aka Contrarian

@ProfDWaiting for your take on tRump sending the National Guard in to shore up Washington DC. - your stomping grounds!

Am I doing anything that all y'all havent done or aren't doing from time to time, yourselves? Contemplating life after death is a common passtime! We are all searching. The answer will just be revealed to some sooner than others. Those are the breaks... I wish I had better things to do than to "crepe hang". What I'm really lamenting is the loss of my stamina and, hence, my mobility, both of which have just left me dangling in limbo. Well-meaning people keep assuring me that I'm gonna live to be 100! Puleeze! Spare me that fate! Meanwhile, I'll just wake up every morning until - I don't! Like everybody else. And, of course, check in here to break the monotony, - or add to it. I post from my Android phone and this can be a challenge, but challenges can also be diversions zzzzzzzzzzzzz

I am preoccupied with the question of whether or not there's life after death... Obviously, there's only one way to find out - and I have mixed emotions about that . Have never been a fan of The Supremes and Diana Ross with her nasal caterwalling. So thinking of a song I'd rather listen to does at least give me something to ponder. Maybe Chaka Khan's rendition of "Through the Fire", keeping Jesus in mind. LOL.

I'm aiming for August 18th, my birthday. After that all bets are off. I'm currently focused on the quality of life rather than the quantity. Screw longevity if your health is failing. Not to mention boredom. Cest la Vie.

BEARS WIN! Ok,OK. Exhibition game without regulars but, still - exciting game. Great win. 😻 Ooops! I thought they scored. Well, good tie.lol!

I wasn't aware that only certain people could comment on the controversial subjects you pontificate on in your marathon posts since you've never had a problem barging in on my or anybody elses' posts. I leave you with what is the hardest thing in the world for you to do, which is admit you are wrong. Particularly in this case. I disagree with your take on this silly assed subject and your opinion is no more valid than mine. Except in the narrow confines of your little ego-centric world. Get over yourself.

😴 ...what we do know is that the straw man is alive and well.

Then dispense with your presumptuous statements about everybody waiting. Why are you having such a difficult time processing the idea that I don't care whether or not people of other ethnicities are certified as hiphop MCs and DJs??? Because in your usual attempt to control the narrative, you being biased and befuddled thwarts your effort.

Speak for yourself. I'm not waiting for any such thing. 'Makes me no difference.

@TroyThanks for all your kind words. I appreciate the patience and support you've shown me throughout the years. I think the world of you! 🫶 @ProfDit's been fun and interesting engaging with you. You're a man of good character! 👍 @DelanoI've enjoyed the unique bond we formed. You're special. See you in your dreams - if possible. 😉 @Pioneer1They didn't have 401ks when I retired, so I'll take your word for the disadvantages they pose. 😵‍💫

As my 92nd birthday approaches on August 18th, I have drifted into a reflective mood. At this point in my journey I'm experiencing a need to look back and reflect, even as I wonder if I'll make it to August 18th, considering how much my health has deteriorated during the past few months, a situation that renders me as ready as I'll ever be to blow this pop stand. This ol world is currently so screwed up and, imo, on a collision with what I think will be changes so drastic that I will be out of my element. So, whatever. All the points of view and personal philosophies of those who regularly post here, especially as it pertains to the black condition, have inspired me to put myself in perspective and share my thoughts when it comes to where I fit on the black spectrum. Bear with me because this is probably my swan song, and I may ramble. Hopefully, however, something learned about the caliber of my blackness wiil be enlightening when it comes to examining the multi-faceted nature of black America. I have always described myself as a "hybrid" descendant of slaves. That's my tribe. And it's a HoHum passive one. According to Ancestry.com, my blood lines include Irish, German, Native American and, last but not least, African by way of the Sierra Leone region of Nigeria. I do not consider the Atlantic Ocean my homeland because my ancestors obviously reached and landed in America, and were transported to the North Carolina location of what had been one of the country's most prolific slave markets. And the rest is my history. My genesis begins in the territory that originally belonged to the native American tribes like the Osage one which my paternal Grandmother was descended from. . Both my paternal and maternal great grand parents were born into slavery, the women folk, typically raped by their white slave masters... My forebears have always identified themselves as colored, negro, black, depending on the era, and I have never strayed from or had any desire to identify myself as anything other than a non white person who has no delusions about the treachery and guile of the ruthless men who established the White Power Structure that controls the globe. The most negroid thing about me is my hair, having once had an abundant, bushy crop which lent itself very well to an afro style which I affected during the 1960s when I felt compelled to establish my "negritude", (a popular term back in those days.) And, when it came to the civil rights movement, although I was not an activist out there demonstrating in the streets, in my own personal way via the Op/Ed pages of 2 of Chicago's major newspapers, I was very supportive of those courageous enough to put their lives on the line to secure equality for all. I consider myself, for want of a better term, a "soul sista", very comfortable in my skin, having no great affinity for Interacting on a regular basis with Caucasian Americans. I am a product of the middleclass black bougeoise values that I was raised with, having no illusions about the superficial materialistic aspects of this designation. Paradoxically and inexplicably, I harbor a great revulsion for right-wing conservative black Republicans, and I despise Donald Trump and his Maggots! I was born in 1933 and grew up in the small town suburb of Chicago where my parents settled in 1922 as part of the first wave of the Great Migration of Negroes leaving the south, seeking a better life up north and, uniquely, even in those pre- civil rights years, I always resided in mixed neighborhoods, always attended integrated schools and, as part of the great Civil Service work force, always held jobs working side-by-side with white co-workers. So, my mutated homo sapien "cousins" are no strangers to me. I neither like nor dislike them, opting to just judge them on an individual basis, always keeping my guard up. My politics are a reflection of my core personsality. I am a Moderate Liberal, not a militant radical progressive because I'm too cynical to take seriously these erratic types with self-serving agendas. I have never been ambitious because I'm lazy and don't like too much responsiblity or anything difficult or demanding, just content to do enough to get by. I am not proud to confess that I have gone through life, avoiding anything that required great effort on my part. I am lazy and unmotivated, only good and creative at things that interest me. I do, however, lean toward the aesthetic, profound spititual things in life and this includes liberty and justice for all. I have lived through the terms of 15 presidents and can honestly say that the administration of whomever was in office never greatly impacted on my personal day- to-day life. I've managed without even trying, to stay under the radar and - get by. I retired from the US Post Office in 1992 after 30 years of service so I have been retired longer than I worked, collecting a substantial pension replete with COLA raises, receiving money every month for doing nothing other than waking up every morning. If a problem exists when it comes to my black status it stems from my objectivity coupled with an affinity for the whole truth, 2 traits lacking in "gung ho" black chauvanists. This has led me to "divorce" on the grounds of incompatibility, the black race as it exists in the judgment of those who seek to mold it exclusively in their personal image, focusing on what in my judgment, amounts to merely chasing their tails when it comes to effectiveness. So, It is what it is, and I am what I am, - someone who will leave this earth, strong in my conviction that I am as authentically black as the most passionate chest beater. I close by acknowledging that, black is beautifully bountiful but - there are 2 sides to every coin. And so it goes...

The burden of proof is not on me. YOU prove that these ethnic outsiders you accuse of highjackin hip hop titles are not documented since you think you're such a well informed expert on this subject when you aint nothin but biased and befuddled. You offer no specifics; just your usual unqualified pretentions of being in charge of what constitutes "blackness". Put up or shut up. I dont give a damn if hip hop is being infringed on because it's not my musical community. My preferences in black music are jazz and old school R&B. If this offends you, then tough shit! I do not recognize you as being a mover or skaker when it comes to America's non white population. You are not somebody to whom I have to produce documents to contradict your random claims.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Blah, blah, blah, yada, yada,yada.

Sounds to me like Hip Hop is very much like the Country Music community which Pioneer and ProfD are criticizing. Except that the Country Music community has not borrowed titles from the black vernacular the way HipHop has adopted terms from the white culture. Should, by chance, a person from a different ethnicity secure the official DJ/MC designation, what does that entitle them to? Does anyone know if MC Hammer's title is documented? I assume you HipHop purists would approve if a black person who ventures into the classical music or ballet field is subjected to some type of validation before they can call themself a Ballerina or a Maestro. Could be that these are unspoken rules, unlike the superfluous HipHop bullshit. Great Art for public enjoyment should not discriminate on the basis of anything but talent.

Of course I should've known that a BEFUDDLED dim wit like you didn't know what he was talkin about when he whined about the "Whites, Arabs, and Latinos" walking around calling themselves DJs." And it's not as if all Rap and R&B fall under the HipHop umbrella which is just some out dated term left over from the '90s.

They DID give themselves those titles when the occasion called for it - long before Hip-Hop came on the scene! Black folks borrowed the titles because they couldn't come up with creative ones of their own. But a myopic black cheerleader like you can't perceive that. There are "flavors" of this multi-faceted country about which you appear totally ignorant. America, however, can only blame itself for the way it has fucked up the black psyche.

... and Everybody also knows that Pioneer never met an issue he didn't think he was the final authority on. 😴 Apparently its OK for him to cite black music as being at the root of white American music but a no-no to acknowledge that the terms "MC"(Master of Ceremonies) and "DJ" (Disc Jockey) have their origin in America's white culture. Disagreeing with him is easy because he's so befuddled and biased.

Lucky you. I'm semi-emerged in a mysterious world, in limbo between what is and what seems. The longer i live, the more levels my brain seems to be operating on... My dreams are really strange.

I am truly saddened by the tragic demise of Malcolm Jamal Warner. I hate it when young folks are taken from us in the prime of their lives. It fills me with survivor's guilt. Especially since my still being around seems to serve no purpose; just takin up space. So long, Theo. You held a special place in all our hearts. Who didn't like you?😢

@TroyI agree, with your broad perspective. The years have mellowed you into a "Renaissiance Man". Black folks go overboard thinking everything originated with them. Yet, they always want a black version of traditionally white images. e.g. a black James Bond. When did "DJ" become become an exclusively black title?It is a term that dates back to the 1950s and was originally spelled DeeJay, short for Disc Jockey which was a term coined by white guys spinning the latest hit records on all the major radio net works. "Ars gratia artis" translates into "art for art's sake". The aesthetic community should always strive to be inclusive rather than exclusive. Not to mention that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. After their abandoment of Blues and Jazz music genres, black folks need to stop bitchin' about their culture being co-opted. Especially since they want to be judged as individuals, and think America is also their country.

The summer holidays provide an occasion for families and guests to gather and chow down on ribs and the traditional side dishes of potato salad and baked beans and spaghetti, between playin' cards to the background of ol favorites from the '70s and '80s. And, of course, there are the political discussions... The current patented narrative of that breed of black guys who "ain't mad at Trump", is that they don't have to like him to applaud his policies. smh. And so it goes.

To me, this discussion on the concept of race is no longer a debate. It's a repetitive exercise in one-upsmanship;a tobacco- spittin' contest. Not to mention a semantic bind. Let's look at the term "social construct" as it applies to race. Let's consider that this term began being tossed around by people who wanted to sound hip and intellectual. It originated with those who had an ulterior motive. Calling race a "social construct" was a tactic adopted to discredit those seeking to perpetuate white supremacy by categorizing minority groups so they could stereotype and discredit them. Once science got thrown into the mix, it blurred the issue and created controversy, pitting what is visual against was is technical. Etomylogy further complicated things by way of providing different words that defined the same thing. Also influencing matters is how popular usage of the word "race" ignores biological fact. Whatever. Point is, I don't think the population at large is losing any sleep over this subject despite the glaring contradictions it exposes. What transcends this ongoing topic is if the ,"one race" debate has any relevancy to what is currently happening in this crazy-assed world. Social constructs are like guidelines. They're rules that exist in case you want to play the game.

Well, already complications are arising in the Diddy jury room. After only 2 hours the jury sent the judge a note complaining about one if the juror's stance on the instructions. I smell a mistrial. I suspect all of the jurors had their minds made up before they even started deliberating. It's been reported that all 12 jurors are college graduates, and I can just imagine the level of the debate going on. I was amused that The Defense at one point in its closing arguments referred to this case as a great love story rather than a criminel offense. I agree that its not about racketeering. DIddy was not a street pimp procuring women. He is a noveau riche millionaire record mogul drunk with power, a sadistic bi-sexual chump bored with missionary style sex. The white powers-that-be never broke Jack Johnson, according to my father who worked around him back in the day Johnson capitalized off of the white frustration with him and ended up laughing about their failed attempts to humble him, living high on the hog on the south side of Chicago, married to his white wife, and held in great esteem by his people. He was killed in an accident, while driving one if his luxury cars.

mRNA is the vaccine that I got one shot of and one booster jab a year. I'm not an anti vaxxer but I never got around to getting any more shots. In December 2022 I contracted covid pneumonia and made a complete recovery leaving my doctors completely amazed considering I was 89 years old, and they decided to forego giving me the vaccine, deciding I had built up a natural immunity. They didn't want to rock the boat or fix anything that wasn't broken, I guess. That was about the time i began to feel like I was shifting between parallel universes and experiencing the supernatural episodes as well as having a brief conversation with my late husband, an occurence facilitated by crystals I had scattered around my dresser. (My portable land phone phone seemed to be a portal). I also began to wonder why my life was being extended. Something I continue to wonder about. Also,I sometimes feel like I'm being watched. Strange. Ooops got carried away.

Just what I don't need - or want. Check back when you learn how to "step" Chicago style.