The Black Connection

Autumn in New York ...( I mean DC )

Nia I'man Smith — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 22:18:58 EDT

As discussed in a previous blog, the carefree days of summer are indeed over, leaving many to wonder between school and work if they will have time to go out and enjoy autumn in DC. Well, wonder no more, as autumn in DC proves to be my favorite time of year for a few reasons, the main one being that the weather is no longer unbearably hot. So enjoy the cool (but not quite California cool) weather and explore some of these options:

I Got the Hook Up!

Nia I'man Smith — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:51:11 EDT

Prior to this week, I too would hopefully scroll the many housing ads on craigslist everyday in search of a decent pace to stay for a decent price, using my sparse daytime minutes to make frantic calls in response to those ads, only to be disappointed and sans abode. However, all of this changed on Sunday as the housing Gods and my grandmothers, Ms. Coleen Ransom and Minnie Nealy (R.I.P) looked down from heavens, saw my good friend Danyelle and I in need and delivered us the gift of “the hook up”. See definition below:

In the Music

Nia I'man Smith — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 19:42:57 EDT

As you have probably noticed, a good 96% of my blog titles have been taken from some of the greatest songs ever... In the spirit of sharing (and my love of making playlists, as well as the fact that I watched High Fidelity for the first time last night), here are the top songs in the, “The Black Connection Title Playlist” …please enjoy!

The End

Nia I'man Smith — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:43:31 EDT

Dear Social Capital Readers *

It looks like this is the end… gone are the carefree days of summer, as late August brings the return of classes, the beginning of classes (congrats to all my friends starting grad school), entrance into the work field (three jobs, here I come), and sadly no more blogging…

Love Song

Nia I'man Smith — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:50:29 EDT

Well, it’s August and this summer has been filled with everything from doing arts and crafts with five-seven year olds to traversing the city in aqua blue skinny jeans in the search for a good party, but one thing it hasn’t been filled with is DATES… but I still have hope! In celebration of the continued “Get A Date in 08”campaign, I present the Love Mix:

Anti Love Song

Nia I'man Smith — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:06:40 EDT

Well, it’s August and this summer has been filled with everything from doing arts and crafts with five-seven year olds to traversing the city in aqua blue skinny jeans in the search for a good party, but one thing it hasn’t been filled with is DATES…In celebration of my “Summer of Singlehood in DC”, I present the Anti-Love Mix:

DC : The Soundtrack (pt.2)

Nia I'man Smith — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:14:00 EDT

While renown for the White House , mambo sauce and the infamous Marion Berry tape, many people forget that DC is home to a rich musical legacy, which includes being the birthplace of Marvin Gaye, Duke Ellington, and Chuck Brown. In celebration of the music of the “Nation’s Capital”, I present to you some of my favorite songs by some of my favorite DC artists …please enjoy !

DC: The Soundtrack (Pt.1)

Nia I'man Smith — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:18:14 EDT

Sometimes It Snows In April (and sometimes it rains in July)

Nia I'man Smith — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 23:37:25 EDT

Dear unpredictable weather of DC: This past Sunday, I was most offended by your unpredictable weather escapades as you once again had me running down U St. in a furious attempt to find shelter because even though I’m rocking a natural, as a sista, you know I DON’T LIKE GETTING MY HAIR WET.

A Love Supreme

Nia I'man Smith — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 23:11:55 EDT

After watching countless episodes of Miami Ink and admiring the canvas of tattoos that have become both of my older brothers’ bodies, last July I decided to get my first tattoo. Scared that the pain would be equivalent to that of my Aunt Gwen’s childbirth story , after numerous “punk outs” I finally got my first tattoo (purpose in cursive across my left wrist) one year ago this month at the best tattoo shop in DC: Pinz-N-Needlez.

Two Tanka for the Little Girls of DC

Nia I'man Smith — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 22:07:35 EDT

*In my spare time, I like to fancy myself as a "poet"...and in doing so, I decided to write two Tanka poems inspired by my students and furthermore all the little girls of DC...more forthcoming...

Eat to Live

Nia I'man Smith — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:42:33 EDT

This Friday (or so it has been rumored), August 1, 2008, will witness a historic opening in DC. No longer will us DC folks have to sacrifice our last tanks of gas to drive to Takoma Park or Forestville in search of a “Rooty Tooty Fresh ‘N Fruity” because, IHOP IS COMING TO DC!!!! And guess what? The lucky community that will house this great pantheon of pancakes is none other than Congress Heights.

Two Tanka for the Girls of DC

Nia I'man Smith — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:50:55 EDT

*In my spare time, I like to fancy myself as a "poet"...and in doing so, I decided to write two Tanka poems dedicated to the girls of DC... more forthcoming...

One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer

Nia I'man Smith — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:26:53 EDT

I should have known this day was going to come. How naive of me to be so wrapped up in my “ the children are the future” dreams that I didn’t think that nine students ( 5-7 years in age ) would have the power to drive me to loudly proclaim at the staff meeting at the end of the day, “I NEED A DRINK!” I don’t want to say that it was the students themselves that drove me to Happy Hour before I began this blog, but I will say that their senseless yelling, the lack of bladder control resulting in the need to go to the bathroom every 30 seconds, the inability to sit in their assigned seats, their total disregard for Literature Circle, and my slipping in kid urine did. But I knew that once that clock struck 6 PM, Miss Nia was going to hit up her local pub/bar, have her favorite drink (a Heineken, as you can probably tell by now… I’m not a hard drinker), read some more of Invisible Man , and perhaps listen to some good music.

The Ballad of Dorothy Parker... Nia I’man Smith

Nia I'man Smith — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:02:28 EDT

“Nia was a waitress on U St.
she worked the night shift
kanekalon color # 2, chubby, and brown
she wished people tipped…”

"The Ballad of ~~Dorothy Parker~~... Nia I’man Smith"

Prince

If you happened to be a patron of the Mocha Hut this past Saturday afternoon (say somewhere around 4 PM), let me apologize for the outburst that (somewhat) deserved your looks of both confusion and distain. No, I don’t“…HATE DC…” , it’s just that as of late, with the disappointing “soul/funk” dance parties and the seemingly never ending barrage of “rude” customers that seem to patronize every job I’ve had on U St.,I’m starting to see my life post graduation in the District through my pessimistic turtle-shelled, cat-eyed “ I should have applied to grad school /sorry a*$ soul/funk dance party / dumb and non-tipping customer/ having city ” glasses, rather than my optimistic black horn rimmed “ this city has excellent music and cultural venues and great job opportunities” glasses.

Take Me Out to the GoGo

Nia I'man Smith — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:45:52 EDT

A typical conversation my Freshman year about DC:

Freshman not from DC #1: “DC is sooooo dirty.”

Freshman not from DC #2: “Girrrrl, I know…and the people here are sooo rude.”

Freshman not from DC #3:“Yes girrrllll… and you know what else?

I HATE THAT DAMN “POTS AND PANS” SOUNDING MUSIC !!!!

Freshman not from DC #4 aka me: “You mean GoGo? I like it. I used to listen to it all the time back home.”

Freshman not from DC #1, 2, and 3:

“BUT I THOUGHT YOU WAS FROM OAKLAND? THAT’S IN CALIFORNIA, RIGHT?

Me and You and Everyone We Know (…should buy this album)

Nia I'man Smith — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 23:34:09 EDT

If you haven’t noticed by now, I LOVE MUSIC. So much so, that a good 97% of these blogs are titled after some of my favorite songs, in hopes that I can share some good music with my fellow DC residents and native Washingtonians. With that said, given my vast and proven knowledge of good music ( especially by “neosoul/hiphop” DC artists), I am STRONGLY recommending that me( well, not me cause I already have this album) and you and everybody we know should support DC’s local music scene by picking up the JLaine, T. Fox, and Wes Felton collaboration, “Antithesis”.

I Wanna Make it With Chu'

Nia I'man Smith — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:30:24 EDT

Some songs are just sexy. For example, “Simply Beautiful” is the kind of sexy that is reserved for a wide collared silk shirt, a jet black crushed velvet suit, and a night with a brotha who looks like Billy Dee Williams…. “Untitled ( How Does It Feel)” is the kind of sexy that makes you pull out the Jasmine incense while having a brotha who likes to wear knit hats croon his latest spoken word masterpiece in your ear:

My African Queen

brown and serene

as peaceful as the Nile Rivers I see in my dreams

*snap snap*

All that I Am (Something for the People)

Nia I'man Smith — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:35:34 EDT

Dear Social Capital Blog Readers,

Ahhhhhhhhh….it feels good to be back. Current time is 9:30, and after a long day of work fueled by off brand applesauce, Cheese Nips , and the continuing hope that during poetry club tomorrow, my 1st graders will remember who Lucille Clifton is, Miz Nia is finally able to return to one of her first loves (besides fantasizing about her “Men of U St.” calendar or daydreaming about becoming a member of the Tao of Slick ): blogging. All the conditions are perfect: The Internet in the ILAB is working, none of the security guards have asked, “Didn’t you graduate…?”(Damn my recognizable headwraps!), I don’t have any major lesson planning to do for my students tomorrow (save for construction paper renderings of Nikki Giovanni and Honoree Fanonne Jeffers), and most importantly: THE INTERNET AT THE ILAB IS WORKING!!!

Where Can I Find… A Little Soul Party

Nia I'man Smith — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:13:16 EDT

Oh how I had envisioned that fateful Saturday night over a little more than a month ago...Clad in a pair of aqua blue skinny jeans complemented by a v-neck black sweater worn backwards to show off my back tattoo, it was my belief that on this fateful Saturday night, I, along with four good friends, would be dancing the night away to the likes of James Brown and Otis Redding at the Black Cat’s dance party, SoulF#@K while sipping on Cognac and drunkenly doing my best Dolemite impersonation. Sadly, this was not the case, as the night ended with no James, no Otis, and no Cognac but rather with a Reggae band at Bukom, a particularly strong Long Island Ice Tea, aqua blue skinny jeans that found themselves attempting to the do the dutty wind when they longed to slow drag to Boosty Collin’s, “What’s A Telephone Bill” or even Little Beaver’s, “Party Life”, and a confused Nia.