Cynique

Had he lived, wonder where Malcolm would be on the political spectrum today. He had cut ties with the Black Muslims after becoming disillusioned with them and he embraced orthodox Islam. Many of the militants of the 60s modified their views over the years and became a part of the Establishment. Bobby Seales, co-founder of the Black Panther party is an example of this where he resides in Oakland California and is active in local politics. Right here in Chicago Bobby Rush, who was the minister of defense of the Illinois' chapter of the Black Panther Party, is now a congressman and a minister with a church that is being investigated because of claims he used his political fund to remodel it. Rush is, incidentally, the candidate who held off Obama's attempt to unseat him for this office a few years back. In my hometown which is also where the martyred Black Panther,Fred Hampton, is from, a swimming pool was built in his honor and bears his name. A statue of him is posted outside of it. Fred has become institutionalized by the community, and his radicalism has been neutralized. None of his dreams materialized, and things here have regressed now that the town is almost all black and rife with poverty and crime. I think Malcolm would've adopted a different approach to fighting racism that would've been focused on economic gain. I'm sure he would be among Obama's critics, right along with Cornel West. The image of Islam is being besmirched currently, thanks to ISIS. But it has only itself to blame because of its rigid dogma in regard to punishing the enemies of Allah and women who don't obey their men. Malcolm would probably be conflicted about this, as a silent Farrakhan seems to be. Historical pundits have also observed that had MLK lived, he would've eventually become irrelevant, reduced to becoming a political gadfly like Jesse Jackson. And so it goes...

I watched the first episode. It struck me as a female version of 12 Years A Slave. One of my facebook friends from my hometown is descended from black Canadians and she has a treasure trove of their history and photos which she posts regularly.

OK. But it's a new day out there. Very few TV programs spawn superstars anymore. Or does the movie industry. The faces are all new and their work unestablished except for a few exceptions like Matthew McConaughey. Even the recording business produces a lot of one-hit wonders, and other artists are only as good as their last hit. This new regime of SNL players hasn't had time to make names for themselves. BTW, Tracy Morgan can attribute what status he has to SNL.

Eddie Murphy's super stardom stemmed from his SNL career, but not Chris Rock who was just a featured player on the show for one season. Rock's comedy specials on cable are what catapulted him to the A-list. And I don't consider Chevy Chase or Bill Murray or Dan Akyrode any more successful than Mike Myers or Dana Carvey whose church lady character was voted the most popular by the viewers. Mike Myers' Austin Power/Dr Evil movies were box office blockbusters, and his Wayne's World ones teaming him with Dana Carvey as the Wayne and Garth characters they made famous on SNL also scored. Tina Faye won the prestigious Mark Twain comedy award and she and Amy Poeler are a hot twosome because of their hosting the Golden Globe, and they also had a hit movie with "Mean Girls". They are probably the most successful of all the women to emerge from SNL. Mya Rudolph was also a very popular during her tenure and Kristen Wiig now has a thriving movie caree. Anybody who has been a member of the SNL cast is recognizable whether they became big names or not. It depends on what your looking for in judging SNL. What makes it unique and what has contributed to its longevity is that it's shot live; it's not canned like the prime time sit-coms that have been edited and cut and re-done. What you see is what you get. It also has retained the skit format. It has immediacy and is as timely as the night it appears. It's not always hilarious, but even when it misses the mark, it is interesting to watch an unfunny skit flop. Finally it's the last of its kind. With the demise of "In Living Color", it has no peer. It appeals to people of all ages, tackles all subjects and ridicules everyone.

There were 2 black female comedians on SNL back in the 80s; Ellen Cleghorn, who was called on by Jerry Zeinfeld, when he was inteviewing the audience during Sunday's show and Demitra Vance, who died a few years back. SNL hasn't launched any big stars in the last 10 years? Jimmy Fallon is huge. Will Ferrell, Seth Meyers,Tina Faye, Amy Poeler, Kristen Wiig, have become big names, too, in the entertainment industry, starring in successful movies and hosting award shows. Andy Samburg has his own TV show on Fox. I think the players care about the NBA all star games, Troy. They consider it an honor and a thrill to be selected to play in it, and vie for the prestiege of winning the MVP trophy.

As opposed to you 2, I am a regular watcher of SNL, and I don't agree with your opinions. I think the show has retained its edge, stays current and is very good at political satire. Yes, some skits fall flat, and over the years, some of its cast ensembles have been funnier than others but it had to be doing something right to last 40 years. To me, the guest musical groups were just a part of the show, not any more or less outstanding than the celebrity hosts. SNL is apart of the American culture, and watching episodes from it down through the years has a time capsule effect it; they accurately showcase the era in which they appeared. They said laler, the show was running ahead of schedule so they had to stretch things and Eddie Murphy appeared on stage just to prolong things. Dennis Miller who has turned into a full blown conservative, and would be more at home on Fox News, probably boycotted the show. I guess neither of you fuddy-duddys were interested in watching the NBA ALL-Star game on TBS, but this 81 year-old gal did switch over and catch up on the score from time-to-time. tsk-tsk. What can I say? To each his own. Empire is loosely based on the Shakespeare drama King Lear. Imagine that. It is captivating and well produced. I hear the ratings have dropped and this has been attributed to the homophobia of its mostly black audience, who apparently disapprove of the 2 gay characters on the show. Sheeze.

John Lennon once said the Beatles were more influencial than Jesus Christ because their music and its message reached milions of more people. To me, posing this question is like asking which was a better means of transportaion; a Model-T Ford or a Cadillac sedan. Marcus Garveyand W.E.B Dubois were men of their times, as is Troy. As we have been currently discussing, Troy, winning is the name of the game. To the Victor go the spoils! Black people are where they are, because the white race was and is better at doing the things that create power, control, longevity and triumph.They are more efficient at being ruthless, unscrupulous, cruel, and foresighted. Africa and its diaspora were and are outdone. This is about the big picture, not the snapshots, the overview, not the episodes. You are a soothsayer, a voice in the wilderness. In time, it is possible that things will come full circle, and the last will be first. But time is the operative word because it answers to no man. IMO.

HAPPY VALENTINE DAY TO ALL YOU LOVERS! And while we're on the subject of love, check out my web page where you can order a copy of my latest book which is an urban tale of romance. http://conniediversbradley.simplesite.com

I am frustrated because my old school the University of Illinois was once a powerhouse in the Big !0 but now is only a shadow of what it used to be. Chicago is a gold mine of young athletic talent, but these high school players are intensely recruited by other schools and seldom end up playing for their home state. The alumni are really disheartened by this. In addition to the corruptness at all levels in sports, there are the health hazards that show up later in life in the form of dementia, arthritis and other ailments, not to mention the immediate threats of injuries, fatalities and mental stress. Sports are about games and games are a microcosm of life; individual stars and outstanding teams all competing for the holy grail of victory while the herd cheers on the side they identify with. Over time, a situation has developed to the extreme detriment of those who provide recreation for the spectator population. Modern day gladiators risk their lives and their well-being for glory and the adulation of the roaring crowd. Rah! Rah! Rah. Let's hear it for winning at any cost! All of this is a sign of the times which include the computerization of a society wherein the organic is being replaced by the electronic, eroding the sensibility and humanity of a significant portion of our population, We are seeing the result of embracing the new because it is new rather than because it is better. If this keeps up we are going to evolve ourselves into oblivion. HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

Is this malaise just present among Blacks? Percentage wise does the white majority have more independent entrepreneurs and businesses that thrive through networking and cooperative patronage? Or is the average white person like the average black person, just a wage earner working for a company where they hope to earn promotions and salary raises and retire with a good pension? It does take a lot of energy and drive and vision and money to start your own enterprise in capitalistic America, which is apparently why so many small businesses fail. In this uncertain world, people opt for security; risk takers are in the minority and you only hear the inspirational exceptions to the rule who succeed.The many that go under don't get any publlcity. Do you guys ever watch "Shark Tank on ABC, a reality show where wanna-bes try to get the panel of 5 millionaire moguls to invest in their projects. Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and Damond John, the black founder of FuBu(a real rags to riches success story) are among the panel. This program showcases how hard it is to excite investors about your product and half the contestants go away without making a satisfactory deal while others opt to take a chance and settle for what they hope will work in their favor. "Sharks" is a good name for the panel members because they mercilessly attack those whose ideas they think are not feasible, leaving them to make their exit with their tails between their legs. The black race needs a do-over; it needs to refine its hustle. So many times when they are given a chance at doing business they are not prepared and can't deliver. Time and time again black contractors are awarded jobs by the city of Chicago, and they always end up embezzling funds and doing the half ass jobs that gets them replaced. Chicagoans will be going to the polls to vote for mayor next week, and one of the candidates is a self-made black business man, a millionaire who owns 4 McDonald franchises and a medical equipment supply company. But he's very inarticulate, mumbles Ebonics, and has no political finesse. In a debate with the other candidates, he kept referring to them as "whitey's". His campaign gives no specifics as to how he will delivers on all he promises. and he promises everything. Of course, he's no worse than his slippery shady opponents but he continues to embarass himself, explaining why one of his sons has disowned him by saying he didn't think the boy was his anyway because his momma wasn't no good and that was why he put her out. I luv it. Somebody has to make up the bulk of consumers and this seems to be the niche of Blacks folks buying what they want, instead of what they need.

What's disturbing now is that the fans and boosters of this team seem to be shifting into a denial mode. They want to circumvent the rules solely because they think the only thing that matters is that the team beat their opponents and that should be all that matters. They are vowing to fight the decision to declare the second plalce team the new winners. Amateur athletics are supposed to help build character and foster good sportsmanship but cheating has become a part of the game plan just as much as any other strategy that enables victory. What I long ago realized is that Life is full of ethical guidelines, - just in case people want to do what is right or fair. But most of the time these guidelines provide clues as to what not to do if you want to get ahead. BTW, the female pitcher didn't play for the the winning Chicago team. I believe she is from Philadelphia.

Yes, these things have been going haywire in my life lately.

Chicagoland is all abuzz with the announcement that their pride and joy, the triumphant little league baseball team which won the national championship and was hailed and feted not only at home, but all over the country including the white house, has been dethroned. These boys became poster children for what could happen when black youngsters were encouraged to particiate in wholesome activities, and they were trotted out at every opportunity to show how Chicago was turning around its bad reputation. Then the world of these youngsters came crashing down yesterday when their adult coaches were cited for breaking the rules by recruiting and using talented players from outside their distract to assemble a winning team. Now, instead of being the object of admiration, these players have to deal with the stigma of cheating, and the humiliation of having their title and medals stripped from them. All over the local media everybody is ranting over the situation, some moralizing about the hard lesson children have to learn when adults set a bad example by breaking the rules. Others are saying the coaches who reported the infraction were racially-motivated sore losers who were white. Elsewhere, the argument is being raised that the only crime was in being caught because all teams are guilty of doing what was done. A few have even hinted at being disappointed over how black folks can't even be successful at covering their tracks when they do wrong. I have mixed emotions. In this country everybody loves a winner. The noble espousal of "it not being whether you when or lose, but how you play the game" is a sentiment that no longer resonates. Nowadays it's all about "winning not being everything, but the only thing". Worst of all, adults taint youthful sports with their competitive desire to see their kids excel. What makes this a teachable moment? What is the lesson to be learned? Honesty is the best policy. But nice guys finish last. Welcome to the real world.

Del, what do you know about the Mercury Retrograde? We are supposed to be in the midst of one of these time frames this month. I have noticed things happening in my life that fit in with things this configuration is suppoed to cause, but I won't elaborate because I want to hear your response first.

Baynard Rustin who was also one of MLK's strategists was, in addition to being brilliant, blantantly homosexual. Back during the civil rights movement this was, of course, frowned upon. King, himself, was a notorious womanizer. In the Aretha Franklin bio I just recently read it told how her father Reverend C.L. Franklin a prominent Baptist preacher, civil rights crusader and confidant of MLK was screwing half the women in his congregation. The Black Panthers were very chauvinistic, relegating women to subservient roles. Kathleen Cleaver, wife of Panther leader Eldrige Cleaver, finally left him because she got tired of him beating her up. Angela Davis and other female activists also complained about how male -dominated these militant movements were, never allowing women leadership roles. These "black is beautiful" sloganeers also displayed appetites for white women. The Black Muslims banned women from their hierarchy, too, expecting their spouses to obey and serve their husbands to the point of allowing them to practice polygamy. Boxer, Muhammad Ali, took on another "wife", while still married to his first one. "Boys will be boys", and their vices transcend race. Religion has never interfered with sexual debauchery, either. All the biblical patriarchs were playas.

Two very valid points of view, Troy and Chris, which substantiate my contention that the black experience varies from person to person. I fully concur that bad decisions are a great hindrance to black progress. So many of the setbacks in the ghetto stem from young girls choosing to burdening themselves with the baggage of children fathered by multiple baby daddies who are not present in the home, all of which sets the stage for their offspring to grow up to be trifling lay-abouts like their parents. Bottom line is you give yourself a better chance in life, once you decide to not saddle yourselves with a bunch of kids you can't take care of, or felony charges that result from committing crimes. People do make it out of the 'hood. Today's black middleclass was yesterday's inner city dweller. Yes, racism can be a factor in the commission of crimes, but it would be a stretch to say it is the cause of a young people from the underclasses embracing the idea that "making a baby" is a rite of passage. Another way of making things easier on yourself is to forget the pie in the sky myopia and view with new eyes the American dream of having a job that will make it possible to own a home with a 2-car garage, a manicured lawn, a patio and backyard pool located in a suburb where schools are great and the soccer team boosters are "stay-at-home moms" who chauffeur their children around to their dance and Karate classes. The notion that all these symbols of success guarantee happiness is a myth. These enclaves are made up of zanex poppin' helicopter parents hovering over the children who are steeped in a sense of entitlement and sapped by their dysfunctions of anxorexia, drugs, suicide and impulses to shoot up the classrooms that are the source of social media bullying. Along with all that, are the problems that rose when these towns sprung up and displaced coyotes, cougars, deer, skunks and other critters who are now returning to claim their turf and make nuisances and menaces of themselves. In addition, these dwellings filled in all the open spaces where tornadoes once touched down without doing harm. Not anymore.Twisters now ravage whole towns. These housing developments also occupy the run-off plains that used to prevent the flooding that now reeks havoc any time there's heavy rain fall. All of these nuclear families thinking they'd escape the dangers of the big cities, ended up inheriting a whole new set of problems. This is the Chicagoland scenario Racism continues to exist because to eliminate it would call for America to fall back and re-group, something it is not going to do. It's easy to identify and blame racism for black woes but that doesn't dispel it. It just frustrates those who recognize how ubiquitous it is. Unfortunately Blacks have few viable options but to try to co-exist with racism, especially since they, themselves, are full of prejudices. Pragmatism, however, is one way to counter racism. In the 21st century, lifestyles and what contitutes a family have morphed into a new paradigm. So should the American Dream since it aint' all it's cracked up to be. There's something to be said for the "git in where you fit in" route. In this capitalistic pseudo democracy, money is the closest thing to being the great equalizer. Acquire enough of it to be in charge of your own little personal world. Fulfill your racial obligations by making yourself an inspiration to others who aspire to control their private universe. Or - cling to your idealism. And cope with your disillusionment.

Thanks, Delano! Your predictions were interesting and have enough leeway to possibly come about. Except for one. I live with my daughter because I no longer wanted the hassel of maintaining my own household. But, who knows? Maybe she'll want to run how I maintain my room, which is a cocoon where everything I need is within arm's reach; a refuge very receptive to the solitude I embrace. I also appreciate your posting the link to my web page on your face book wall. Troy, I don't really think I'll feel better if I go through the process of setting up another web page. I'm not that great with tutorials. Please feel free to give me the benefit of your exertise and do it for me in your spare time! I have tidied things up somewhat on the page I've already put together, elaborating on the silhouette collage, making it a little cleaner.

OK, here's my question. How does my web page strike you? Should I keep it? Or let it expire when my 30-day free trial is up. Here are my 3 numbers: 827. conniediversbradley.simplesite.com

Face it, Troy. She is the voice of the future. Millenials, for all of their rebelliousness, pick their fights, and as far as the Internet goes, they see the possibilities in joining it, since they can't defeat it...right away. Zoe is an "n" away from her own zone. You, go, Girl!

Seems like when I sit down in front of a computer, the electric waves - or whatever - radiate and stimulate my memory. I find things popping into my head, tidbits from a vast store of trivia stored in my brain over the years. Most of the things I write are off the top of my head, which is why I'm not that great on specific dates and I sometimes have trouble with names, recently referring to poet Langston Hughes as Langston Houston. Anyhoo, on the subject of sampling what jumped into my head is that this practice goes waay back. It just wasn't called sampling. The origin of the jazz standards and classics, most often the solo ballads of saxophoists like Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins, Johnny Hodges, John Coltrane and later Paul Desmond sideman of Dave Brubeck, are songs taken from what is known as "the great American song book", or Tin Pan Alley, hits from Broadway and Hollywood musical from the 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s decades, composed by legendary musicans such as Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin and others. These saxophonists always injected little snippets from other songs in the course of the improvization that characterizes jazz. Jazz pianists and other horns did this,too, as did Be-bop horn men in their frenzy solos. Music is not only universal it is timeless.; the old is new; the new is old. Am I wrong in making a distinction between the music sound track of a moive, and the score of it, which would consist of the background music? To me, if a black musician such as Quincy Jones scores that background music of a white movie, that's noteworthy. And it's not as if Blacks scoring black movies was something that was common but does not happen much anymore. They never did do this in great numbers. Furthermore, to me, scoring a movie is not that big a deal. It's in a class with other behind the scene jobs such as make-up artists or stunt men, or script girls, or gaffers or best boys or camera men. Blacks may be under-represented in this positions, too. But what's significant about this? It's like everything else.

I know Quincy Jones scored "The Color Purple". I checked and he also scored "The Italian Job," "In the Heat of the Night," "In Cold Blood," and "Mirage," among others.

Altho his name is not listed, Prince produced and sang on "The Time's" first album and then put the band together afterward. It may have been on this record that he listed the lead singer as Alexander "Nevermind". This name appeared on one of his cuts. I'm not sure which one. You forgot guitarist, Andre Cymone who before he got his own record deal, was Prince's original sideman.

As a side bar, is it generally known how frequently book titles are taken from song lyrics? A line from a tune by Prince inspired the name of my book, "THE ONLY ONE". We've never discusssed the Minnesota sound that Prince was in the vangard of, along with "The Time". I don't know whether they were considered hip hop or not, but "The TIme" was certainly one of the best groups around, and hold up well to this day. Prince, of course, is in a class by himself, I guess. "I WANNA BE YOUR LOVER, I WANNA BE THE ONLY ONE TO MAKE YOU COME RUNNIN..."

The Crusades which took place waaay back in medieval times pitted a victorious King Richard the Lionheart, who represented Christianity against Saladin, and the Islamic armies of Allah, and the repercussions from this confrontation have never really come to an end. The Great Inqusition whose Christian mission was to bring death to the Infidels perpetuated this ill will. Judaism and Christianity finally learned to co-exist but down through the centuries, Islam never stopped ruminating with an obsession to avenge its defeat and destroy all enemies of Allah Religion which is supposed to generate love and peace has always been at the core of wars and conflict and in the waging of these mini armageddons, each denomination thinks God is on its side. Eastern religions like Buddhism focus more on Man's divinity and the tranquility to be gained through introspection with the idea that once the soul transcends the ego and embraces its spiritual humanity the good karma this exudes has the potential to resonate throughout the world, making it a better place through the positive power of love. But - no such luck and Doomsday is hovering on the horizon. Have a good day.

Prince won an Oscar for scoring "Purple Rain".