Read It, Seen It

Seasoned Funk Artist at Play

Thoughts on Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In”

Last Friday, I picked up a copy of Lean In for $13.59 at Costco. That very act illustrates the difference between me and Sheryl Sandberg. Lean In isn’t focused on women who have to work and bargain shop. It’s a book for wealthy, heterosexual married women with multiple choices - to have a baby or not; to stay-at-home with the baby or not; to schedule work around family dinners or not. Sandberg pays scant attention to the women who enable her and her peers to make these choices. Can a nanny lean in? Can Camille, the executive assistant, that has followed Sheryl to different companies over the past 10 years?

That said, I have an abundance of notes that hopefully will help me move forward with a career if I can ever discover what that means to me. So far over these last 13 years, I’ve let getting/having/keeping a tolerable job distract me.

Lessons
1. Women “consistently underestimate ourselves” and that is a clear symptom of the impostor syndrome (page 29).
2. “Opportunities are rarely offered; they’re seized” (page 34).
3. “Owning one’s success is key to achieving more success” (page 44).
4. “The ability to forge a unique path with occasional dips, detours, and even dead ends presents a better chance for fulfillment” (page 53).
5. The criteria that matters most when selecting a new position — potential for (fast) growth (page 58).
6. When negotiating, “letting the other side make the first offer is often crucial to achieving favorable terms” (page 59).
7. “The cost of stability is often diminished opportunities for growth” (page 61).
8. “Searching for a mentor has become the professional equivalent of waiting for Prince Charming” (page 66).
9. “Most people in the position to mentor are quite adept at problem solving. Give them a problem to solve” (page 71).
10. “Aiming for perfection causes frustration at best and paralysis at worst” (page 125).

In my fantasy world, I’m rich, and Amel Larrieux sings lullabies to my babies. In this world, I watched Amel Larrieux sing onstage with her 14-year-old daughter who did backup vocals and played the guitar and keyboard. That was a beautiful sight.

In my fantasy world, I’m rich, and Amel Larrieux sings lullabies to my babies. In this world, I watched Amel Larrieux sing onstage with her 14-year-old daughter who did backup vocals and played the guitar and keyboard. That was a beautiful sight.

Journey to the tip of New York. Montauk rocks & the Atlantic Ocean.

Journey to the tip of New York. Montauk rocks & the Atlantic Ocean.

Splash: It’s About the Water

Today, I messed around and watched an episode of ABC’s “Splash.” It’s endearingly curious. I haven’t seen such a joyous nightmare since the Magic Johnson Show circa 1997. I mean, on the one hand, this show’s supposed to be about “stars” learning how to dive. However, you can’t learn to dive in six weeks. So, the show’s about belly flops with buckets of splash. How else can you explain Louie Anderson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar getting the highest scores and praise of the night? For those who appreciate irony, head on over to ABC for images, video, recaps and thankfully, FULL EPISODES.

I visited Chapel Hill and an old favorite today. Minus the extra onions, peppers & mushrooms on the hashbrowns, this is the exact same order I used to get 15 years ago. Extra treat - same waitress and just $5. Yum!

I visited Chapel Hill and an old favorite today. Minus the extra onions, peppers & mushrooms on the hashbrowns, this is the exact same order I used to get 15 years ago. Extra treat - same waitress and just $5. Yum!

SPOTTED: Ayana Mathis, author of the Twelve Tribes of Hattie, visited Politics & Prose tonight, and I picked up a few insights and nuggets of wisdom. 1. Ms. Ayana Mathis is funny. Quite funny. 2. She believes we have entered a period of the American canon in which African-American stories do not have to center on race. We can be more humanistic. She’s interested in the intersection of class, race and ennui. 3. ASPIRING AUTHORS: Write for each 15 minutes each day. It is a job. It requires discipline. 4. Don’t worry if your characters do not visit or walk or talk with you. Keep writing, and by doing so, you demystify the process. 5. Some days, you may not recognize your own words or sentences. That’s the magic of art flowing through you. The bottom image shows the three books Ms. Mathis would want on a desert island. I’d take Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison), The Farming of the Bones (Edwidge Danticat) and a Moleskin notebook (for me to write my own thoughts).

SPOTTED: Ayana Mathis, author of the Twelve Tribes of Hattie, visited Politics & Prose tonight, and I picked up a few insights and nuggets of wisdom.

1. Ms. Ayana Mathis is funny. Quite funny.
2. She believes we have entered a period of the American canon in which African-American stories do not have to center on race. We can be more humanistic. She’s interested in the intersection of class, race and ennui.
3. ASPIRING AUTHORS: Write for each 15 minutes each day. It is a job. It requires discipline.
4. Don’t worry if your characters do not visit or walk or talk with you. Keep writing, and by doing so, you demystify the process.
5. Some days, you may not recognize your own words or sentences. That’s the magic of art flowing through you.

The bottom image shows the three books Ms. Mathis would want on a desert island. I’d take Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison), The Farming of the Bones (Edwidge Danticat) and a Moleskin notebook (for me to write my own thoughts).

Nas Is Coming! Hip Hop Is Coming...to the Kennedy Center Next Year!

Hooray! It’s a new day for the Kennedy Center. After over 30 years of being an aural, cultural & political movement, hip hop will be celebrated next March at the Kennedy Center. With an incredible title like “One Mic: Hip-Hop Culture Worldwide,” I’m eager to see more. I mean “worldwide.” It says “worldwide.”

Backing Badu

While Erykah Badu gave two performances last week at the Fillmore in Silver Spring, her background singers did more like 1.5.

You see Erykah was celebrating her birthday and dedicated night one to her first album “Baduizm” and night two to her second studio album “Mama’s Gun.” The woman can SANG and entertain, so both nights were magnificent. Mama’s Gun is my favorite Badu album, so it was great to hear it live from “Penitentiary Philosophy” to “Green Eyes.” What I didn’t realize until Friday night is that many of the songs do not have background vocals. Her backup singers literally sat on stools and watched her for half of the show. I was amazed.

Speaking of the DC drug culture, here are a few interesting footnotes. Rayful Edmond III had a drug cartel whose revenue was over $200 million in the DC-area. Name one company whose sales are similar. That’s pretty aw(e)ful. Can you say trickle down Reaganomics? On to the second shot and another Reagan, even I remember the ubiquitous “Just Say No” message. Never saw this game until now, though. I wonder how it was marketed and who was the target audience. Research shows that the message was not remarkably successful in dissuading kids from trying drugs.

Speaking of the DC drug culture, here are a few interesting footnotes. Rayful Edmond III had a drug cartel whose revenue was over $200 million in the DC-area. Name one company whose sales are similar. That’s pretty aw(e)ful. Can you say trickle down Reaganomics?

On to the second shot and another Reagan, even I remember the ubiquitous “Just Say No” message. Never saw this game until now, though. I wonder how it was marketed and who was the target audience. Research shows that the message was not remarkably successful in dissuading kids from trying drugs.