Champagne Sharks

We discuss Deray McKesson getting chased out of Ferguson at his own book signing event by an actual Ferguson organizer and protester, Michael Hassell, and how it backs up much of what we've said about Deray all along. Mentioned in this episode: * Darren Seals's (RIP) original 2016 Twitter thread accusing Deray and Black Lives Matter or being protest crashers and opportunists https://twitter.com/KingDSeals/status/756072813702762496 * Profile of Darren Seals that came out after he died: https://thecorrespondent.com/5349/meet-darren-seals-then-tell-me-black-death-is-not-a-business/1512965275833-fe73c5b1 * Death of Edward Crawford, the figure in the iconic Ferguson protest photo https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ferguson-protester-edward-crawford-subject-iconic-photo-found-dead-n755401 * Michael Hassell's Facebook Live video documenting his crashing of Deray's event: https://www.facebook.com/city8670/videos/1749923361771582/?hc_ref=ARSnknTaPOeMK389_XirUhRb9Uglnp8N0D8Qh1m0MdeAsYnfRmHOMMJwUr2D2B4mSa4&__xts__[0]=68.ARCz8gR-s-d2FtZG7N-x6YYyiGBgQA-QbzVb4UB4puvpw_ctb8XVlPtM6FBxllL0K07TL9n1EoHMVNL0B_alAuapwAB5dF6YQWfBvz47iMuZzOKivKrimt-tLyFlRNARjjW6zMtlXQ1bZxlOYKMpBfJZFLrjuYlNAJMHdvmRzsrWRI2afp6SA5M&__tn__=FC-R * Yonasda Hill's interview with Michael Hassell after the incident asking him why he did it and his relationship with not just Deray but also with the three founders of Black Lives Matter, https://www.facebook.com/city8670/videos/1749923361771582/?hc_ref=ARSnknTaPOeMK389_XirUhRb9Uglnp8N0D8Qh1m0MdeAsYnfRmHOMMJwUr2D2B4mSa4&__xts__[0]=68.ARCz8gR-s-d2FtZG7N-x6YYyiGBgQA-QbzVb4UB4puvpw_ctb8XVlPtM6FBxllL0K07TL9n1EoHMVNL0B_alAuapwAB5dF6YQWfBvz47iMuZzOKivKrimt-tLyFlRNARjjW6zMtlXQ1bZxlOYKMpBfJZFLrjuYlNAJMHdvmRzsrWRI2afp6SA5M&__tn__=FC-R * Drew Franklin's first expose article about Deray, Ferguson, and Teach For America http://www.orchestratedpulse.com/2015/10/the-movement-lives-in-ferguson/ * Drew Franklin's second, even more in-depth and target expose of Deray, "Why DeRay Mckesson's Baltimore Campaign Looks Like It Comes Right Out of Teach for America's Playbook" https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/why-deray-mckessons-plan-baltimores-schools-looks-it-comes-right-out-teach * Thread by activist Ashley Yates about the shenanigans done by Deray and the Black Lives Matter founders in the past...

This is a preview of a premium bonus episode. To get access to this episode subscribe for $5/month at patreon.com/champagnesharks.  This will not only give you access to this current premium episode you’re previewing, but also all the back premium episodes you may have missed as well and all future bonus premium episodes. Today Leslie Lee III from the podcast Struggle Session joins me to discuss a recent book excerpt from Deray McKesson's memoir that appeared in NY Magazine titled "I Was Raised by Storm". Struggle Session is a podcast that wades into the reactionary hellhole of modern pop culture in America and talks video games, movies, TV, wrestling, comic books, music, anime, and all of your problematic faves. They can be found and supported over at https://www.patreon.com/strugglesession Discussed in this episode: * "I Was Raised by Storm" by Deray McKessons http://www.vulture.com/2018/09/i-was-raised-by-storm.html The song playing in the intro is "Slippery People by The Staple SIngers. There is now a Champagne Sharks Spotify playlist where you can find all the songs used in our episodes and others we plan to use later open.spotify.com/user/tbilzie/pla…qsRgGCs-7nPw-cHA Co-produced & edited by Aaron C. Schroeder / Pierced Ears Recording Co, Seattle WA (piercedearsmusic@gmail.com) Opening theme composed by T. Beaulieu. Closing theme composed by Dustfingaz (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheRazhu_)

D. and Mike host an episode without me. It's pretty good. Discussed in the episode: * The Curious Cat question I was asked that gets discussed https://curiouscat.me/ChampagneSharks/post/612723514 * The babysitters who let the kids in their car smoke week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQsM52oec0Y and https://www.kron4.com/news/national/babysitters-force-kids-to-smoke-weed-post-video/1408035844 * Videos on why Saturday morning cartoons died: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1LO5887HVg and also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RryI7JJ2GHQ * Gizmodo article on Saturday cartoons D. mentions https://gizmodo.com/saturday-morning-cartoons-arent-dead-theyre-everywhere-1642859147 Support the show and get double the episodes by subscribing to bonus episodes for $5/month at patreon.com/champagnesharks.  If you can’t subscribe right now for whatever reason, do the next best thing and tell as many people as you know about the show. Co-produced & edited by Aaron C. Schroeder / Pierced Ears Recording Co, Seattle WA (piercedearsmusic@gmail.com)Opening theme composed by T. Beaulieu. Closing theme composed by Dustfingaz (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheRazhu_)

We discuss the recent fiasco surrounding internet "comic" personality Luvvie Ajayi. We made this double length, so hopefully this makes up partially for the long break we had due to my operation and injuries.Mentioned in this episode: * The NY Times profile of Luvvie https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/06/style/luvvie-ajayi-blogger.html * A breakdown of the Luvvie vs. Tevin Campbell controversy that took over Black Twitter for a week https://thegrio.com/2018/08/18/tevin-campbell-aretha-franklin-tribute-twitter/ * Amanda Seales's strawman filled rants on IG: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bmum4wUnbxL/?taken-by=amandaseales and also https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm5_wGGHVqE/?taken-by=amandaseales * Luvvie's rambling, circuitous, strawman-filled response essay claiming people were denying her blackness due to her being African https://www.awesomelyluvvie.com/2018/08/about-blackness-africanness.html * Twitter thread of an African conservative commentator on Twitter who used a Black liberal's attack on her for being conservative as an excuse to launch into a totally unrelated rant bashing Black Descendants of American Slaves, and the Africans and white racists who jumped in her replies to cheerlead her https://twitter.com/obianuju/status/1031917218408411136 * My Twitter thread about the Luvvie controversy: https://twitter.com/RickyRawls/status/1032395205348155392 * Bozoma St. John, the Ghanian-American PR person who recentyl was appointed to help Papa John's rebreand after a controversy involving it's founder being racist and using the N-word: https://www.blackenterprise.com/bozoma-saint-john-is-helping-papa-johns-re-brand/. St. John has also been hired in the past to help rebrand Uber, another terrible corporate actor that had its own racism controversies even after hiring her. She also was hired as a human racism shield to help rebrand Apple's image on diversity issues after they got in trouble for racism. * Bozoma jumping in on Twitter to defend Luvvie, a fellow African-American, against slander in a way she never has for Black Descendants of American Slaves: https://twitter.com/badassboz/status/1030621722268057601. Note she even name drops and humblebrags meeting Tevin Campbell and attending the Soul Train Awards, even as she simultaneously joins Luvvie in shading him and by implication Black American culture. * Bozoma St. John repeating the strawman that Luvvie and all her defenders kept saying, claiming that people were questioning Luvvie's blackness due to her being African https://twitter.com/badassboz/status/1030632447527010304 Support the show and get double the episodes by subscribing to bonus episodes for $5/mont...

We welcome Shannon Strucci, an editor who runs the YouTube channel StrucciMovies and is currently working on a video essay series about parasocial relationships called FAKE FRIENDS. The latest installment of Fake Friends can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLA-uFKjQ-g Mentioned in this episode: * "Dylan Sprouse And James Gunn Accused Jared Leto Of Creepiness On Twitter" http://dlisted.com/2018/05/17/dylan-sprouse-and-james-gunn-accused-jared-leto-of-creepiness-on-twitter/ * Dave Bautista May Not Do Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Without James Gunn's Script https://io9.gizmodo.com/dave-bautista-may-not-do-guardians-of-the-galaxy-vol-3-1828138248 * Director James Gunn Apologizes for Anti-Gay and Sexist Comments on Blog Post https://www.glaad.org/blog/director-james-gunn-apologizes-anti-gay-and-sexist-comments-blog-post * ArenaNet throw two Guild Wars 2 writers to the wolves https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/07/06/arenanet-throw-two-guild-wars-2-writers-to-the-wolves/ * Guild Wars 2 writers fired following heated Twitter exchange with streamer https://www.pcgamer.com/amp/guild-wars-2-writers-fired-following-heated-twitter-exchange-with-streamer/?__twitter_impression=true * James Gunn’s firing shows we’re still living in the Gamergate era https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/culture/2018/7/24/17599132/james-gunn-fired-gamergate-guardians-of-the-galaxy * On James Gunn, Fake Outrage and Letting The Bad Guys Win https://moviebobcentral.com/2018/07/23/on-james-gunn/ * The Maniac Who Conquered Marvel https://www.buzzfeed.com/adambvary/james-gunn-guardians-of-the-galaxy?utm_term=.sl7QVRM56E#.pikgYro8Z5 * The “controversy” over journalist Sarah Jeong joining the New York Times, explained https://www.vox.com/2018/8/3/17644704/sarah-jeong-new-york-times-tweets-backlash-racism Support the show and get double the episodes by subscribing to bonus episodes for $5/month at patreon.com/champagnesharks.  If you can’t subscribe right now for whatever reason, do the next best thing and tell as many people as you know about the show.\ Co-produced & edited by Aaron C. Schroeder / Pierced Ears Recording Co, Seattle WA (piercedearsmusic@gmail.com) Opening theme composed by T. Beaulieu. Closing theme composed by Dustfingaz (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheRazhu_)

This is a preview of a premium bonus episode. To get access to this episode subscribe for $5/month at patreon.com/champagnesharks.  This will not only give you access to this current premium episode you’re previewing, but also all the back premium episodes you may have missed as well and all future bonus premium episodes. This episode we discuss a recent shooting of a Black man in Clearwater, Florida, where the gunman got off on a stand your ground defense. Mentioned in this episode: "Gunman in death of father not charged based on Florida’s ‘stand your ground’ law" https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/gunman-in-death-of-father-not-charged-based-on-florida-s-stand-your-ground-law-1283708995875 Co-produced & edited by Aaron C. Schroeder / Pierced Ears Recording Co, Seattle WA (piercedearsmusic@gmail.com) Opening theme composed by T. Beaulieu. Closing theme composed by Dustfingaz (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheRazhu_)

This is a preview of a premium bonus episode. To get access to this episode subscribe for $5/month at patreon.com/champagnesharks.  This will not only give you access to this current premium episode you’re previewing, but also all the back premium episodes you may have missed as well and all future bonus premium episodes. This episode we discuss a recent criminal controversy involving reality stars and Instagram models and apparent escorts, the Clermont Twins. We end up also discussing some other hard-hitting (not really) topics along the way. Mentioned in this episode: "She was in reality TV’s ‘Bad Girls Club.’ Now she’s charged with stealing a dead man’s identity." https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/07/12/she-was-a-reality-tv-bad-girl-now-shes-charged-with-stealing-a-dead-mans-identity/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.d6b8a7130b20 The C.O.W.S. podcast discussing Black Mirror https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtzwwNLM4bk "James Gunn Slammed After His Horrific Tweets Joking About Pedophilia Surface" https://hollywoodlife.com/2018/07/20/james-gunn-old-tweets-pedophilia-rape-offensive-jokes-deleted-apology/ Co-produced & edited by Aaron C. Schroeder / Pierced Ears Recording Co, Seattle WA (piercedearsmusic@gmail.com) Opening theme composed by T. Beaulieu. Closing theme composed by Dustfingaz (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheRazhu_)

We welcome Michael Brooks, host of The Michael Brooks Show and cohost of The Majority Report with Sam Seder to discuss Sorry to Bother You, the recent movie by Boots Riley of the rap group The Coup. The Michael Brooks show can be found and supported at https://www.patreon.com/TMBS. Support the show and get double the episodes by subscribing to bonus episodes for $5/month at patreon.com/champagnesharks.  If you can’t subscribe right now for whatever reason, do the next best thing and tell as many people as you know about the show. Opening intro song is "Guillotine" by the Coup. Co-produced & edited by Aaron C. Schroeder / Pierced Ears Recording Co, Seattle WA (piercedearsmusic@gmail.com) Opening theme composed by T. Beaulieu. Closing theme composed by Dustfingaz (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheRazhu_)

This is a preview of a premium bonus episode. To get access to this episode subscribe for $5/month at patreon.com/champagnesharks.  This will not only give you access to this current premium episode you’re previewing, but also all the back premium episodes you may have missed as well and all future bonus premium episodes. This episode we talk about several things, particularly my "Straight, Single and Smashing" theory of Black (and other nonwhite) male characters in action and drama movies and shows. Then we segue into the new wave of articles involving coining catchy dating trends. Mentioned in this episode: * "Mosting’: When People Come On Strong, Then Ghost" https://melmagazine.com/mosting-when-people-come-on-strong-then-ghost-cafec9b78254 * "8 2017 Dating Trends Defined, From Ghosting To Zombieing To Benching" https://www.elitedaily.com/dating/dating-trends-defined-from-ghosting-to-zombieing/2045686 * "From ghosting to breadcrumbing, the new glossary of love" https://www.hindustantimes.com/sex-and-relationships/from-ghosting-to-breadcrumbing-the-new-glossary-of-love/story-u90mzJPhZcfoU1gQqP02OM.html Co-produced & edited by Aaron C. Schroeder / Pierced Ears Recording Co, Seattle WA (piercedearsmusic@gmail.com) Opening theme composed by T. Beaulieu. Closing theme composed by Dustfingaz (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheRazhu)

Today we discuss a theme that has obsessively been plaguing the Champagne Sharks Curious Cat (the site people go to to ask questions that we answer on the show), my supposed views on interracial dating and the fact my wife is of Indian descent. You can find the Champagne Sharks Curious Cat here: https://curiouscat.me/champagnesharks. Support the show and get double the episodes by subscribing to bonus episodes for $5/month at patreon.com/champagnesharks.  If you can’t subscribe right now for whatever reason, do the next best thing and tell as many people as you know about the show. Co-produced & edited by Aaron C. Schroeder / Pierced Ears Recording Co, Seattle WA (piercedearsmusic@gmail.com) Opening theme composed by T. Beaulieu. Closing theme composed by Dustfingaz (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheRazhu)_

This is a preview of a premium bonus episode. To get access to this episode subscribe for $5/month at patreon.com/champagnesharks.  This will not only give you access to this current premium episode you’re previewing, but also all the back premium episodes you may have missed as well and all future bonus premium episodes. This episode we talk about an array of things, with a common theme being (I guess) light-skinned energy. We discuss Luke Cage Season 2, Drake's new album, Eddie Murphy vs. Martin Lawrence in terms of standup comedy, and the latest developments with Terry Crews testifying before Congress. Co-produced & edited by Aaron C. Schroeder / Pierced Ears Recording Co, Seattle WA (piercedearsmusic@gmail.com) Opening theme composed by T. Beaulieu. Closing theme composed by Dustfingaz (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheRazhu)  

Today Mike and I discuss a weird array of topics from Taye Diggs's dating life to white people's weird porn fixations, including the genre known as "pussy pump" porn: Mentioned in this episode * Event page for live interview at Starr Bar between NYS Senate candidate Julia Salazar and Virgil Texas from Chapo Trap House https://salazarforsenate.com/events/virgil-texas-interview * "Taye Diggs Says No One Told Him the Entertainment Biz Was Racist" http://atlantablackstar.com/2018/06/22/taye-diggs-says-no-one-told-him-the-entertainment-biz-was-racist/ * "Taye Diggs Says It's Hard To Date White Women Again Because Black Women Caused Him Trauma" https://www.essence.com/celebrity/taye-diggs-dating-white-women-resents-black-women * "Taye Diggs denies comments slandering black women" http://blackyouthproject.com/taye-diggs-denies-comments-slandering-black-women/ * Film Daily article: "WTF is “blavity black” and why are Issa Rae and Donald Glover accused of it?" * The book When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America by Ira Katznelson https://amzn.to/2NluMS1 * The book The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein https://amzn.to/2u2JuUR * The book The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap by Mehrsa Baradaran https://amzn.to/2u1VbeK * Intercept article on NY State Senate candidate Julia Salazar https://theintercept.com/2018/07/03/julia-salazar-state-senate-new-york-dsa/; Julia Salazar's campaign site: https://salazarforsenate.com/ Support the show and get double the episodes by subscribing to bonus episodes for $5/month at patreon.com/champagnesharks.  If you can’t subscribe right now for whatever reason, do the next best thing and tell as many people as you know about the show. Co-produced & edited by Aaron C. Schroeder / Pierced Ears Recording Co, Seattle WA (piercedearsmusic@gmail.com) Opening theme composed by T. Beaulieu. Closing theme composed by Dustfingaz (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheRazhu)_

Today Benny Halevi (http://twitter.com/Benny_Carefully) joins us to talk about Jewish people who complain about people using the term "concentration camps" to describe Trump's ICE imprisonment centers. From there we end up talking about Jewish and Black political struggles, particularly how they're similar and different. Discussed in this episode: * Ijeoma Oluo's thread defending Jewish people who take issue with using the term concentration camp for ICE centers https://twitter.com/IjeomaOluo/status/1008844937561948162 * Matt Bruenig's "Identitarian Deference" article http://mattbruenig.com/2013/02/26/what-does-identitarian-deference-require/ * A thread breaking down the infamous Feminista Jones medical rape debacle that occurred on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MattsMentions/status/645363122711072768 Support the show and get double the episodes by subscribing to bonus episodes for $5/month at patreon.com/champagnesharks.  If you can’t subscribe right now for whatever reason, do the next best thing and tell as many people as you know about the show. Co-produced & edited by Aaron C. Schroeder / Pierced Ears Recording Co, Seattle WA (piercedearsmusic@gmail.com) Opening theme composed by T. Beaulieu. Closing theme composed by Dustfingaz (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheRazhu)_  

This is a preview of a premium bonus episode. To get access to this episode subscribe for $5/month at patreon.com/champagnesharks.  This will not only give you access to this current premium episode you’re previewing, but also all the back premium episodes you may have missed as well and all future bonus premium episodes. A few minutes into the episode my mic switches from the usual standalone mic to the built-in laptop, so the sound quality drops suddenly on my audio. Sorry. We just shoot the shit for an hour, mostly about Nas and fried chicken. Discussed in this episode: * Nas-Backed Sweet Chick Opening Another Spot in Prospect Heights https://ny.eater.com/2017/7/19/15998200/sweet-chick-prospect-heights * Sweet Chick is coming to Queens, co-owner Nas’ childhood home https://www.amny.com/eat-and-drink/nas-sweet-chick-queens-1.14989225 * Nas Partners With Sweet Chick Restaurants In NYChttps://www.vibe.com/2015/06/nas-sweet-chick/ * A profile of the Sweet Chick founder: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/15/realestate/williamsburg-loft-of-john-seymour-restaurateur.html * Video of Nas giving Gwyneth Paltrow a pass for saying "nigga" and saying she's a "real nigga"  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkI4Y75-WqI Support the show and get double the episodes by subscribing to bonus episodes for $5/month at patreon.com/champagnesharks.  If you can’t subscribe right now for whatever reason, do the next best thing and tell as many people as you know about the show. Also rate and review the show on iTunes. Co-produced & edited by Aaron C. Schroeder / Pierced Ears Recording CoSeattle WA piercedearsmusic@gmail.com

This is a preview of a premium bonus episode. To get access to this episode subscribe for $5/month at patreon.com/champagnesharks.  This will not only give you access to this current premium episode you’re previewing, but also all the back premium episodes you may have missed as well and all future bonus premium episodes. This is an episode where we dropped so much game we decided to make it double length. We considered breaking it up into two parts but decided to keep it as it was. We discuss Bree Newsome, the woman who made a name for herself taking down the Confederate flag in South Carolina following Dylann Roof's shooting, and how in a recent series of tweets she has changed her focus to Black male patriarchy now that she has a platform. Discussed in this episode: * The Slumflower clip where she went to the BBC to tell them how awful Black men are to Black women: https://twitter.com/BBCWomansHour/status/1004232866677579776 * The two Bree Newsome threads that we discuss: https://twitter.com/BreeNewsome/status/1004800085086097408; https://twitter.com/BreeNewsome/status/1005201819545595904 * My thread about Bree Newsome's anti-Black male tweets: https://twitter.com/ChampagneSharks/status/1005188224497668097 * The statement article from Bree Newsome on why she and a White man were chosen to remove the flag: http://archives.bluenationreview.com/exclusive-bree-newsome-speaks-for-the-first-time-after-courageous-act-of-civil-disobedience/ * Examples of White people interjecting into Black arguments to trash Black men using Black feminist talking points https://twitter.com/TaraJeanne/status/1005127987430350848; https://twitter.com/abfabsabs/status/1005143552735698945;https://twitter.com/RickyRawls/status/1005096544335482880 * The tweet where someone claims Black slave women created feminism: https://twitter.com/SydneyA/status/1005549283414814720 * The funny tweet we describe making fun of how some White men only care about Black women's problems when the problem is Black men: https://twitter.com/Bibliobabble/status/980548182248652801 * List of supposed Black male privileges: https://twitter.com/Commandr_nchief/status/911222589598683137 * A paper by Valethia Watkins describing how modern intersectional feminists try to retroactively turn all Black women of historical note into intersectional feminists, "Contested Memories: A Critical Analysis of the Black Feminist Revisionist History ...