Seven. (OMGWTFPOLARBEAR?!?)

Bwah!

I mean, THE HELL?!? That kid was probably traumatized for life.

Unless he became lunch. In which case, he was still traumatized for life, but it was just a very short life.

The mid 90's -- I remember a lot of Yo!MTV Raps, Run-DMC, Biggie, Snoop, Cypress Hill, the Fugee's. I have a hrd love for the Beastie Boys, but that's me.

Trivia: the most useful words to know right now (coming from a H.S. teacher with mostly hip-hop crazy minority teens) are "bootsie" - means highly uncool, as in "Ms. G, them shoes are too bootsie!"

Jeffin' -- Which is frontin', basically -- faking it, being a poseur. "Ms. G ain't jeffin'. She real."

And the all-too-popular mugging. "To mug" someone is to stare them down, or just give a dirty look. Muggin' someone starts many a fight. "But Ms. G, didn't you see him muggin' me?!"

And that's all I got right now, though I will ask around and get my memory refreshed by some of my friends who were more into hip-hop than I was in college.

That kid was probably traumatized for life.

I know! It's classic.

Dude. I just spent half an hour on the phone with my daughter. She gave me the full inside on the LA-NY industry tensions after Biggie was murdered. She gave me some of the slang for both coasts at the time. She gave me the list of who would have been getting the club spin (since the first book will open with a shooting outside an LA club, I'm thinking the song that ought to be wafting out the club doors is Biggie's "Goin' Back to Cali" from Life After Death. She wants to be my numero uno WIP reader on this: "Send it to me before you ever let Daymond see it. I can correct the slang."

NICE child.

Well, hey, Deb, that's fabulous! And it should be pretty fun for Jo to do, too. Jo seems like a way cool chica; I dunno HOW, with such a straitlaced stick-of-a-mother...

And I just now realized I am 2 degrees of separation from Daymond, and one away from the Queen of Goth. I can cover both ends of the teenage lifestyle choice continuum. Huh. Cool.

I was just thinking that this morning myself, Erin. Despite my general lack of hipness.

I am bootsie to my kids, because I don't dress top-to-toe in Baby Phat, Apple Bottoms and BCBG. And I don't own a single Coach or Vuitton bag. But if I were to show up with a single one of those items on my person, I would immediately be jeffin' -- "You trying to be black/Mexican, Ms. G!"

I am so uncool. My life is woe. *sigh*

"You trying to be black/Mexican, Ms. G!"

I used to have to occasionally remind Jo that, due to lack of foresight on my part, she was white.

I used to sign the reminder "Yo Mama."

My mother used to pick out my brother's basketball name.

Picture ten [link]

M'sieur, you see what I have. I have many bottles of excellent wine, well suited to a traveler's taste and budget. Bottled water, even, for your thirst.

Some of the cheese, perhaps? There is some excellent tinned meat as well, it would fit perfectly in your rucksack. Jean-Charles at the boulangerie should have some magnificent bread coming out of the oven any minute now. Some cheese, some meat, the wine and the bread, you could not ask for a better meal.

Again you ask this! You dare come to my shop and ask for the Coca-Cola! Americans! Jean-Charles, to the barricades!