OSF: Original vs. Remake

I almost never like the remake versions of original songs. But, I picked a couple of remakes that I thought took a good stab at the original. I still like the originals better on all of these except my Luther Vandross pick (I mean, did you really think I was gonna pick the Carpenters? Seriously):

1) The Jackson 5 vs. Mariah Carey's "I'll Be There"





2) The Carpenters vs. Luther Vandross vs: "Superstar"; "Superstar/Until You Come Back to Me"





3) Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force vs. Allure: "All Cried Out"

No, Not Girl Scout Cookies Too!

This is an absolute shame. Because of the economy, the Girl Scouts of America are putting 2-4 less cookies in boxes. These include thin mints, short breads, peanut butters, and other cookies. And, they're making those lemon sandwich cookies smaller. The organization says, "Our bakers cannot continue to absorb these rising costs." Had I known that this was going to happen, I would have ordered extra boxes to make up for the fewer cookies. This is so not right. President Obama needs to hold a press conference over this. Seriously.

OSF: Too Hot for Radio

OK, this one was hard considering we weren't aloud to listen to nasty music growing up--my dad is a preacher (although I'm now beginning to question my lack of access since Regina's Family Seasons chose Adina Howard's "Freak Like Me", and me and my sister had the single!) So I included Madonna's "Justify My Love" because the media made a big deal over it when I was a child and MTV wouldn't show it during the day. (I wanted to use Janet Jackson's "Would You Mind" off her All for You album but that was released after 1999.)

Dating Again

No, Mr. C and I are not getting a divorce so don't even come at me with no tabloid rumors. What had happened was we decided to go out on a date and try a restaurant we hadn't tried before because, well let me put it bluntly: Grad students don't date once becoming grad students, especially married ones. Plus, I thought I deserved a treat for coding dissertation data, so we went on a date. I kinda felt guilty at first considering that we still had leftovers from last night's dinner in the fridge, but who says we can't still have them for lunch tomorrow?

Anyway, back to this restaurant. We tried P.F. Chang's China Bistro and if I were to write a review for it, I'd definitely recommend it. The food is quite good. It's a little more upscale than your average Chinese restaurant, but there's really not that much of a difference in price (unless you order a New York strip steak). I ordered sweet and sour chicken for about 12 bucks.

The restaurant's strengths lie in their sauce options. They give you a well-seasoned soy sauce that if too sweet you can add white vinegar too, and if too tart, a reddish sauce (don't know what it's called). That's a big step up from the soy sauce packets.

The fried crab wontons were perfectly crispy too--not too soggy. They came with a sweet and sour spicey sauce, but if you don't like sweet and sour (like Mr. C.), you can always use the seasoned soy sauce. They also came with this cucumber and carrot garnish tossed in a red wine vinegar-like dressing. Quite good too. The only downside with this dish was that I couldn't tell you if there was crab in it--let alone, imitation crab. The stuffing was filled mostly with cheese. Still good though.

We took our desserts home to go. Mr. C. had New York Cheesecake (which if he doesn't hurry up and eat it, I might sneak a piece; see my reason in the next sentence), and I had the mini smores treat. Delicious, but I honestly could have had a larger serving. They do have bigger desserts there as well; I just figured that I'd be too stuffed for anything large.

While this place has your fried rices, wonton soups, sweet and sour chickens, etc., again, like I said earlier, it ain't your typical Chinese joint. If you're looking for super duper sized portions, you're best going where you've been going for Chinese. The portions are just right IMO though. You won't necessarily have leftovers, but you'll be satisfied. But if you're looking for quality over quantity, then this is the place to go.

OSF: Favorite TV Show Theme Songs

Okay, I was a silly kid and actually thought that Steven and Elyse Keaton sang the theme song (written by Jeff Barry and Tom Scott) to Family Ties' "Without Us". It wasn't until I was nearly a teenager when I found out that Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams sang the song. Nonetheless, this has always been one of my favorites because the melody and harmonies are so soothing. Enjoy!

About that Dinner this Weekend

The dinner date I had this weekend was yummy btw. I plan on swapping that chicken recipe!

The Fruits of My Labor May Not be In Vain (Yet)

I just taught my first day for the spring 2009 semester, and have quite engaged and fascinating students. They're already asking questions about "code-switching" and even know what the term means! Well, when I walked into the classroom an African American female student nearly cheered and fell out of her chair with excitment and I hadn't even opened my mouth yet. After class she explained that this was the first time she'd had a black teacher and was really excited about the course and content (Ebonics, I assume). Go figure, considering that there ain't many of us in the academy, let alone, the humanities (rhet/comp).

This makes me feel like the fruits of my labor may not be in vain after all. And I feel this lady's excitement: I didn't have my first African American teacher until my senior year in college at the University of Michigan (probably because I was creative writing and literature major?), and had to take courses in the social sciences just to get one. And since then, I've only had 2 African American teachers in grad school, one being Dr. G (aka Geneva Smitherman). Considering that I study Ebonics, go figure again.

Sometimes it takes moments like this to reflect more critically on the work that we as academics are responsible for doing, the power we hold (professionally, authoritatively, affectively, etc.), and the ways in which we represent both our home communities and the academy at large. What exactly does it mean to be a Black professor/instructor and not just a writing teacher? What does it mean to be a Black professor teaching about African American cultural and communicative practices? Whose responsibility is it to introduce students to Other cultural practices? Is it mine alone as an African American women, or can someone else teach/include such practices too? Whose authority does it become? Mine alone? Someone else's?

Upon reflecting both critically and intellectually on the implications surround Black teachers, I must also reflect soberly and pragmatically. Doing so makes things seem even more and more bleak; however, I have to be realistic. The academy knows that there are few and fewer (bl)academics represented, despite superficial calls for, and statements on diversity. And of the (bl)academics in the academy, even fewer are represented in the humanities (don't have hard stats, but nonetheless find this so, considering the fact that most of my (bl)academic friends come from other disciplines). Consider the Computers of Writing Conference (a smaller conferences associated with rhetoric and composition) I attended in May 2007 (held in Detroit of all places!). Of the hundreds of computer geeks represented, there were 3 AAs present, I being one of them!

As I continue to represent the small number of Blacks in rhet/comp/English Studies (although some would argue that the Black Caucus is actually one of the largest special interest groups in the National Council for Teachers of English), I have to believe that my work as a (bl)academic will be of value at least to my students.