Cynique

Black males seems to be a favorite topic of conversation nowadays, whether they are spawning broods of children, or getting gunned down with their hands up, or going upside the heads of their girlfriends. Social media is now all a-twitter over the released videos of Baltimore Raven's Ray Rice punching out his girl friend on a elevator, and then dragging her unconscious body out of it. The NFL's first reaction to this incident was criticized for being too lenient in just imposing a suspension on Rice but is now being questioned for being too harsh after it reversed itself and decided to ban him from football for life. Everybody has an opinion. Pouncing on the opportunity to promote their causes are all the feminist groups and empathetic female sympathizers bemoaning the abuse of Rice's wife. Others consider Rice's punishment excessive, saying that nobody knows what precipitated the situation. Many are advising women to avoid attacking or pushing the buttons of men because this can be dangerous when dealing with dudes who need anger management. Criticism is also being directed at women who tolerate ongoing violence instead of removing themselves from the situation. And, of course, some are even arguing that a good ass-whupping is occasionailly necessary to keep an unruly bitch in line. Obviously a lot of factors figure into this public debate. I have mixed emotions about the situation. I tend to think that people should mind their own business when it comes to the relationships of people they don't know. What goes on between a man and a women is between them, and the release of the videos were certainly an invasion of the privacy of Rice and his partner. In this age of political correctness and knee jerk reactions, the scene is ripe for those with agendas to take up the cause of individuals, and turn them into poster children for their crusades. Sometimes the backstory doesn't always favor the victims, and this provides grist for the mill of the opposition. And it should be noted that Rice's girlfriend is now his wife and has released a statement, defending her husband, blaming the hoopla on the media and declaring the couple's love for each other. Generally speaking, no man should beat up a women because he has an unfair advantage. And women need to realize that there are consequences to provoking a man because you can't depend on him to exercise restraint, especially if you are physically aggressive, yourself. We would like for civility to always prevail in society. But in the real world, it doesn't. Another subject making the rounds on social media are nudie-selfies, and whether people who insta-gram or text naked pictures of themselves to someone should be within their rights to consider themselves victims if these pictures get into the wrong hands and are made public. The argument is being made that it's not about indiscretion or modesty but about the legitimate expectations that one's privacy will be protected. To me, once again, an awareness of consequences comes into play. People are taking a chance when they transmit naked pictures via iPhones and the Interent. Not only do you have to worry about hackers, but you can't be sure that the recipient of these pics won't at a later date decide, for whatever reason, to post them. If you take this chance, then you have to share the blame if your bare body becomes exposed to the cyber world.

Well, another show biz legend bites the dust. Robins Williams' death certainly warmed up the crowd for the Joan River's show. The attention given to their sudden deaths by the media has been relentless to a fault. But it's a sign of the times. Pop culture vultures have an avid appetite for circling the carcasses of famous creatures. Excuse me while I wipe the blood off my beak. Still, I mourn Joan's passing, myself. I have always felt a special kinship with her because we were the same age, 2 cynical ol broads, dismissive of superficiality and maudlin sentimentality. She ridiculed celebrities, bad mouthed their wardrobes and personal lives, shied away from political correctness, shocked tight-assed people, and was quick to drop the f-bomb. Above all, she never missed a chance to poke fun at herself. A bitch after my own heart. Rest in peace, girlfriend. Save a seat for me.

The driver of the car my grandson hit was a middle-aged white women, and it happened in an upscale predominately white suburb of Chicago. Like I said, I think the cops wanted him off their hands so there wouldn't any trouble that could be attributed to race. His half sister in the Sheriff's department distances herself from him. My grandson's mother was my son's "baby mama" who I wasn't around that much...

Interesting observations, Troy. Just last night, a variation of driving while black was dumped at my doorstep. I hav 8 grandchildren and they come in all varieties, each one different. Not surprsinsg there's a black sheep. He is 23, a charming babe magnet, and chronic neer-do-well. Last night while driving drunk, he plowed into the back of another car at a stop sign, and then left the scene. Police caught up with him and he was hauled in by 2 white cops on the force of an upscale predominately white suburb. He chose me as the person to use his phone call on. I was too disgusted to be of any help and turned the situation over to his father. Anyhow, to make a long story short, because this con man had enough sense to chill out, he took on a contrite persona, polite, and apologetic and cooperative The cops were quick to mention this to his father when telling him that bond would be 100 dollars if paid before the next morning at which time he would be taken down to the notorious Cook County jail in Chicago, where, incidentally, his sister works as an assistant deputy sheriff. Because everybody is sick of this grandson's ongoing irresponsible antics and thought that he needed to be taught a lesson, no one felt the need to come up with the money. I consider a hit and run DIU a serious offense but apparently the cops, were moved by my grandson's sob story about not being the same since the death of his beloved mother 2 years ago, and they decided to let him go on an I-bond. Go figure. I don't know how all of this will end up but I have a feeling the cops let him go because they wanted him out of their hair .

Because my daughters were such fans of Prince back in the day, I fell in line and started liking him, too. I've been to many of his concerts over the years and have always found the audiences as entertaining as the performer. What adulation would erupt when Prince played one of his old favorites. The problem became, because Prince is so obstinate, after a while all he wanted to perfom were new songs that, to me, were forgettable. My enthusiasm for his music gradually waned. I still love old school Prince of the 80s but "Adore" is the last song I can think of that I really got into. Truth be told, I outgrew Prince. To me, he became too self absorbed while becoming a caricature of himself, and his music didn't grab me anymore. But, he does have longevity, having maintained his following while cultivating a new generation of fans. So, what do I know?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah. I've heard all of this Republican propaganda before so put a sock in it. The case you state for them is full of holes. Or am I interested in hearing your maudlin preaching. I have no use for Republicans/conservatives because, at my advanced age, I trust my radar which is reinforced by a gut feeling, both of which instinctively tell me that these snakes in the grass do not have the best interests of black people at heart. The only ones they care about are those who make up corporate America, the one percenters who have facilitated capitalism's take-over of democracy while burdening the middleclass and blathering about god and country and the American way. Barf. They are, as I am sure you are, the syncopants of Faux News. Who's your favorite talk show commentator? Rush Limbaugh? I'm sure you think Dr. Ben Carson will make a good president since he knows how to crack people's skulls and incise their brains, while suffering from amnesia when it comes to how he got where he is. And what a legal scholar Clarence Thomas is. A rubber stamp lackey who can't even write his own opinions. Your naivite is amazing in that you apparently have no concept of tokenism when singing the praises of certain Blacks who have had doors opened for them. I lived through the Civil Rights struggle, and all your subtefuge about red states and blue states back in the day doesn't resonate with me. I know what I witnessed and who I witnessed doing it You're all over the place, spouting statistics and relying on Wikipedia for your facts(?), spreading your right wing gospel. Knock yourself out. I prefer the liberal philosophy of "lifting others as you climb" as opposed to the conservative "I got mine, now you get yours" approach. I may not always practice this in my pragmatic personal life, but I know which way I would go, if I had the wherewithal to make change. Conservative America with its fascistic leanings, myopic mysogynism, gun nut fanaticism, religious zealotry, capitalistic piracy are not my cup of tea. They totally turn me off. As for your thinly-disguised defense of unarmed suspects being gunned down in the street, - it sucks.

My Daddy was was born in 1890. He died in 1967. I am just expressinsg thoughts off the top of my head, Troy. We are not as in control of our destinies as we think. Shit happens. Time marches on, the world keeps rotating on its axis and orbiting the sun. Whatever will be, will be. Obviously, I am world weary.

You keep jocking the Republicans as the party of the Emancipation. Yeah right, until the Southern Democrats became the Dixiecrats and embraced the racist Republican Party which has no use for any Blacks but Uncle Toms. Banning religion sounds like a good idea to me. Just about everything wrong with this world can be traced back to religion. Who cares if Gays want to marry each other? Is that any worse than shooting down unarmed black kids?

What is your nationality, raydal? You keep villainizing Democrats and Liberals. I consider that a red flag. Conservative Republicans are certainly not groups I care to embrace or endorse. Dems and Liberals are misguided do-gooders but their hearts are in the right place. I detest right wing conservatives. They are bad news for everybody but themselves. I especially have contempt for black conservatives who are nothing more than lawn jockeys.

A revolution at the polls was what got Barak Obama elected. Now he has become a part of the problem instead of a part of the solution. "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrumpts absolutely". Why? because once you become a part of the power structure, you are absorbed by it. Blacks need a revolution of the mind. They need to distinguish between "united we stand" and "misery loves company". New strategies are needed because the old ones don't work. Especially since there's truth to this issue being about class as much as race. In this country, Blacks have to control the "white" because Whites control what's "black". In other words, Whites have what's written, and Blacks have the spaces between the words. It's almost to the point were we have to call upon metaphysics to get over on The System. There are Blacks in this country who are thriving because they've learned how "to get in where they fit in". Unarmed, black, 18-year-old aspiring rapper, Michael Brown, was executed during an encounter with a gun-toting white cop in a town where Blacks are second class citizens. Who came down to Ferguson, Missouri, to throw his weight around and threaten the authorities there? The Attorney General of the United States, who happens to be a black man. Is there something wrong with this picture??? Here in Chicago a little league baseball team, composed of 13 young boys, became the heroes of this battle-scarred city because they carved out their niche. They went out and played the game like it was supposed to be played and brought back a trophy that made all Chicagoland proud. Is this a teachable moment? As a race, the future looks bleak for Blacks but, as individuals, progress is possible. Whites get ahead because they do not carry the burden of their color on their shoulders; they do their own thing and if they fail they have nobody to blame but themselves. In a better world things would be different for Blacks. But this world is cruel. America is the "land the free white man and home of the brave black nigger", as my father used to say.

Asians do not consider themselves white and they are a force to be reckoned with because of their viability. Hispanics have a special word used to refer to Whites: "gringo". I've never met a Mexican who considerd himself "white". They most often refer to themselves as brown. Their enthnicity is how they identify themselves and they are quite proud of it. A gulf exists between what's on paper and what constitutes reality. The people doing the extrapolation may have ulterior motives. Society evolves and the direction it goes in is not necessarily predictable. Randomeness and aberrations are among things that have an impact. Does anybody really know what the make-up of this country will be in 50 years? That super-volcano in Yellowstone National park is just waiting to erupt and devastate America's landscape.

The term "black community" can't be so easily dismissed. Color-blindness is a myth when it comes to race. No matter what class a person of color falls under, his skin color will still deny him the perks of white privilege The black community may be stratified and its members unsupportive of each other, but it is still a monolithic bloc to white America. If all black people were to disappear from America as a result of ethnic cleansing, would white people really be glad? Black people are an integral part of the economy. This country is like a plantation that needed the slaves, who were considered valuable property. Prisons, are indeed, a profitable industry, not to mention all the social services that are divisions of the Welfare system, which is also a profitable industry. And what would predominately white police forces have to do with no Blacks to profile and arrest? They'd have to lay off half their staff. What would the courts do with no defendants to prosecute? America needs the necks of black folks to keep its foot on. It's in their DNA. LOL They do not want to get rid of black people. They just want to oppress them.

Well, getting an impression of somebody is not always a sign of being psychic. It can just be an indication of being perceptive. To me, a true psychic would receive visions about the past and future of a person just by merging with their essence. You are a pretty upfront person, Troy, and your ability to articulate your opinions along with my knowledge of your accomplishments and goals, make getting a fix on you an open book. Reading between the lines, I feel that you think big but lean toward quality rather than quantity. You don't strike me as being deceptive but I do sense a little vulnerability beneathe your facade and - a sexual edginess.

What is the goal of ethnic cleansing? Those in control need minority underlings to do the menial labor necessary to maintain the higher standard of living enjoyed by the white majority. Or, do Black Americans need any outside help in decimating their ranks. The black underclass perpetuates its woes by indiscriminately breeding the offspring who grow up in unstable families without father figures. This creates an environment for a population at war with itself.

Personally speaking, I don't know that I've ever had any experience with bona fide psychics. I've had Tarot readings. One reader told me I was going to come into some financial gain. About 10 years later, my older sister died and left me a substantial sum of money. Another reader told me that she couldn't get a fix on me because my vibes were interfering with her clairvoyance. She concluded that I was psychic, myself. When I play Bridge on line, I am paired up with perfect strangers. If I get a partner that I am in sync with, I can usually read their mind when it comes to what card to play. I think that cyberspace enables ESP because thought waves are involved. I sense things from posters I encounter on this board... Impressions transcend what they write.

The latest goal of any self-respecting celebrity is to be nominated to participate in a ritual that will benefit a charity established to finance research on ALS, a devastating disease that evenutally totally incapacitates its victims. So what better way to show your support for finding a cure for this fatal affliction than to have a bucket of ice water dumped on your head? Doing this generates a donation to this charity - or something like that. The other requisite is to make one’s participation in this ceremony official by providing a video of the event to be made public via the various media outlets. Everybody who is anybody is lining up for this baptism that will wash away the sin of being excluded from what will maintain your high profile visibility. Of course, fads have been around forever but do they ever serve any purpose other than to show how enslaved people are to being a part of the “in” thing? Today’s pop culture abounds with fads. Pregancy among the rich and famous is an ongoing fad. Having a baby has gone from being an every day event to a spectacular occasion for female celebrities eager to proclaim that they’ve managed to get knocked up and can now wear a tight clinging garment to show off the distorted effect of a baby bump. Add to the this the fad of announcing to a waiting world what bizarre name has been chosen to brand the newborn with. Then, there are the food faddists. Is there anything more irritating than these self-appointed diet gurus led by smug Vegans, wrinkling their noses at food that had a face, as if humans aren’t descended from hunters bagging animals. As if rapturously praising kale and rejecting gluten won’t possibly be reversed in a few years. As if these pests have been authorized to take the joy out of eating. Vying for top fad status is the sexual identity phenomenon that is overshadowing the being-molested-as-a-child explosion. It now seems every other person is something other than heterosexual as an outbreak of gender-challenged people have made up their minds to jump on the gay bandwagon. Smart phone apps are something else that are currently all the rage. There’s an app for everything. Too bad someone hasn’t come up with one that will shock a person every time they whip out their phone in the company of friends and begin to text. Fads could arguably fall under the epidemic category. It’s like there’s a boredom virus floating around, infecting those who have an aversion to the ordinary. I, myself, find it boring to observe what bores do to keep from being bored. Yawn.

This is a woman who I'd always heard of but never knew much about. After all this time, I found it interesting how much we had in common when it came to education. My education was also very diverse, inasmuch as I've always gone to integrated schools, something that prepared me to navigate through a diverse world. Less beneficiaI to my perspective was that I, too, never had a black teacher or professor. Like Ms. Height, I came to be disappointed with how progress and improvement fell short of the expectations of the civil rights victories that promised equal education opportunities for Blacks. At some point, things regressed and years later many of the problems plaguing the black community have to do with how poorly the schools are preparing our children. Blacks have had so many outstanding leaders like Dorothy Height, but sadly unless these role models were athletes or entertainers, their good influence didn't trickle down to the masses. The same way with the good black family values that stopped being passed on. What happened? I regularly ponder why Blacks in this country have such a hard time earning respect. It always comes back to racism. I recently read an article about a little white boy whose parents had white supremacy ties. While in the hospital he went into a coma and expired, but was later resuscitated. During his recovery he told his preacher father that when he died he'd visited heaven and lo and behold Jesus was, in his words, a "nigger". And so were a lot of the angels. The youngster wondered why he'd always been told that Jesus was white and that Blacks were mud people whose skin color was a curse. In response to his son's confusion, the father simply dismissed the dream, declaring that it got it wrong. Who to believe? Omigod.

America, specifically, and the world in general is in a state of chaos. Conflict permeates this country as a race war between Blacks and Whites looms on one front and a holy war between the US and ISIS threatens on another. In the black community, the middleclass and the underclass are at odds, pointing fingers at each other even as they experience the common enemy of racism. The economy cannot accomodate the unemployed and working poor because the effect of not taxing the corporate rich does not trickledown. The Military has an itchy trigger finger and thinks because it has a hammer, every foreign uprising is a nail. Harassinsg the POTUS is what tops the agenda of Republicans, and wringing their hands is the reaction of clueless Democrats. All the advances in science have yet to figure out a formula to solve problems with no solutions. All the praying and envoking the name of Jesus from the religous faithful has brought few results. Cyber technology has turned a whole generation into nimble-fingered androids texting their every thought, when not sharing their shallowness on the social media. Here in Chicago, one black church had raised several thousand dollars to send to Ferguson, Missouri, to help support the cause of murder victim Michael Brown. But, at the last minute, the congregation decided to instead use these funds as reward money to help catch the killer of 9-year-old Antonio Smith who was shot dead during gun fire exchange between local gang members. Blacks cannot win for losing. They are not one big happy family because they do not perpetuate little stable families. For every step forward, they take 2 steps backward. On August 18th, I "celebrated" my 81st birthday. Surveying the world I have been observing ever since I became aware of my surroundings, I gave my mind a gift as I bemoaned what has become a hot mess. Nothing i can do about the state of things, so fuck this shit.

There is an admonition that can be applied in many situations and should be taken very seriously. What is it? KNOW THY ENEMY. For instance, when male bashing feminists take up the fight against rape, do they ever see the contradiction of not trusting men, yet expecting them to be perfect gentlemen when females put themselves in compromising positions by passing out drunk, or dressing too provocatively? Does it ever occur to these shrews that they should advise women to avoid situations where men are called upon to resist the temptation to initiate sex with women who are flaunting their bodies or who are sloppy drunk. Don't throw raw meat in front of dogs and then become indignant when they want to satisfy their appetites. KNOW THY ENEMY! White cops are racist Mfers. Don't expect them them to serve and protect or exercise restraint when black males challenge them. They will kill you. Execute you. If they suspect you are guilty of something, they do not care if you raise your hands - or dare to declare your innocence. When a white cop draws his gun, don't move. Be patient. Your turn will come. KNOW THY ENEMY, - and plan his downfall.

In expressing your opinion, Delano, every statement you made refererred to a category. For clarification you had to use the genre of the music you were making comparisons to in order to make your point. In referring to the white singer's bad performance, you had to identify what he was attempting to sing as the "blues" and "blues" is a category of music.You used the terms "pop" and "rap" which are also categories of music Artist do the interpreting, but what they are interpreting is a genere of music which they may be converting into the style of another category of music. All music is not the same. Certain things differentiate one type from another. How listeners perceive music is filtered through a criteria of what is classified as what.

First of all, as I previously noted, Rapper T.I. also performs on "Blurred Lines", something to be considered when saying the song rips off "Got To Get It On". Secondly, I'm not here to defend hip hop or rap. Just to explore the many facets of the music world. To me, everything that is hip hop is not rap, but everything that is rap is hip hop. Rap is a sound associated with the hip hop community. It's not a sound indigenous to R&B. Sampling the music of artists like James Brown may enhance a rapping performance but it does not duplicate Brown's music. And do Rappers in hoodies and t-shirts and low slung jeans and gym shoes and bald heads or dread locks, loping up and down the stage bear any resemblance to James Brown in a tuxedo with elaboratedly coiffed hair, and dazzling foot work???? James Brown was about the funk and soul. Rappers are about the profane and profound. I personally think Rap is more akin to the frenzy of Be-Bop. I also don't see a problem with categorizing music. All types of songs make up the music spectrum. You, Troy, are apparently a fan of jazz fusion, which is in a class by itself. Then there are the black slow jam love ballads, which often have the cross over appeal that lands them under the adult contemporary banner. Variety calls for differentiation. Moreover, this is the era of branding. Music, for all it artistry, is still a commercial enterprise. BTW, if you miss singers it's because you are not checking out such vocalists as John Legend and Maxwell and Alicia Keyes and Rihanna and even Beyonce who all have melodious tunes in their repetoires. Music is, of course, a universal language and race is not a factor when it comes to fans of a particular type of it. White people like rap and jazz and blues. Black people like pop, metal and C&W. But the genre is what it is. Just because a black person performs classical music does not change the genre of this music; just because a white guitarist sings and plays the blues does not change the fact that the music is blues. Or is anybody forced to listen to music they don't like or respect. There are choices for those who look for them. Finally, performers of whatever sound they represent become popular because they are good at what they do, their detractors be damned.

The link you provide to subscribe to your YouTube channel does not accept new applicants, Troy. It is for those who are already subscribers and wish to access your channel. A least that is the problem I am experiencing.

Yes, Troy, I read the article where Payton was expounding on musicology in order to discredit Pharell's reference to sheet music. I don't know that Payton's deconstruction served any purpose other than to bedazzle in order to belittle. To me, his rant was simply the outburst of a Pharell hater. And I beg to differ that R&B doesn't describe a musical genre. R&B is urban contemporary music. R&B as well as Rap do have specific separate charts on the lists of Billboard Magazine, the bible of the music world. There is also a specific R&B category on the lists of the Grammy nominees, the oldest and most prestigious of all music awards . R&B is not the nonexistant designation you want to relegate it to.The vocals of Marvin Gaye and Robin Thick on the 2 songs in question are R&B in style. Apparently, Rapper T.I. was added to the mix to appeal to the hip hop crowd. So "Blutrred Lines" is really an appropriate phrase where this recording is concerned. All musicians borrow from and are influenced and inspired by the style of other artists. "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." Altho the base lines and vocalizing on "Blurred Lines" are similar to "Got To Give it Up", the 2 songs are distinguisable from each another. Pharell is entitled to make this argument. If the estate of Marvin Gaye thinks it has such a viable case, then its lawyers should sue. To me,. R&B is the sound of mainstream and old school soul music. Rap, by virtue of the fact that it is not mainstream, is the sound of the hip hop sect. Rap is not an extension of traditional music and it can exist independently of it. When Rap artists sample music on their spits, they are simply paying tribute to whomever's music they are sampling and the sampled artists do collect royalties for this.

LOL, wc. Sounds to me like your appetite for "The Haves and The Have-Nots" is a form of - escapism.

Talk about whack. There's something inconsistent about decrying hip-hop while celebrating Marvin Gaye and complaining that an arrangement of his sounds like a record released by hip-hop producer, Pharell. If this is the case then Marvin Gaye is hip-hop. Can't have it both ways when it comes to the comparison between "Got To Give It Up" and "Blurred Lines". Bottom line is that the renditions by both Marvin Gaye and Robin Thicke are actually R&B funk.