Baratunde exists at the intersection of comedy, politics and technology. His official duties include Web & Politics editor at The Onion, co-founder of Jack & Jill Politics and host of PopSci's Future Of on Science Channel. He's currently writing How To Be Black, to be released in 2011 by Harper Collins. Basically, he's a smart, funny, extremely handsome dude.
Some of my favorite NYC comics (including Luke Thayer and Dave Lester) combined forces to form hilarious Voltron and heap much deserved derision upon The Blind Side and all "It Takes A Village White Person To Raise A Black Child" movies.
Barack Obama, Comedy, Harvard, Video Washington, DC—The National Council of La Raza (NCLR)—the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States—welcomed today’s report in the New York Times that President Barack Obama has made immigration reform one of his top priorities for this year.
Here's a link to the NYT story. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/09/us/politics/09immig.html
So is President Obama the hardest working man to occupy the White House? I'm just saying, dude has got some hustle. I'm glad to see him following up on this pledge to engage on immigration. Obviously, he has a political/demographic interest in keeping the ball moving, considering the growing influence of Latino residents and voters in the country.
Barack Obama in General Yesterday's Ultimate Gossip Girl Summit IV at the People's Improv Theatre was amazing. Not only did we have funky cool panelists, but three actors from the series showed up (Jake, played Chuck 2.0; Matt, played Skull n Bones; Zuzanna, plays Dorota).
Sara Benincasa is a saucy and well, actually quite naughty summit host who gives out sex toys to guests and audience members alike. As the newly-minted "brownest" member of the summit panel, I explained that I spent all of 2008 working to get Barack Obama elected. Starting November 5th, I wanted to do the opposite of campaign for Obama. Gossip Girl fit that need perfectly, and I've been hooked ever since.
But the real highlight of yesterday's summit was seeing Mieka Pauley perform a song to Chuck Bass that we wrote together just hours before the event. Yes, we waited until the last minute. Yes, Mieka treated me like a joke factory all day long demanding I write more funny lines despite my fatigue, but I'm really proud of the collaboration.
Enjoy
Barack Obama in Baratunde-News, General Part of the fun of being here is the honor I have of helping tell the story of what's going down. It's 4am, and I need to keep this short and sweet. Will try to add more details as they become available. Meanwhile, set your Tivos and foreign friends' tape decks Sunday January 18
Barack Obama, Inauguration, Media Appearances in General cross-posted to JJP Hey team, I'm here! This city is abuzz. Bus drivers are excited (and pissed about the added stress to there lives). Black folks are dressed in finery. The alcohol doth flow freely. It's a magical time to be in Chocolate City, and I'll do my best to share what I'm seeing with yall, wherever you are. Notable moments from today:
Barack Obama, Inauguration, Washington DC in General How many times can I use the word "blog" in the title of this blog post? Anyway, I forgot to post this on my own site, so for reference and bragging rights, I wrote an oped at The Daily Beast about my life at Sidwell Friends, with advice to the Obama parents. It was shortly picked up by the Anderson Cooper 360 blog. Hooray for blogging! Note, the comments on both sites really seem to have been made by people who are not that smart nor observant.
I also posted this to YouTube. Anjali and I voted at the same time. She lives in my building, and we've been neighbors for 14 months but never met until Election Day 2008. Here is a post-vote interview from the Dyckman Street subway in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan. After the interview, I threw in some photos I and my boy Sozi Tulante (of West Philly) took at the DNC.
2008 Elections, Barack Obama, Citizen Journalism, Election Day, Interview, Inwood, NYC, New York, Subway, Video in General 2008 Elections, 2008 Presidential Race, Barack Obama, Election Day, NYC, Video in General Full piece here Excerpt:
The polling is clear. Obama has a steady national lead. More importantly, he is leading in the handful of states whose electoral votes actually matter including four states that voted for George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004. John McCain had hoped to make California competitive. Instead he finds himself ahead by only two points in his home state of Arizona, forced to commit resources and to start running deceptive automated phone calls in a desperate attempt to prevent an embarrassing loss. Assuming he wins, what can we expect from Barack Obama. Can he unite the country as he's promised? He will have his work cut out. The divisions in America run deep racially and politically, but there can and will be progress, if not total resolution. A friend and fellow comedian who produces a video series called "This Week In Blackness" spoke with me about the oft-repeated concept of a "post-racial" America. The notion is that we will have won the War On Racism by electing Obama and once and for all healed America's racial divide. Claims of employment discrimination, systematic imprisonment and economic segregation could be met with, "But you have a black president." The country could finally move on to more pressing matters, like selecting the next flavour of Coca Cola. This simple resolution will not happen. In fact, Obama's mere candidacy (and the reaction of his opponents to it) have exacerbated that racial divide in small but poignant ways. Obama has tapped into hope, but he has also triggered a backlash of fear from the more ignorant realms of our society.As usual, Bring it for Barack
