Some Thoughts
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Since VSB Is Changing, VSB Is Going to Change
Friday was a fairly emotional day for me. If I’m being honest, all of last week was. I’ve known Friday was Damon’s last day at VSB for quite some time; no decision as gargantuan as deciding to step away from something you created happens overnight. Yet, even knowing it was coming Friday just felt…huge. I…
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I'll Be Around
This month makes 10 years from the weekend I drove from Pittsburgh to D.C. for a party to celebrate both the three-year anniversary of the launch of VerySmartBrothas—the blog Panama Jackson, Liz Burr, and I created in 2008—and the release of Your Degrees Won’t Keep You Warm At Night, a self-published compilation of satirical dating…
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15 Things the Pandemic Taught Me About Being an Introvert
1. No one gives a shit 2. Seriously 3. No one cares 4. I guess I knew this before the pandemic, actually 5. When all those “How introverted are you?” quizzes infested the internet 6. And every introvert was like “Finally! I’m seen! I’m understood! Finally there’s a word to explain why I hate small…
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Yeah, I Can Watch This Clip of Daniel Kaluuya and His Famous Bruvs Celebrating His Oscar Win Forever
One of the everlasting values of Saturday Night Live is that it recreates a dynamic that really only exists one other place in popular culture—the NBA All-Star Game. Although the intensity level of that game is notoriously inconsistent, what remains static is how easy it is to discern comfort. In this group of the 24…
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What Looks Like Justice Is Just Accountability on an Ordinary Day
Derek Chauvin was found guilty of all charges for the murder of George Floyd. Black people rejoiced in the moments after the verdicts were announced because we had been holding our collective breath all morning, afraid to hope for a guilty verdict and expecting Chauvin to walk. Chauvin didn’t walk, so it’s justice, right? Baby,…
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Diddy Ruins Everything, Everybody
“Whoa” was a bulldozer of a track—a concussive and relentless four minutes that felt like you’d just been injected with a dose of Harlem, and not Ma$e’s Harlem, but Big L’s. To be in the club, on the floor, in 2000, when a DJ dropped that track felt life-threatening in all the best ways. But…
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Because I'm Not an Idiot, Here Are 5 Things I'd Rather Fight Than Aaron Donald—and Yes, That Includes a School Bus
Look, I’m not a fan of violence. Corporal punishment is not my ministry, and aside from owning an Oculus Quest 2, I haven’t had to throw hands in a hot minute. But aside from maybe slapping the shit out of your firstborn—and even that’s up for debate—you have to be a special type of stupid…
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Hubert Davis Was So Close to Having a Forgettable Press Conference
The first 38 minutes of Hubert Davis’ introductory press conference as the new men’s basketball head coach at the University of North Carolina hit each of the points that new hires for high-profile coaching gigs are expected to. He was gracious, emotional, and humble. He told the story of his own journey to North Carolina…
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Christians With Ashy Souls Believe That God Is Ashy, Too
While watching and admiring Lil Nas X’s mastery of Twitter over the past week, I’m reminded a bit of John Wick. Specifically, Wick in the nightclub in John Wick, which is the first time we truly see him do some quintessentially Wick shit. While I’m sure it would suck to be one of those nameless…
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I'm Not Really Into Hyperbole or Whatever but Usher's 'U Don't Have to Call' Is the Best Song Ever Made
Earlier this week, Panama Jackson refreshed and reshared a 2017 piece declaring Mark Morrison’s “Return of The Mack” the best song ever that no one acknowledges is the best song ever. He is wrong for many reasons, including the following: 1. I’m certain that Mark Morrison, the Morrison household, the Morrison family, and the Morrison…