Weekend Endorsements on CP Time: Greeting the Real World, The Secret Life of Beef, and Spike Tackles Kobe.

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G.D.: The blogosphere is full of insightful commentary, some of it written by precocious types who still have breastmilk on their tongues. (It’s all a little unnerving to think about.) Take my PostBourgie blogmate, Jamelle, for example. For a while now, he’s run one of my favorite political blogs while juggling college coursework, a senior thesis and R.A. duties. On Sunday, he graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in political and social thought, and a real, paid blogging gig awaits him in the “real” world. Show off.

So congratulations, homie. And best of luck in whatever — law school? public office? — you’ve got in the works. We can say we knew you when.

quadmoniker: For reasons I assume are related to the proposed junk food tax, Michael Pollan is making the talk show rounds for his latest book, In Defense of Food. It’s out in paperback now, which means I can’t put off reading it any longer. Don’t get me wrong, I love Pollan, but anything with the word Manifesto in the title makes me a little suspicious. I just still hate people telling me what to do. The reverse, however, I love.

The point of all this is to tell you to read “Power Steer.” Pollan wrote it for the New York Times Magazine in 2002, before all this food writing turned into polemic. He bought a steer destined for the meat market, and followed it all the way to his plate. It’s a masterful piece of writing.

blackink: In search of a fresh perspective on basketball, noted hoops fan and filmmaker Spike Lee came up an idea: what if he miked Kobe Bryant, brought 30 cameras to a game at and got Bryant to come into the studio for voice-over commentary after the film had been edited?
Ifthe early reviews are any indication, the results are relatively engrossing. “Kobe Doin’ Work” gives hardcore basketball fans a chance to see the game from the perspective of one of its greatest players. For a couple of hours, we’re all Jack Nicholson. And that’s about it. It should be clear from the start that we’re not going to get up close and personal or that some greater truths about Bryant will be revealed in a two-hour film that focuses almost exclusively on the game.

The distance from us and our sports stars has always been cavernous. But with Kobe, the space seems even more resonant. While his on-court gifts have always been easy to appreciate, it’s everything else — the rape charge, the arrogance, the feud with Shaq, the almost-creepy Jordan affectations –– that have made Bryant something of a polarizing figure.

Lee, for the moment, attempts to help us forget this in his documentary. Above everything else, is fascinating basketball player. And that should be enough.

belleisa: Books, friendship, drinks, and mac&cheese: A writer friend of mine is moving back to Chicago and in honor of the last time I’ll get to take the J train to her house, in Bushwick, and eat her food, I’ve convinced her to cook–a skill I acquired during our friendship because my culinary skills don’t travel far beyond eggs, bacon, toast, and the occasional baked good during the holiday season.

In honor of our last supper, I’ve promised to bring (and ingest) as much alcohol as my body will carry, wash (albeit drunkenly) her dishes, raid her library and return the books that I’ve borrowed. We bonded, in part, over a serious love of reading, and a serious disdain for writers who don’t read…and of course there was the booze.

G.D.

G.D.

Gene "G.D." Demby is the founder and editor of PostBourgie. In his day job, he blogs and reports on race and ethnicity for NPR's Code Switch team.
G.D.