Delano

I quit m job after listening to Public Enemy on the way to work. Hip Hop is relevant because it moves us. Clothing is a part of culture. And it can be signifiers for status. Location and sexual orientation. About five years ago I went to a hip hop event in Sydney. Met a brother from the Bromx. We are about the same age. He said did you think hop hop would go world wide when you were a teenager. Nope.

I think on a certain level rap has killed pop music. It's gotten to the point that the break is looped and you miss all the foreplay. So know we have bunch if orgasms but no foreplay and no after play. Rap has turned popular musc into porn. I criricise rap but I love what it was and can be a voice of the disposed or those who speak to the dispossed. Which explains why rap is popular with white suburban kids and black urban kids and lots of folk in between. Which rapper is better is ant of a pissing contest. I think Jay Z can flow but he is no longer hip hop he's a corporation. He's said so in his lyrics. I'd say Kool Moe Dee has it all over LL Cool J. Except LL had better beats and marketing. Rap still speaks to it's audience however I don't know how much of it is hip hop

Hip Hop could never be wack. Rap on the Radio is pop music. Hip came from the people not the corp. Liking your pedigree troy. Authentic what does that mean in this context.

Troy the net is giving people what they want. You will find more bars than bookstores in most neighborhoods. I consider myself well read, however there are lots of books I haven't read. Still I can name more celebrities than politicians.

A couple of. Hypothetical questions. What about a married couple and one partner fheata resulting in a mix race baby. Should the cheated on partner stay and be happy if they were trying to conceive anyway. imagine a black couple living in the hood and they end up with a biracial baby. When they wanted to use the husband's seed and implant it into the wife.

Are we confusing intellectual curioisty with apathy. Being contrary I think that things are actually getting better. Every generation appears to think the next are dullards or uninformed. Perhaps they are right.

The Bruce Lee video isn't Bruce Lee, I think it was a commercial, "There's a sucker born every minute., and two to take him." I don't know if my mother added that last bit or she heard it somewhere. Troy there are positive things on the net. But just like reality reality they require some effort to find. Check out this independent news site.

https://www.indymedia.org/en/index.shtml

There are several sites and Youtube videos where people are freely giving information. Even if this is a teaser. And the big one to me is the people that upload movies and songs for people they never meet. What's their motivation.

Troy you sound like you are losing you optimism. Maybe it's time to unplug from the MAtrix and head over to Zion.

Oh okay I didn't get that you were being ironic. I don't think the pursuit of power is ignorance. I guess it depends on what you do with it. Now if you were to say manipulation or control, yeah I'd be with you. Would it be more palatable if we said strength instead of power.

I Think Sharpton is intelligent, but doesn't sound like an intellectual. I would make a distinction between an activist and a protester. Well there you have it, glad I prefaced, the party statement. What protest did West organize? When I was American Express as an intern, I ask Ken Chenault what his favorite book was, he said the autobiography of Malcolm X. Later I wonder if that was his favorite book or if it was said for effect. Clearly he's a really sharp guy. There were a few ads they showed the intern, and it should a funny biting side to him. However they weren't ads that would ever see the light of day. Unless they wanted to get sued. But they were edgy an funny. So again I don't how much of that was him or for our consumption. Are some celebrities nice because they are doing some one to one marketing. I have no idea. Or it could be a combination of the two.

Your comparing and activist to an intellectual. Activist do stuff intellectuals think about stuff. For what he does Sharpton needs to be in the media. Be was on couple episodes of Boston Legal as himself. Sharpton is unacceptable to the media because he is intelligent but street. Cornell West was in the Matrix and did the commentary. Does it matter if they court celebrity. What does that mean. Does it make than ineffective. Dont know. If it means they get a bigger cheque. Right on Baby. I would enjoy talking with both, but Al looks like more fun at a party. But that could be my own bias. Plus I love his James Brown story.

Troy if the news isn't working try books or journals.

Is Utne Reader still published.You may also like Grand Street. I go through periods of not being watching the news to reading a few papaeds

. I and could not find anything other than the small bit in Ebony. On the 23rd AP wrote a story that was picked out by a few newspapers. The LA Times wrote a piece and they actually linked to an interview my buddy over at Mosaic Magazine published http://lat.ms/ZL4UVK It is nice to see the LA times will post a link to a Black site, Ebony steals photos without crediting the source (you can see Ebony has me a little tight right about now).

At any rate, I do not use or consider Facebook a credible news source. I would never share information I discovered there--unless it was also mentioned on a reputable source. I've seen too many hoaxes, and even fell for one once...

I guess in my "Black book bubble" Cooper is high profile, but relatively obscure to the general pubic. So I know you are right about Cooper Cynique.

Funny, I posed a question recently, who are our high profiles authors, with so many kicking the bucket --who is left? While no one replied to my query on this forum there was some activity on Twitter and names like Dolen Perkins Valdez, Bernice Mcfadden and Terry McMillian were mentioned. Of those names only Terry would come close to being commonly known outside literary circles. With Terry gaining a tremendous amount of attention because of the drama with her gay husband.

The fact our authors garner so much more attention for the personal drama than their literary accomplishments really irks me. I even write about how Terry personal drama was elevated over her writing by Google in their search results. The same thing was done to Zane, even by the likes of wikipedia elevating tax issues rather than her professional accomplishments.

The same goes for our football athletes their private lives are dragged through the mud for ratings and, I believe, because people with real money don't want them in these lucrative positions.

Do we have a single Black owned daily newspaper in the entire country, to tell our stories?

I just visited the Chicago Defender website and I could not even find a link to subscribe to the newspaper. Is it still in print, or just a website?

I agree these "news" stories can be quite comical and compelling. I must have watched the elevator knock out punch 10 times, and talked about it in every social setting I've been in with Black folks since it happened.

But sometimes I want to learn something and be informed, especially when it comes to information about Black people . Sadly that is not happening in a meaningful substantive way in 2014.

I'm not sure people knew about Joe Sample. It took me two weeks to hear the news and I'm online every day.

There are many fans of J. California Cooper that will not learn of Cooper's passing until they read my newsletter next Tuesday.

I'm well Troy. The readings are going well. And the children are happy. Can you explain the power iw ignorance part.

Cynique how is reading or watching the news informative. What is the benefit of being more informed. Or what is the befit of beinglwss informed. Other than having less knowledge or being more ignorant.

Ignorance is Bliss. But knowledge is power.

All people are brainwashed. You still have Aryan ideal of blonde hair blues being the gold standard of beauty.

He was also bisexual. When I said this to a white woman she said why was I dragging his name through the mud. I felt it added to him because it showed he was human and a humanitarian. There's a scene in Malcolm X. Where the feds are listening to a wiretap of Malcolm X, they say he's a saint compared to King.

The market has spoken. Do young Black readers want a black newspaper?

You have the public versus private issue. How much privacy should I public person expect.

Troy - Would you pay to see a team sponsored and populated with Klansmen. When we buy we are voting with dollars. I do make a distinction between the entertainer and the person. Generally I ignore and artist personal life unless it is really odious to me.

Corporal punishment is a tricky one. I think it depends. Some people respond to words, or actions. Within this some people respond to the carrot some to the stick. I think it is important that if you discipline your child that you not do it when you are angry. This is damaging to both the parent and the child.

In sports you have an interesting dynamic. We applaud the alpha dog and testosterone. So weapplaud physical prowess and beating the other team. Howeveronce the games are over we expect the combatants to act normally. You have the same problem with soldiers returning from war.

We applaud sociopathic behavior and then we punish it. Ray Rice is a symptom. The problem is society and we are the problem. I enjoy watching UFC for the martial aspect. However someone would say I'm supporting violence and they would have a valid point. I find it extremely difficult

Cynique you are correct. I tend to hang back and see where people are. I don't challenge the person. But I will torture the idea.

Troy what does emotional sensitivity mean to you. I'm not impatient, but I like clarity. For instance it used to annoy when people use science without understanding the science. However lately I'm feeling more lovely. So I'm not as interested in verbal or mental combat.

Cynique I feel the same way except the last Prince song I really liked was Call my name. I hqve seen him do an after show which is where he really shines. They are more like a jam session. I was a mad Prince fan at one point I had about 50 albums, bootlegs, singles, concerts and outtakes. There a good documentary about Prince. It. Features ?uestlove, Eric Leeds, and Kwame who wrote a book about Prince. The best take was that he never wanted to be normal or ordinary. Which explains a lot. I think he's ki d of list his way musically and some of his opinions are pretty strange and not I'm a good way.

Cynique so with psychics they may get that impression then there conscious mind takes over.

Troy I would say you require expert opinion opposed to personal opinion before you change your mind. I also think you have an emotional sensitivity, but you may be a bit impatient and want it to develop quickly or in a direct or linear fashion.

Cynique can you read me as well. I would say psychics get confused with you, because you have a strong masculine and feminine side.

She seemed a bit annoyed. And he seemed a bit to casual. Despite her ranting she didn't seem like a racist. I agree with Cynique. He seemed like q director toying with a fly. He seems a bit professorial about the situation. Maybe they are old Maury Povich actors. Aomethings I don't miss about the US.

You'll need birth times for both charts. Your rising is the ascendant. The house their Sun is in your chart, shows how you see them. The house their Part of Fortune is in your chart, shows you their role in your life.

Keep me posted.