aka Contrarian

@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.

Oh for cryin out loud. Exagerrating and misconstruing as usual, making up scenarios that support your warped sense of reality. Get outta here,Nigga. You've become obsessed with the idea that you're the - "object of my desire", and are trying to play silly mind games with me. Is you krazy? You really can't deal with rejection, and are in denial about the truth. I ain't interested in you. I can't even remember your name or if I ever even knew it. So get over yourself. I'm not looking for whatever it is you have to offer old ladies. I aint hard up. If you didnt live in your private world of delusions you could accept that. Seek help. You need therapy. I repeat: Nobody really cares if you decide to stray from your lane, and snipe to get attention. Like I said, piognat, you're more of a nuisance than a threat. Suit yourself, Loser.

This recent bombing of Iran is turning into a brouhaha of disinformation and exaggeration ala Donald Trump and his bungling crew. Of course Trump is blaming everyone but himself calling his detractors a bunch of "scumbags", excoriating the media for inflating the results of what is turning out to have been nothimg.more than an excuse for the Pentagon to test its high tech toys that did nowhere near the damage to Iran's nuclear program that the lying Trump claimed. A press conference is held so Pete Hegseth, the bootlicking alcoholic Secretary of Defense, can do damage control and paint Trump as a victim of the political enemies who are also trying to discredit the brave test pilots who carried out the mission to destroy Iran's nuclear capability (something that supposedly has been America's goal since George Bush's administration), all the while hailing Iran's newly-elected regime being ready to concur with the cease fire Trump is taking credit for, and that was immediately violated. Yada, Yada, Yada. Blah, Blah, Blah! Same ol, Same ol. I still say Palestine terrorists started this war and israeli Zionists are prolonging it. There are no good guys nor bad guys. No heroes nor villains. Just religious fanatics and power hungry leaders. MEN.

Hummmm. I never checked out the content of this thread before. Its headline said it all for me. My late night curiosity kicked in, however, and here I am. I must say, I agree with Troy's critique of Sly and Ali when it comes to - profound wisdom. As for Sly's music, I never realized its impact, I just enjoyed it and thought he had a tight little band made more innovative by its instrumentation. As for that goof ball, Terrance Howard, he also boasts being able to write backwards. Puleeze. I'm right-handed and I can write backwards with my left hand. Something I do on a regular basis becausd it's good exercise for the brain. Anyway, how significant is it that one of the first things that popped into my head at the news of Sly's death was his reputation for always being late or a no-show at his gigs, and the toll drugs took on his career. I didn't know he was responsible for Miles Davis introducing electronic music into jazz, (something that earned Miles the accusation of being a "sell-out" by jazz purists). I know Miles and Prince became tight and I assumed Prince was who got him into that mode. Coincidentally, Brian Wilson, the last living survivor of the Beach Boys died the same week Sly did. They were both innovators in their field of music. They may be somewhere jamming. I love that - it resonnates with me as an alternate to RIP, atho l'm so tired of living i need some rest. zzzzzzzzzzz.

Like anybody really cares. You're a nusiance not a threat. źzzzzzzzzzz

Well. Puffy's trial is ready to go to the jury. I'm thinking it might be a hung jury. As much contempt as I have acquired for men in my final years, I don't greatly sympathize with skanks who try to capitalize off of being ex skanks.

No what? You ain't gonna stay in your lane and out of my business with your false scenarios fueled by your inflated ego?

With the well being of millions of innocent people at stake, mere men continue to do what they've done down through the ages: play chicken in a quest to be "king the hill" as Iran and Israel violate the cease fire agreement Trump was taking bows for. War. What's it good for?

What was the second race?

Trump publicly announced that he was going to wait 2 weeks to see how things played out between Iran and Israel, then days after this declaration, America launched a secret attack on Iran and destroyed its nuclear facilities. There is "no honor among thieves". That's how Trump rolls. He has no scruples or diplomacy. He's a sneaky liar. Meanwhile, Israel is beside itself with joy and full of praise for Trump who yearns to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize like Obama, who he envies. This is the guy running America. smh.

@Pioneer1There would be no going back and forth if you'd keep your snide remarks to yourself. Implicit in your interaction with me is always the idea that you're indulging an old lady whose feelings you don't want to hurt because you think she has "a thing" for you. That's why you're always claiming that I'm "not foolin anybody". And why you lied and said I was regularly contacting you off line. When I reject your phony attempts at being "Mr. Nice Guy", then you resort to your false strawman scenarios or switch into your double entendre routine replete with the pictures. 😴 So, just stay in your lane and ignore me and there won't be any further bickering.

And the real pioneer emerges. The dufus who can't just accept his obnoxious presumptuousness being rejected without resorting to distorted innuendo. No surprises here.

George Gershwin, who was Jewish, may have deliberately given a black vibe to "Porgy and Bess a black folk opera , but musicians like Cole Porter and Harold Arlen and Jerome Kern and Irving Berlin and Lerner & Lowe and Johnny Mercer and Hoagy Carmichael et al, didn't borrow from blacks. They just wrote great songs One of John Coletrane's most popular renditions "My Favorite Things", is a song featured in "The Sound of Music" a musical scored by Rogers and Hammerstein. Most of the black male quartets from the 1970s and '80s agree that the 4 Freshmen, a white group, set the bar for the harmony they incorporated into their R&B style music. I hesitate to attribute everything to being black in origin. Especially since there is only one race.

If you grew up during the 1950s, you'd know that many of the popular melodious love ballads of the day with their exquisite lyrics were songs taken from Broadway stage hits showcasing the works of such talented white composers as Cole Porter, and these classics became known as the "standards" that make up the American song book. Not only did black vocalists such as Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday include these works in their repertoire, but black jazz musicians like Charlie Parker and John Coltrane recorded their interpretations of them. Good music is good music no matter the origin or style. Music is the universal language.

There you go making up scenarios. I am perfectly content in the company of myself. I'm trying to retreat and preserve my privacy so I can engage in my favorite passtimes. Who needs somebody in my space, sitting beside me on the bed? Not me. MYOB.

This is almost as bad as niggaz resenting white rappers who trespass on black territory. 😉

Of course you would imagine that. That's how your malicious mentality operates. You conjure up false scenarios about people so you can launch the strawman bullshit that you substitute for reality and use as an excuse to ridicule.

@frankster If you're ever in Chicago, check out the Field Museum, home of Sue, the T-Rex reconstructed from the fossil remains of a dinosaur found around a hill in southwestern South Dakota.