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Ciroc Obama
This is Barack Obama. He is the 44th President of the United States of America.
Now, on the far left here we have ‘Ciroc Obama’ — a drink our gracious host Martin created and served at his election night party. It consisted of Ciroc Vodka, pineapple juice (to honor Barack’s Hawaiian upbringing) and a little cranberry juice (to remember the blood of our fallen ancestors). Creative, yet deep. Gold star for Martin! In the middle are me and BFF Kellz being overwhelmed by the moment. And on the right is Jesse Jackson in the midst of an equally ugly cry… I couldn’t resist ;)
What an amazing evening! GO-BAMA!!!
GO-BAMA!!!
So YAY!!! I just voted. And I gotta say I’ve never been so happy to stand in such a long line in my life!
I vote in Ward 7, Southeast Washington, D.C. and when I got to the polling place at 6:15 this morning (polls opened at 7) I was more than happy to walk around the corner and halfway down the next street to get in the back of the line. I’d never seen anything like it.
I had planned to watch the results at home alone because I didn’t think I could stand to be at an ‘election party’ where there might be other people talking when I was trying to hear what the newscasters were saying. But after the comradery I felt while waiting in line this morning, I don’t want to experience tonite by myself. If things go the way I’ve prayed they do I’m gonna want to celebrate for sure! And if they go the other way, well… I’m gonna need some help flipping over cars. ;)
Just kidding… Kinda ;)
Yay for today! Vote, vote, vote!
Even if you’re not voting for Barack.
(The views expressed in the previous sentence are not necessarily the views of Erin Jackson or any of her friends and associates.)
“May see me in DC at Howard’s Homecoming…”
Ahhh… The Notorious B.I.G. immortalized Howard University’s homecoming in the posthumously-released hip-hop classic (can we call this a classic?… Has it been long enough?…) Kick in the Door because really, there’s nothing in the world like it! Yesterday was the culmination of Howard’s week-long homecoming celebration. And if you’ve never been to a Black college homecoming, I suggest you do it before it’s too late!
I graduated from Howard a few years ago ;). And I love and appreciate my alma mater more today than I did when I was a student. With a 141-year legacy of educating some of the brightest, most progressive minds and talents from all over the African diaspora, Howard is one of (and I only say “one of” because I don’t wanna start an e-fight :) the greatest Historically Black Universities in the nation. I actually used to work as a recruiter for Howard’s Office of Admissions and it was my job to travel around the country telling people how great Howard is, educating them about the opportunities the University offers, and sharing my experiences as a student and an employee. I traveled to Oklahoma City and Memphis, New Orleans, Boston and Anchorage… and no matter where I went, people came out… they signed up for my information sessions… because they knew about and respected my university. It was an amazingly validating experience AND I got paid for it. Life was good.
Thousands of Howard alumni, as well as folks who attended other schools or just happen to live in the DMV area come out for the festivities. When I was younger, homecoming meant a week of non-stop partying, attending fashion and comedy shows and poetry slams and pageants, but as I’ve gotten older, it’s become more about catching up with old classmates, meeting their families, and reminiscing on what will always be one of the greatest periods of our lives…
But I still party a little ;)
Here are a few snapshots from my weekend:
These are my girls Christina and Keisha a.k.a. Kellz. We have a photo of the three of us from every homecoming we attended as students and alumni. I was looking back at some of them this morning. My, my, my how we’ve changed ;)
Me and my boy KG. You may remember him as one of the assailants in the underground video classic Ghetto Superstar.
The fabulous DWJ with her godson (another one of our HU friends’ son), Ajani. I remember when his mom was pregnant with him. Now he’s seven and super duper adorable. Man…
And this is me, X-Tina and Kellz again. See, told you we still partied a little ;)
Bubbles and My Color Purple moment
So I tripped up to NYC yesterday for an audition at good ‘ole Gotham. Treated myself to the train (only one way of course, I took the bus back). Had a pretty good nite. When I got to the club I went down into the smaller lounge showroom in the basement to clear my head and run thru my set a few more times… I was casually chatting with the owner of the club and a booker/producer friend I hadn’t seen in almost two years when in walks one Mr. Louis Ramey — one of my absolutest favoritest people!
(That’s me and Lou. I promise, he really does like me … at least I think he does ;)
We met formally during this season of Last Comic, and were looking forward to clowning together for longer than the semifinal week we spent in Vegas, but the comedy gods had other plans. They sent me packing and he made it to the top five ;) But we’ve kept in touch and just thinking about some of the things he says off stage send me into spontaneous laughing fits ;)
Anyway, he saw me first. And when I looked up and our eyes met, it was like the scene at the end of The Color Purple when Nettie comes back to the farm with Celie’s kids and they’re reunited…
We even played the same hand game. You think I’m kidding. But every Black person in this country knows the words: “Me and you us never part. Makidada. Me and you us have one heart. Makidada.” We did this. Repeatedly throughout the nite. I heart Louis. The other day I left a comment on his Myspace page asking him for a dollar. When I saw him last nite he handed me four quarters. What a guy! ;)
My show was at 8:30 in the main room and there were some great comics on the showcase: Mike Birbiglia, Arj Barker, Baron Vaughn, Nate Bargatze (one of my personal faves ;). I met a comic out of Boston called Joe Wong who had this hilarious bit about the test to become a US citizen. He’s a Chinese immigrant and he says one of the questions on the test was “Who is Benjamin Franklin?” His answer: The reason our convenience store got robbed. And then another question was “What is the second amendment?” His answer: The reason our convenience store got robbed. Or something similar to that. It was hilarious. I heart him too now.
I won’t bother you with the rest of the details of the nite, except to tell you that my 1:45 am bus didn’t leave until after 2:30 am. I got home at 7:15 and had to hop in the shower and be out the door again by 8:00. Exhale. I was dragging this morning, but as I was coming out of the Metro there was someone there blowing bubbles. There were bubbles everywhere and I immediately felt better. I don’t know what it is about bubbles but they take me back to an innocent time where I was completely carefree. I tried to catch the bubbles. I forgot that I was 30. ;)
I think I’m gonna buy some bubbles to keep around the house. I already have bubble wrap stashed in my hall closet. I pop it when I’m upset. It calms me down ;) Maybe anything that contains the world bubble is a good mood alterer for me. Maybe I should see a shrink. Perhaps I should buy some bubble gum. I’m so sleepy. I’m sorry you had to read this.
Class
I am so full.
“We have an obligation to fight for the world, as it should be.”
Yeah we do.
Old Skool. Literally.
This is one of my first — if not the first — student film project I did while I was at Howard University. I ran into one of my former classmates/production team members at a show tonite and I told her I’d Youtube this for her. So I thought I’d share with you too ;)
The video is called “Ghetto Superstar” and it’s about a ghetto superhero who rescues innocent women from annoying men with no game. Shaky camera work, poor lighting and blurry focus by yours truly ;) And the sound effects came courtesy of Wu-Tang Clan’s “Enter the 36 Chambers” and the rest of the ladies in the group (I did the one where the guy next to the car is laughing).” It’s not exactly a masterpiece. But it’s still fun to watch. I’m not in it but a bunch of my old HU buddies are. Back then all I wanted to do was operate camera and edit. I had absolutely no desire to ever be in front of the camera… but look at me now. Life is so random.