Beautiful Ones, A Forthcoming Memoir from Prince
The Beautiful Ones, due out in October 2019, will incorporate the 50 hand-written pages the artist had completed before he died, along with other writings, personal photos, and handwritten lyric sheets.
Setting aside the question of who has the stamina to watch a 3AM screening of a three-hour movie, my mind immediately goes to those poor movie theater employees who are now going to be expected to work through the night for what I assume is minimum wage, or close to it.
From CBS Boston: Rest Up Celtics, It’s Not Going To Be Easy From Here On Out >The Celtics showed a closer mentality throughout the series, something that escaped them for large stretched during the regular season. As frustrating as it is, they have indeed flipped the switch this postseason. They look like a completely different team than the one that couldn’t seem to get out of its own way from October to March.
From Vox: Spoiler paranoia is ruining pop culture
People are so terrified of spoilers that they film their blockbuster movies in a fashion not unlike assembling several jigsaw puzzles at once. It’s unsustainable, and something needs to give. That “something” is how much we care about spoilers.
From The Undefeated: Howard University tells local dog walkers, ‘Keep off The Yard!’
The students at the historically black school saw entitlement and a violation of tacit norms, including the one that goes: “Oh, hell, no, you didn’t just let your dog pee on the AKA tree.” Some residents didn’t see a sign, or the big deal.
From The MarySue #DemThrones and the Importance of Black Fandom Communities:
The hashtag* has everything from explicit, Black humor to deep analyses of elements of race, class, and enslavement in the show. One of the characters who has often been the focal point of that kind of discussion is Daenerys Targaryen. Due to her exile and storylines, Dany has often been placed among people of color, first the Dothraki and later the people in the cities of Yunkai, Astapor, and Meereen.
*The hashtag was created by the hosts of the Fiyastarter podcast.
From a recap of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Part Two:
And here I must say, while I believe true gender equality means women can be as mediocre as men and still succeed at the same rates and that we do not need, nor want, all our female protagonists to be Strong Female Leads or whatever… Sabrina kind of… sucks? I’M SORRY BUT HEAR ME OUT: She does not listen or think about anyone but herself, practically ever. Even when she’s thinking about other people, deep down, her motivations are self-absorbed. (For instance: All her kindness toward Harvey is less about actually helping him out and more about manipulating him into not being mad at her anymore.) Yes, she’s a teenage girl and she’s going through a lot — but she’s also totally M.I.A. in all her supposedly important relationships until the second it would be convenient for her not to be.
when i get home is not a seat at the table two. it was never gonna be that. solange wanted to do something more earthy, sensual and accessible this time around. it’s still Black as fuck, feminist as fuck, still poetic as fuck. artists need to experiment and explore. this album may be the catalyst for another project down the road that blows our minds. when i get home is an album made for repeated listens with no skips! it’s a mood, it’s a vibe, as the kids say. get into it or don’t.
I’m grateful to Kehlani and Janelle Monáe for their bisexual r&b bops!
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Gearing up for the Slow Writers Club #10KinMarch Challenge!
This NBA Trade Deadline has featured some intriguing and some bewildering moves. But I do like that the Eastern Conference had gotten more competitive.
Maya Moore Sitting Out WNBA Season
Anthony Davis headlines possible trade candidates ahead of NBA deadline
What I like about this whole trade saga is that players are using their leverage and making teams’ front offices look silly. Boston trading IT right after he made a deep playoff run instead of taking time to grieve his late sister was a colossally bad look. And I’m a Celtics fan (Long story).
From the Letter Writers Alliance: February Is For Letters.
Three Things I learned (about myself) in January:
This winter weather is wearing me out! I’m living my regular life and feeling twice as tired at the end of each day. And grumpy.
However, limiting my time on social media (esp. Twitter) and taking frequent breaks really improves my mood.
One comforting thing coming out of this diversity discussion on m.b. is that other folks don’t know what to do with their micro blog either. I may feel alone in some ways on here but at least I’m not alone in that.
The A.V. Club Weighs in on 2019’s Oscar Snubs and Surprises >But I am shocked by Barry Jenkins’ lack of a directing nomination and *If Beale Street Could Talk*’s absence from Best Cinematography—that movie’s a visual feast, and a stunning use of Jenkins’ custom of making his audience lock eyes with his characters.
From Philly Voice: Five Ways to Prepare for True Detective Season Three
This looks super funny and cute.
I used to think it was rude to say ‘don’t @ me’ on social media. But now I get it. People on SM want to jump in and engage with you mid-thought, when they really don’t have anything substantial to add.
So you end up getting de-railed from the point you want to make in the first place. It’s frustrating.
All that to say, it’s hard for me to have the kinds of conversations that I want to have online. I need to get clear on what kinds of conversations I do want to have, what I want to talk about and with whom.
The Double-Edged Sword of the Golden Globes Written by Candace Frederick
The 2019 Golden Globes was merely the latest Hollywood attempt to get politically engaged without exacting any real change in its voting procedures or actual politics.
Articles like this that never mention If Beale Street Could Talk even once have me worried about the Oscar chances for one of my favorite films from this awards season.
Listening to Negro Swan by Blood Orange.
Good for him. I will say that if Twitter isn’t protecting people like Poulter to the point that he has to leave, then it REALLY isn’t safe for the rest of us.
From BBC News: Black Mirror: Bandersnatch star Will Poulter quits Twitter
I kinda stumbled into 2019 like I do every other year. Now I’m reading other people’s intentions, resolutions and themes for 2019. I don’t have any yet. Hope it’s not too late.
I’ve kind of worked myself into a comfort zone/rut-shaped thing with work and the podcast. I haven’t been too keen to shake it up because life may do that for me. It always has in the past. But I’ve kinda always lived while waiting for the other shoe to drop. It’s not a fun way to live.
So maybe one of my themes could be contentment, learning to enjoy the space I’m in while I’m in.
I’m comfortable being by myself, but I feel like I should work on connecting with other people. I’m too old not to have any real friends. But I’m also too old to want to do all the stuff that making new friends entails. I’m also on the spectrum so that complicates things as well. So maybe connection could be a second theme for 2019.
If I wanted to do another word starting with the letter, ‘C’, it could be creation. I wanna do a lot more writing this year. Of course, I say this every year. But this year, I mean it? May not be published work like Inda or Kat, but definitely blog posts, maybe some short stories, and new podcast ideas.
I also want to keep up the reading spurt that I had at the end of 2018. That’s thanks to library audiobooks and the Libby app, as well as splurging on discounted audiobooks when I buy kindle e-books. I also joined a Goodreads Reading Challenge for 30 books in 2019. Fingers crossed!
Contentment. Connection. Creation. My words/themes for 2019.
