Celebration of the BW/BM power couple

Many of my white friends take for granted that sometimes life is a tiny bit easier for white people some of the time. I’m not whining, I’m just stating a fact. It’s a little bit easier to get a job, find a mate, and live life in an America when you’re white. I know exactly what they would say to this “Oh, I don’t believe that.” But, I’ve been Black for a long time and so have my parents and all the members of my family. It’s not easy being Black. That’s just a fact. That’s why sometimes we (us Black folks) celebrate things that the dominant culture may find curious, not that an impressive an event, or downright just plain ol’ mysterious. We celebrate high school graduations like the student is coming out of a Harvard PhD program. I find joy in a successful, loving Black couple. The doctor and the lawyer Cosby couple. I know of one these right here in Louisville, two if you count the one where the doctor is a dentist. (I count it.) I love that Barack Obama is married to a visibly, unmistakable Black woman, Michelle. (2 lawyers) I get giddy when I think of Nas and Kelis. (2 accomplished artists) I can get enough of Will and Jada. (2 actors) I pleased as punch for Al Rocker & Deborah Roberts. (2 television personalities) Tom Joyner and Donna Richardson are adorable and are an inspiration for black love. I’ve named the famous people, but there are many couples out there in the world that are holding down black on black love. I know my friends probably don’t understand this post at all and think I’m overreacting, but again being black ain’t no easy task. Talk to more than one Black woman and ask her opinion of black on black love or better yet watch how her face contorts or there is a micro-second of, I’ll say discomfort to keep it mild, when you mention couples like this or this. (Although many hate these men for other reasons.) Let Black love reign supreme in young people who are the descendants of enslaved Africans.

I have the Proof on my head.

I like the lyrics to this song.

Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.
Robert Frost

kelis&nas vs. beyonce&jayz

This could have easily been called Form vs. Substance. For all you that don’t know it, I LOVE music. All kinds, from Incubus to Nas to Carlos Santana. I love hip hop the most. The good stuff. Nas is one of the greatest emcees of all time. He’s unique. He never cares about what people think of him. He doesn’t care what is popular. He makes songs that he likes. He does this all with little regard to the monetary reward of going along with the crowd. (Much to the hurtin’ of his wallet sometimes.) His WIFE Kelis is just as much of a vanguard. She’s famous for her girlpower attitude and the song “I hate you so much right now.” She never fell into being the cliché of the R&b Itch. She dresses different. She even cut off all her “good” hair to have a short, sassy do (a SIN worse than murder in the white-supremacy obsessed Black community---just check out the ten pounds of weave on every Black woman’s head in the music industry and the woman below who wants you to believe its her real hair). She stays sexy, but remains the classic Strong, Black Woman. She doesn’t come off as a victim or the background armcandy of her man. She laughes out loud and she’s intelligent. I know she must read, because Nas does. Then we have our opponents to this lifestyle. Jay Z has turned into the most commercially successful rappers of all time because he sold his soul for riches. He changed his rap style to fit the Dr. Seuss simplicity that sells records. He choose topics to rap about what the main consumers of rap (white males) likes to hear, i.e., nothing thought provoking or pro-Black or educational. To white males rap is the rebellion music that shocks their parents, to be abandoned when its time to grow up (of course, black males never seem to pick up the part about growing up because they believe it there culture to be ignorant and money obssessed) Jay Z glorifies moneylust, consumerism, and materialism. He constantly talks about things, not ideas. He lives for what is popular and hip, but never seems to be original or stand alone as his own man. His GIRLFRIEND, Beyonce is more of the same. She constantly talks about shoes, purses and designer clothes. She uses her body like lascivious stripper or porn star. She even has to come up with an alternate ‘personality’ so she can perform her sex-crazed gyrations to semi-good beats. She was asked by Oprah a few years ago: what’s your favorite book? There was a ten second moment of silence. She didn’t have one. She doesn’t READ. She’s not even quick witted enough to say something lame like the Bible. She is the American Iconic woman turned on its head: a dumb, fake Blonde who’s Black. She’s sex-symbol, but she has no ownership of herself. She’s a puppet. She has no voice. She doesn’t say girlpower in the least. Her sole purpose seems to be to please men with little regard to her own pleasure. Ugh.

Doesn’t anyone understand where I’m going with this??? Probably not. I live on a island.

It is through creating, not possessing, that life is revealed.

Vida D. Scudder

Bits & Pieces of Fall

The second biggest time to get married besides June is Fall. The late August to October bride is increasingly popular. The temperate weather and beautiful colors have a draw. Already went to a September wedding and going to a October wedding soon. Of course, with weddings comes the bridal shower, the wedding shower, the bachelor party, the bachelorette party, the rehearsal dinner, the reception….and if you are really “In-style” the Sunday brunch and the couples shower. It’s definitely a celebration. Lots of fun and money spent. Of course, being as cynical as I am it’s a tiny bit hard for me to keep the sneer off my face. But, I’m not all acidic quips and slightly pessimistic realism. I can appreciate the beauty of the wedding vows, the beautiful dresses, the fragrant & colorful flowers, great food, and stylish or non-descript suits. I’ve heard of the bridezilla phenomenon but fortunately I have not been up close and personal. But, I’ve heard tales and witnessed a little narcissism. Fall also brings those new-year conceived babies. Little bundles of joy (and expense) come to suspecting or unsuspecting parents. The pack & plays, baby bottles, cribs, bassinets, diapers and bibs crowd out the golf clubs, sports cars, demanding work schedules, because a new priority shifts around what gets top spot in your life. A difficult time filled with anxiety and promise, but definite time to celebrate. I love children and can hardly be cynical about the subject. Kids come with sneaky grins, unconditional love, surprising intelligence and insight, infectious laughs, and open hearts. Being called child-like is not always an insult. Of course, poopy diapers, spit-up, and, later on, back-talk are something to combat, but are just apart of the duty to raise an independent, caring, kind, and generous adult.

Here’s a list of vocabulary words that need to be committed to memory: subtle, hyperbole, sensationalism, shocking, and obtuse.

Words, once they are printed, have a life of their own.
Carol Burnett
Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.
Cyril Connolly

Men don’t choose success.

Look at your wife or husband. I’m going to tell you a secret about him or her. I’m going to tell you how you got picked. Ladies, you didn’t get chosen because you are successful in your job or educational background. Nor were you chosen, girls, on your wit, intellect, compassion, generosity or kindness to animals. Women are picked for their beauty. All the other things help to keep him. Gentleman, you don’t have it any better, because you are not picked based on your muscle mass, story-telling ability, or your ability to grill up a good steak. And, boys, you are not picked based on your stylish choice in suits, magnanimity, or your love of God. Men are picked for their economic success. All the other stuff helps keep her. Now, many of you are going to disagree, but you’re only deluding yourself. And if you think about it hard enough, maybe you aren’t beautiful enough to get the most successful man or you’re not rich enough to get the hottest chick in the club. It’s a sobering thought. Okay, but do you see what is totally unfair in this process? Men can work themselves to success, but if you’re born ugly what can you do besides get on Extreme Makeover? (Even though your kids are still going to inherit your bad teeth, limp dishwater brown hair, weak chin, flat chest and non-existent cheekbones.) It may even-out, since men can be born stupid. Hmm, this may be an oxymoron, maybe, I’m not sure. Do you know what the most regrettable thing about all of this is? What if you have lobster taste, but all you are able to attract is a catfish? I’m just saying…

As my favorite little one says “don’t you dare do it” and tell anyone I like this super ghetto party song.

9/11

Nothing flippant. Nothing trite. Nothing trivial.

Please remember all the souls that have perished since that fateful day in 2001.

May God bless this entire earth.

The South is low and not just geographically

Does the heat breed stupidity, excess, promiscuity, and baseness? I’m just asking the question. I remember when hip hop was primarily from New York and all the surrounding east coast cities. It was cerebral and pensive. It was thought-provoking and interesting. It was hopeful and educational. There were even LOVE songs to women, aka, a ‘boo.’ When you have to ride the subway and walk everywhere maybe you have more time to think. I’m totally idealizing. There were thugs and sex-obssessed artists, but everyone thought they were on the fringe and basically unacceptable. Okay, the South is just a cesspool. It has a history of human torture, intolerance and hatred. It’s present account for the highest rates of AIDS in the country. It’s future doesn’t bode well either if you believe the FBI statistics. I’m not sure where all this is coming from. I’ve always just loved everything East Coast. People here are constantly asking if I’m from Louisville, because, I would like to think, my personal aesthetic and mind-set is not southern. I was born and raised here and so where my parents, but if it didn’t cost so much to live on that certain coast I would move in a heartbeat. I love foreign foods, foreign films, cultural pride, different people, grimy & dark streets, and festivals of other cultures. I don’t balk at “fererners.” I don’t think Indian food is too spicy and smelly. I don’t think Mexicans are ruining America. I don’t think that people need forget their countries of origin. I don’t think the Confederate Flag is a symbol of pride. I don’t this is or was ever a Christian nation (not Catholic, just Christian). I could go on. This is just rambling rant at 1:42 am in the morning. Nobody feels me. Except ARN.

Shout-out to TGLO, KGLO, SGLO and the Future Mrs. SGLO. Ha, ha! You’re Mrs. SGLO II. Also, my love to all the people at the Snyder Villa in Shelbyville.

Coming soon my take feminism and how it effed up women’s sexual power over men.

BTW, I love this song.

U of L vs. UK, and why I don’t care

Ok. I hate sports. Okay, so all you people that are still with me, hear me out. Sports are ruining this country. Why are high school sports just as important as high school academics? Or college sports just as important or more than college academics? Who cares about RBIs, touchdowns, and goals when many kids don’t know the three branches of government, where Iraq is on a map, or the name of the first five presidents? I mean, really, all sports should be intramural, not for any money making, and just for plain ol’ fun and exercise. Why do professional athletes get paid millions and teachers, police officers, and prosecutors (!!) get paid pennies? We have badly behaving, cheating, women-beating, child-support dodging, steroid injecting brutes as the role models in our society. It makes no sense. We pretend in this country to value certain things: women, children, education, morality, etc. But most professionals in their 20s and 30s are crushed by an overwhelming educational debt with no relief in sight. Women are still paid less then men for the same work. Children are some of the poorest people in the country. If just half the money that was spent in Iraq in a one week was spent to revive and revitalize the educational system, we as a nation would be transformed. If a billion dollars a week was spent to change the inner city there would be no violence and we could spend more money on students than on prisoners. Do we want a country of kids that worship egomaniacal athletes, drug addicted musicians, and narcissistic actors or do we want a country of kids that try to emulate selfless philanthropists, altruistic educators and innovative engineers? Too bad we have the first part of my question not the second and nobody seems to care.

One thing though, this kid is FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE. Ok, one good thing about sports.

GO CARDS!

Have a safe and fun Labor Day Weekend!!!!