Nick A. Thompson

I usually don’t get too caught up in pop culture hype. I thought that Beychella was fantastic, but it wasn’t something I kept going back to. This is not the case with Childish Gambino’s latest, “This is America.”   The song itself is good. Nice beat, catchy hook, and some decent, if not derivative, flow. What sets this work apart is the video, a brilliant work of art with harsh criticism. Many have already written about the symbolism and imagery in the video. You can check those pieces out ( here ).   What is crazy to me is that I can’t stop watching it. I’ve seen a few of my friends on Facebook saying the same thing. We all seem to have different reasons for that, but this phenomenon of not being able to look away is rarely associated with a music video. Unfortunately, Donald Golver is reportedly retiring his music persona “Childish Gambino” after this latest album. Maybe he feels the character has reached his apex, or maybe he wants to focus on othe...

600 Carondelet Street New Orleans, LA 70130 My wife and I had dinner at Josephine Estelle, the restaurant located inside the Ace Hotel in New Orleans. We started the evening at Gallier Hall for the unveiling of the renovated Ty Tracy Theatre, and the Ace Hotel is in walking distance so no great thougth went into the selection. We had a babysitter so we got the most out of that by going out to dinner for my wife's birthday 2 days early. We started at the bar with some friends. We each had a glass of white wine, but our friends did praise the cocktails. The bar has a cool vibe, and the bartenders were attentive and friendly. Walking around the lobby, there are many interesting nooks where one could sit and relax with a drink, or hang out with a big group of friends. I'll definitely be back to enjoy that one day. The hostess was very accommodating. We had a reservation for 8:30, but we wanted to chat with our friends at the bar a little longer, and she had no problem se...

The New Orleans Pelicans were not supposed to be here when Demarcus (Boogie) Cousins went down a few months back with an Achilles injury. He missed the rest of this season, and there is some questions about whether he’ll be ready to start next season. There’s also a few questions regarding his next contract. He is a free agent after this season. And the Pelicans seem to have the lead in resigning him. In any normal year, Boogie would get the Max Contract that he can be offered, and all parties would be happy to do that. In fact most, if not all, teams in the NBA would give it to him. He’s that good of a player. However, the injury is throwing a wrench into things. No one know how he is going to return as a player. He could be just as good, but it seems that Achilles injuries are not as straightforward as other injuries. This is supposed to be about the Pelicans playoff run, so I don’t to want to get too off track with other Pelicans issues. It was just necessa...

Michelle Wolf got a few panties in a bunch with her roast at the White House Correspondents Dinner (which is a stupid party anyway, but that aside…). And it turns out that making fun of Sarah Huckabee Sanders was the line that could not be crossed. This is a woman who stands on a podium and unapologetically LIES to the American people. This is a job that our tax dollars pay her for, and she gets away with lying to us. We know this, and yet it has becomes so “normal” these days that she’s supposed to be viewed as an untouchable. Ms. Sanders, politics is a contact sport, so if you can’t take it, get a different job. I’m not sure where your skill at straight-faced lying to a room full of people who know you’re lying, and still not blinking translates, but you’ll find something.   This isn’t going to be a long post, but I feel like Michelle Wolf deserves all the credit we can give her for speaking the truth, letting the press know its culpability (and there’s the rub) in the deg...