Something To Chomp On For The Weekend

Whoa Nelly...

I shouldn't have to explain.

No one is comparing Obama to Reagan.

I am asking you to validate the fact that if change is needed you have to do the validation in the form of activity. I need to dig deep a minute and rehash some things from the primaries like if 90% of black folk and 35% of somewhat educated and above white folk will vote for Barack mathematically it doesn't stand a chance be enough for him to capture the 270 electoral votes needed to capture the white house.

Black folk make up 12% of the US population around 40 million and only 35% of those folks actually vote.

The rest of the 17 plus million that voted Obama ain't enough.

We already know that damn near half of the Clinton voters will probably vote against their own interests out of spite and will cut their nose to spite their face before they see themselves under the command of a brown-skinned president.

What we're dealing with her is either the rest of the US has either no clue, doesn't want any parts of the Senator or is either conservative enough or a die hard republican that doesn't plan on casting a vote whatsoever for anyone on the left. Most folks in rural America claim not to know Senator Obama. Funny thing is that when people are polled on the knowledge of the political race this year they bring up a minister, a crooked political fund raiser, a 60's hippie extremist or a white catholic priest. I guess television is our greatest teacher and no, folks no longer speak when they walk past you on the street.

This means that most of common knowledge comes from something dubbed 'the idiot box'.

So now I'll swerve and tell you that this election ain't about making history. It ain't about firsts. It ain't about breaking barriers and letting freedom ring in the historical sense. I do get goose bumps in knowing that the night on the convention when Senator Obama formally accepts the Democratic nomination for the presidency it will be 45 years to the day that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his 'I Have A Dream' speech in the nation's capital.

Irony
Progress
Historical


but...

My mortgage payment is still due.

I have multiple cars to pay for, multiple gas cards for both and I recently purchased a big screen TV. It's hi-def so I called the cable pimps and got the HD package. And by the time I cast my ballot in November my first elevated natural gas bill will be due. I got 2400 square feet of upstairs and downstairs to heat efficiently. I also gotta eat.

I also live in the heart of niggerdom where fabulous meets ferocious. I live on a block of property owners who like myself like a clean ride, a cool button down shirt and a fitted baseball cap placing me in the cross hairs of the gestapo-like foot soldiers that commonly mistake me for the thugs on the corner mere blocks away.

I also need to know if I lose my job I can quickly replace it with another so I can continue living my current lifestyle...

wait

Crime is related to lack of employment opportunities and also a lack of education and also due to a limit of resources. When I walk out of my duplex to grab a quarter water my similarities to dude and em' on the corner are apparent based on my outward appearance forcing the cops and neighborhood outsiders to see me as something other than I am.

The current presumptive nominee comes from that, but like him I am not either a thug, a hood, lazy nor unemployed. Bur perception is reality, right?

So why haven't my kinfolk in this generation stepped up to differentiate between hood and good?

We're scared.

I said it before a scared negro will get you killed.

That would be a rally cry to gather around your presumptive nominee and become his shield. Some of us need to be the lawyers to defend his stance. Others need to be the town criers that not only let the neighborhood know, but to go out and register more folk and inform the uninformed. Others need to get their congregations over to the town hall and disrupt council meetings...

Rappers and R&B cats need to get involved and use their influence. Where the hell is Diddy with his 'Vote Or Die' campaign now?

Bloggers need to speak to the issues on the regular. This is our time and we need to reclaim resources and put them back into the hood. There is a direct correlation between crime and lack of opportunity. When we all work, we all earn and are able to keep up with the Jonses.

All of these crews on that grass roots ish need to block off the pharmaceutical companies and create a hood lobby in order to lower medical costs.

Oh lord, I can go on... I got 800 billion reasons per year where we have the power but choose to stay marginalized due to fear and giving in to the undertones of inferiority.

Whatever, man. I've been loosing faith in my peoople for quite some time. I love y'all, but...

What the Fcuk is a Caucus and No, You Can't Use it to Seal Your Shower Tile

The political process in America is simple.

They express what they can do, we investigate and then we act based on facts, service record and action.

There is a caucus today.

Iowa is smaller than most states, and there are few minorities living there. We must be observant with this evening's process. There is a HUGE difference between a caucus and an election. With a caucus:

• They gather (around 6pm central tonight I believe) And discuss each candidate.
• Arguments are made for each candidate. Spirited ones, so this should be good.
• If a candidate does not get 15% support, he/she is dropped from discussion.
• After the lower tier candidates are dropped, reshuffling of top tier ones occur.
• The REAL arguments begin and some folk will change their stance (via group vote)
• Final arguments are had, then (about 200,000 from what I believe) there is a final vote.
• The votes are hand counted, and a winner is declared.

Now see, that's some serious Parliament-type old school stuff right there. I hope us folk in the brown blogosphere are aware because my state and others just have straight elections. At lease the good folk in Iowa get down with it.

I hope that folks take this electoral process seriously and remember that the American political process is one that requires active participation from both sides. The politician isn't the only one who is required to put in work. We have an unalienable right to question folk on their shit and I hope we do so. We also have what's called required rights to question, investigate, veto, impeach and form a militia when things aren't going our way because we are constituents. Don't ever forget that.

Our last president did not have the required electoral votes or popular vote to be qualified to hold office and the supreme court appointed him amidst election nigh chaos.

And we sat there and watched.

The wife and I saw Katt Williams in concert over the weekend and brother man was calling Bush an idiot. I love and respect Katt and all of y'all but I must say that we are the idiots because we sat there and did nothing when we could have been just as scandalous as the various administrations over the years. Note that I said administrations instead of G. Dubya. All he did was delegate authority, took credit and give most of his people work during his two terms. One man (or woman) can't fuck all of this up.

Especially when 30 million registered voters with unalienable rights are watching.

It makes no sense to me how someone could sit there and watch and complain and never question his or her senator or congressman. Some of these cats have been in office for years, so how does the previous administrations get away with anything when congress outnumbers the executive branch and can strike down a veto with a two thirds vote?

We don't hold any one's foot to the fire. From precinct captians to the supreme court if a person made a phone call, wrote a letter, marched, got on TV or used this incredible medium called the intetrnet to do some work and not spread rumors, lies and gossip, we would be free in some respects.

Pakistani folk can't vote like this - Candidates get shot an blown up.
Over 2000 Kenyans came to a church and killed more than 400 folks because of an election.
Our current administration refused to intervene with oil prices by releasing reserves, keeping it near $100 a barrel instead of down near $60. Would have meant gas going near $2. Remember a fill-up under 40 bux??

Funny how text messages in 2007 surpassed emails and telephone calls as the preferred method of communication in the US. Funny how I got more hits with my post on an anonymous blogger than any post I've had in the past couple of months. The internet, viral videos, texting and chat could be used to get that next revolution off the ground, but...

I'm sure we have better things to do than to watch or pay attention to a caucus. From Iowa. With limited brown skinned participation.

If the reincarnation of Adolph Hitler gets in this November, remember... No participation, no complaining.

You have been warned.

Now, back to trifling bullshit, internet scandal and pics of stuff you would never hang on your cubicle walls.

Seacrest, out.

Disappointed

Just when I thought that I would just stop doing my thing and enjoy life from the front porch...


People start to listen and respond. Years later.


I don't know if you've noticed, but I really took the personality away from this joint. I stopped getting personal with my posts with the exception of speaking about my general health and I hear all of my virtual play-cousins (I invented that) when they give me gems for optimal living. I have taken your advice and am doing all that I can to get back to regular.

Someone close to me pretty much told me to just relax because I seemed to be stressing too much, that maybe the move to Houston and my current situation versus what I want to do is possibly raising my blood pressure. Yes my pressure is somewhere in stage II hypertensionville but it ain't that. Someone stated that I am angry all the damn time, but one thing... I never get mad. I may show displeasure with things through my outwardly appearance, but it ain't that I'm angry.

It's because I am in a constant state of disappointment.

I see myself and I see the education, the talent and the options and I am disappointed that I am where I am right now. I will do more to get to where I feel I need to be, and that means being more outspoken for my family, cause y'all are all I got.

I see my peers in the Hip Hop generation and I am disappointed in how we are handling ourselves at this moment. There is no problem with Hip Hop or specifically rap music. I'm disappointed in how the entire Hip Hop nation is once again grouped into whatever is killing the nation at this moment. The overall ignorance that we are showing about a genre of music that we created disappoints me to the core. Example:

Movies: Filmed entertainment, full of stereotypes and degrading images of people, places and things. Also full of fun, comedy and heartwarming moments that we grow to love in the billions of dollars- The Fly, The Matrix, Birth Of A Nation, The Terminator, Do The Right Thing, Van Wilder, Austin Powers, Night At The Museum, Blood Diamond, Major League, Monkey Hustle, Shaft, I, Robot, Pretty Woman, Cotton Comes To Harlem, The Ten Commandments, Enter The Dragon, Apocalypse Now, Spider-Man, Earth Girls Are Easy, Love And Basketball, Alien, Close Encounters of a Third Kind, Star Wars, Brokeback Mountain, Shaft, Chocolate', Mulan Rouge, Happy Feet, Honey, I Shrunk The Kids... Did I jump around enough for you?

Television: Shorter versions of movies, same stereotypes and degrading images as well as heartwarming fun and comedy made for shorter attention spans and bundled in series (for the most part) for those that want to follow a character or set of characters in various plots and subplots. Also where sporting events and made for TV events (award shows and such) take place for the world to view- The Sopranos, General Hospital, Wide World of Sports, Grey's Anatomy, 24, Weeds, My Name Is Earl, Survivor, The King of Queens, Girlfriends, Sleeper Cell, Lost, Heroes, How I Met Your Mother, Chappelle's Show, South Park, Aqua Teenage Hunger Force, Reno 911, Flavor of Love: Charm School, The Springer Hustle, Arena Football, One Tree Hill, The Game, Law And Order, Monk, WWE Raw and Smackdown, Tuesday Night Fights, Arena Football, The Office, 30 Rock, Everybody Hates Chris, Anderson Cooper 360, The View, Friday Night Lights, The Young and the Restless and so on.

Music: Unadulterated, uncensored form of singing, instrumental isms and spoken art in which artists (or those that try to be) attempt to wax poetic on whatever they see fit. Full of stereotypes and violence as well as heartfelt ballads of love and admiration. Long and short forms of musical expression are marketed to any audience that cares to listen- grunge, speed metal, hard rock, zydeco, hardcore rap, smooth jazz, gospel, blues, jazz, gangster rap, thrash metal, guitar ballads, folk, country and western, zydeco, New Orleans jazz, chamber music, orchestra composed, madrigals, chant, Christian rap, Harlem jazz, industrial, power ballads, new wave, punk, ska, world music, soca, meringue, dance hall, roots reggae, Kentucky bluegrass, old school rap, fusion, funk, rhythm and blues, doo wop, 60's soul, St Louis blues, Chicago blues, rockabilly, new school rap, house music, dance pop, adult contemporary, 50's rock and roll, underground rap, jazz fusion, neo soul, urban contemporary, old, guitar driven rock, hair metal, spoken word, scat, top 40 pop.

I'm disappointed that folks don't know the difference but spend money like we do. Or do we and just refuse to acknowledge that there are categories of entertainment? Genres if you will. What makes rap music any different than other forms of entertainment? Are we going after the porn industry? Think not. If we really want to censor our artists (can't call em' so-called, cause' people even buy stuff from the bullshit ones - that means artist support) under the 'urban music' banner, that means both rappers and R&B artists would get the hook. And so should rock artists, grunge cats, metal dudes, jazz artists, even Christian artists.

There has to be a Muslim or Jew that just can't stand DC Talk... Right?

Hip Hop is in the mainstream right now and it faces the same scrutiny as Rock and Roll, Jazz and Rhythm And Blues (originating from gospel music) before it, so let the chips fall where it may. I as a child of, current supporter of and peer of Hip Hop refuse to be painted with a broad brush stroke and be labeled as poison when it comes to influencing our youth. Whether white kid or brown, Hip Hop culture is a multi-trillion dollar, infrastructure building positive influence on society as a whole. To let a rapper (Rap music, once again is a sub-culture of Hip Hop) or twelve's lyrical content be the basis of unwarranted finger-pointing, blame laying and the reasoning behind the downfall of America's so-called utopia and also the cause of racist rhetoric is downright insulting. And I bet you Bob Dylan's acoustic guitar that I'm not the only member of this generation ready to fight for the respect and the fair market share we in the Hip Hop community deserve.

This ain't over. It's just getting started. I'm just disappointed that my voice wasn't heard a few years ago when I was saying the same damn thing I'm saying now. Check the archives. As a matter of fact, check out this very same fight when you google up what was going on in the 80's... Or What C. Delores Tucker was doing in the 90's... Or the self check we were getting into via allhiphop.com, okayplayer.com and such have been doing in the 2000's.

I know who I am, and I'm a little disappointed in myself to let this get this far.
Some of you guys have me a little disappointed in as well.

It's All On You

I'm not going to delve into that situation. So many have eloquently given opinion and I refuse to touch it. Let's not beat a dead horse. Let it do what it do.

But you didn't think I wasn't going to chastise your ass.

Yeah, you.

Not you baby, I know we're here *points*, they know who they are.

900 billion dollars a year and you haven't realized our power? All the complaining about what other folks say and you haven't divested your own dollar from the bullshit collectives that support and promote that lifestyle, culture and language, which means you cannot complain.

It's bigger than Hip Hop.

Don't blame this on Hip Hop culture because Moms Mabley, Redd Foxx and Pigmeat Markham was doing it way before Snoop didn't love them hos. We had a place for it back in the day because I'm old enough to remember which makes me responsible for the current climate because folks my age have children that it influences which means if I'm talking about you it starts in your home.

We cannot police society as a whole but you can explain the difference between entertainment and reality. Folks are going to say and do what they want but understand that there is a difference between rap artists and radio talk show hosts. If you want the new Three 6 Mafia joint you can choose to buy it. If they don't sell enough copies, them or any artist for that matter will get dropped. See, support comes from the masses. If you speak on public airwaves then you have a responsibility to be as fair and impartial as you can because the public and other interests pay the host to speak and when one goes off on a tangent, he or she can and will be corrected.

It is what you tolerate and are not teaching your children. Forget the fact that the track is hot for one moment and think of the influence some cats have over your kids.

Exactly.

If you don't think that way about your own children, then why would you support someone that insults your intelligence and calls you a nigger or bitch while taking your money at the same time? And why would you let your kids think that was cool or respectful?

See, it all starts with you. You have that power. If you don't like how it's going down then let em know.

Keep your money in your pocket. And educate your children accordingly. Time to kick it old school cause this new stuff ain't working. Until you have control of your wallet or pocketbook and until your children have knowledge of self understand that you are not in control of anything, which means that folks can and will say or do anything...

Anything.

And when things like what happens happen and it keeps on happening, what does that make you?

300th Post

Wassup my virtual play cousins!

This one right here is my 300th post on Blogger. I don't know what to feel or say, I just hope that I have 300 more... I'm sure I do. This has become a part of who I am. Funny, because I'm working on placing the right words and phrases together in the form of a few grant proposals to make the blogging thing my job and my life thru the BrownBloggers Initiative. I'm working on making the site less corny and more about... Ahem... Brown bloggers.

shameless self promotion, huh?

My back hurts. It is actually a burning sensation in the lower left of the small of the thingee. I didn't sleep at all last night, I just laid there motionless. When I got up to make that midnight water run I changed underwear and lo and behold...

The pain subsided somewhat.

I guess the moral is that the body likes what it likes and for me, the Hanes boxer-brief joints are not the way to go.


Been in Houston for a month now and it's been rough for me health wise. I've not been sharing how difficult it has been for me to function since getting here. My body seems to be breaking down due to overuse and lack of sleep. My diet has been shit as well. I actually came down here on a whim, a wing and a prayer seeing as I only know one person here. A month ago I had pneumonia and failed a work physical and Chicago was kicking my ass (it was below zero and not letting up), so I just came. Glad I did. The warm weather from the gulf has righted my ship internally, but physically I am still in need of repair. I can barely walk without pain. I cannot sleep and things seem to be getting worse. In actuality I've been non active since getting here trying to rest up and recoup before getting back on the road.

Don't cry for me Argentina, I found a Bikram college of yoga here and a gym membership. A little hot yoga and some extreme cardio and weight training will help me get right.


Also got offered positions with the Fed and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. There are other offers on the table, but with the non-profit thing going full swing it's getting to be a little too much. I have to make a decision in the week and this will determine if I make Houston my home for a minute. I wanna make a decision but that means that I have to commit to something jobwise I might not be ready for, even if the money and security is damn good.


I could be in dire straights in my 300th post, but...

The Idea Is Still Maturing... Slowly

http://www.brownbloggers.org/ is up... It needs legs to run and I am only one person performing surgery.

Scalpel?



Anyone?



Buehler? Buehler? Buehler?


It's early Monday morning and I still haven't decided on a decent and proper header page. I did a little work on the forums (well, I built the damn thing) and I realize that I need help doing this. So far, I have one other person helping out and another that registered.

Amen.

I need artwork, ideas other than mine and folks willing to moderate (it's not even a part time thing doing that, I just need you to look check in every now and then) a forum or two, Suggestions are necessary.

What I'm attempting to do here is establish a portal, blogger directory and forum that a bunch of brown skinned bloggers can come to, get the news, pass on some knowledge and discover a few new folks out there doing the damn thing. This is a non-profit venture. I wanna also get both a virtual meet and greet going as well as physical meetings with participants and registered users of the site.

Can you help? Wanna contribute? Can you help a brother build this thing? Holla back.

hassan@brownbloggers.org

Let me know what you can do to contribute. Let me know what you wanna see and experience. Criticize the hell out of what's being built. Drop a few ideas my way. Right now, the door to building and organizing from the ground up is wide open.

Until then, feel free to hit the forums, register and add to the template. That might be fun. If you wanna administer/moderate, send me a PM. I just might letcha' do that. Let's do something.

I double dog dare you.

Bullet Statements

" I tried to find people like me – professionals, spouses, folks who are into the support of their race and the upliftment of it. Some were listed in the directory, but I couldn’t find them. When I teleported to their location, a few other people were there, looking around, appearing disoriented like me, asking questions like, “What can I do here?” "

A portion of Frank's response to my 3/20/2007 post: 'Do You Understand The Words Coming Out Of My Mouth?'




I won't get long winded... I hope you guys read Frank's entire entry from yesterday. It was everything I wanted to say. What exactly is a blog order you ask? How do we bring this thing together? Well:

• Respect the OGs in cyberspace - There are a handful of folks that have been here for a while dropping knowledge and kicking science. Those folks should be recognized as such. One should also take plenty of notes because them old schoolers reserve the right to stop blogging at any time.

• Come together, right now - We already think alike in some manner. This is why we keep meeting here in cyberspace. I know you realize that we communicate with each other more than we do with some siblings, parents, friends and such. How come we spend so much time together without one of us covering for drinks?

• Organize, somehow - I say somehow because some of us want to remain anonymous, and that's fine, but realize that if you spend this much time with someone the bond is already there. Back in the day, our parents and grandparents met in the shadows and darkness working to get us free. Technology has brought us together to do what... Get membership cards? Have town hall type meetings? Have cyber-meetings via online chat? Hmmm.

• Realize our power, there are strength in numbers - Next year is an election year. Not all of us have the same views but have the same interests: Solidifying family/self/community. Imagine if we came together and 501 (3) (c)'d ourselves into a Political Action Committee or special interest group. How much of a fire can we light under certain folks asses, being that we live everywhere and have organized like a cyber Voltron?

• Let's meet and greet! - It has to start somewhere. I'm not saying that we rent a space and get articles of incorporation. I'm not asking that we rally around a candidate and spam folks to hell in a rabid email campaign. What I am saying is like some of the east coast and southern members of the family that we find a place to come together and just kick it.

• Structure is necessary - There needs to be some sort of protocol or precedent set as far as us dealing with each other here in cyberspace. I'm not calling for a bunch or rules to be set in stone, we know that the joy of the internet is that it is unregulated and we can come and go as we please. I recognize that blogging does make us equal in some sorts, but recognize the fact that a sister like Rose has achieved business success, charitable status, held it down and probably pioneered modern day marriage and has been thru the jungle of raising a daughter. She deserves respect and is just one person out of thousands that choose to blog doing her thing. She volunteers this info and doesn't have to be anything to anyone but her family, business associates and friends, but she fellowships with us. This is why an order should be brought forth. Respect.

There is an order in all things. There is structure in everything. I'm not asking for a bunch of strangers to come together, create alter egos, fight crime and establish a hall of justice. I am asking a few thousand folks to take baby steps in communicating more effectively. Emails, phone calls and sitting around a few tables in the upcoming months can actually help put faces, respect and credibility to folks that are, get this: A part of our lives. Maybe if we can organize in some aspect we'll be able to learn, grow and be more successful in this thing called life.

Maybe

Do You Understand The Words Coming Out Of My Mouth?

I've noticed that my kinfolk are getting caught up in the age thing now more than ever. Even if one's issue has to do with something totally off the charts, it seems that age and position in life has a lot to do with it. Reason I bring that up is because it seems that for the most part we're all blogging, most of us are hitting the reply button as well but after all that reading and typing there still seems to be a bit of distance between us and no lesson learned at the end of the day.

I understand that we all wanna use this forum to vent our frustrations, share the new news and explain to the listening universe why we have the need to make it do what it do and not pay a therapist in doing so. In the years that this blogging thing has been moving for some, why haven't we moved a bit in making right what we vent about?

We need a blog order.

A couple of years ago there was a blogger that I had plenty of interest in. The sister used a portion of Nikki Giovanni's quote in the title of her blog. The entire quote is this:



"If you don't understand yourself you don't understand anybody else."



Can you smell me this morning? Do you underdig? Is you hyperblelating with me in your bowl of cheerios and/or bacon sammitch with cheese? I hope so. There is an order in all things. There is a reason we blurb our business to the world and there is a reason we scrape the underbelly of the galaxy to find folks much like ourselves and a reason we subscribe to the rss feed.

We want to understand ourselves.

I admit that it took a moment for me to get my ass in order with the universe. I am not perfect and I still don't have a smidgen of my shit together but I can testify to one thing: I am aware of my situation and all of my actions are geared towards making right what I can with the time I got. Stick with me as I lay this down, please.

There are certain bloggers on my blogroll that break down to me what it will be like to have grand master status. There are others that are my peers and we move in the same direction, we just do different ish. There are a handful that are much younger, but I admire how they do what they do because in some phrases and statements I can already see the greatness in who they are. There are a few sisters that need explanation where there are others that have all the answers but cannot see it as it laid right in front of them. There are daddies and husbands that lay the laws down even if they don't know they're writing new legislature. There is a family that blogs that totally gets it and it is amazing that more folk don't stop by and see what a strong, black family can be. There are rebels and revolutionaries, sisters doing it for themselves...

I respect the order of things by reading and understanding but I also notice that some of us stop by and see a lesson plan in action thru words and never apply the knowledge given. Based on their own blogposts as time goes by for some, there seems to be no lesson learned. We can no longer ignore life's lessons thru this medium. We all blog for a reason, we can no longer as a community and blogfam continue to ignore each other while typing at the same time. How much longer can we all be in the same room speaking with no one taking notes? How much longer can we not tell our co-workers, spouses, family and friends about some the phenomenal lessons we see on our screens in cubicle city? We read each other every day, some of this must stick and be applied for our own sake.

In saying this, I suggest that we have a blog order. Like a few bloggers have done, we must categorize and show respect for those that have old school status, acknowledge peers and lead the young ones out of the forest. We need to come together and have blogger think tanks, gatherings (like a few of my east coast homies) and blog mentors. This is not entertainment and it should be respected as such. What we have is a community, and I do know that we are all not geographically close, we still need to come together and learn from each other. Otherwise all that typing we do will go for nothing.

Y'all my cousins anyway. Can we get some virtual love and then gather together any way we can so we can understand each other? Then maybe we can understand ourselves.

You know what I'm asking. I'm also questioning if this can be done. If it can't, then we're all blogging for nothing. Please tell me that ain't true.

Listen To Yourself...

Do you hear that?

What in the hell did you just say?

Why do you speak to yourself like that?


If you had the chance to give yourself a pep talk each morning, you know, that time in which you're looking into the mirror right before you leave the house. You know, the self-sexy check?

Riiight.

Okay, so if you had a chance to give yourself that talk, what would you say?


(stolen from LadyLee)

*crickets*


Okay, so why does the answer to my question differ from the one you already give yourself now?

Time to change your internal dialouge, eh?



More to come on this... We gotta talk, fam.