l'afrique, c'est chic.

okay so sunday i went to madagascar.
not the country, the movie.

i didn't really read the invitation properly, so i didn't realize it was a premiere and not just a screening. this meant that i was sitting two rows in front of julianne moore and her cute kids, three rows in front of will smith and his gigantic extended family, and not far from ben stiller and his parents anne meara and jerry stiller. also? free popcorn and krispy kreme doughnuts!

the movie was good, fun, but kind of weird. i mean, i know it's for kids, but the way they dealt with the vegetarian vs. carnivore situation was a little unnerving. does no one remember finding nemo?

also, there are 18 million people who actually live on madagascar. but this movie makes you think it's a deserted island. my friend has friends from diego suarez, which is a town on the northern tip. i just love that name.
diego suarez.
it just sounds sexy!

last night i went to a party with my mom at the schomburg. she's a "supporter" of their new exhibit on malcolm x. it was really cool to see old pictures of him when he was a young hustler, before he went to prison. there were also lots of pics of him with his family, just being a dad, or praying in the mosque - which is not how he is usually portrayed. they have tons of his books and letters, too. also, they have drawings by the courtroom artist from the trial of the men who were accused of killing him. the artist was actually there, at the party, which was surreal. so were 2 of malcolm's daughters and one of his grandsons.

while i was standing around drinking zinfandel i did a little anthropological study of the crowd. there are always a few different "types" at these parties:

the buppies - ladies with vuitton bags and straightened hair; gents with crisp suits

the afro-centrics - ladies and gents in djellabas or dashikis, "natural" hair

the progressive white people

the old skoolers - shabby but sharp gray-haired ladies in bright colors, gents in driving caps or fedoras and jazz-age suits and shoes

(needless to say, i do not fit into any of these categories)

there was also this thirtysomething chick with a white collar on and i just couldn't figure her out: priest or nun?

anyway.

last night i dreamed there was a caged elephant living in my apartment, causing a lot of drama. it was large, thirsty, hungry, and i was thinking, "how did this become my problem???" when i woke up.
job responsibility anxiety, anyone? anyone?