Cynique

On TVOne I just recently saw a docmentary on Donald Goines and it was incredibly informative for me. I was familiar with this author who is a favorite among jail inmates, and who was a pioneer of the street lit genre, but I was surprised to learn that this fair-skinned hazel-eyed brother from Detroit was from a well-to-do middle class family, his father being the owner of a cleaning business. Goines early on had a need to belie his appearance and prove his blackness so he began hangin out with shady characters. He also altered his birth certificate so he could join the military and go fight in the Korea war at the age of 15. During his hitch there he became addicted to heroin, a habit that plagued him for the rest of his short life. He took up writing while serving a short stint in prison for theft, at first trying his hand at westerns. Inspired by author Iceberg Slim, he later switched to writing what he knew about and Holloway House in LA began to publish his gritty books about criminals and crooked cops and pimps and prostitutes. He came to a violent end back in the 70s when he was in his late 30s, being shot down along with his common-law wife, in a murder that was never solved but was suspected of being related to bad drug deals and his portrayals that exposed real life crooks in his books. I'm ashamed to admit that I never knew all this about Goines whose body of work was prolific and still enjoys popularity to this day. Lately, I've come to appreciate the importance of continuing to seek knowledge and information. One can never stop learning and to learn is, to grow.

Standing on the threshold of 2014, one of my new year's resolutions is to keep in mind what a big joke life is and to, therefore, appreciate what good medicine laughter is. The list below, pilfered from FaceBook, cracked me up, because I relate to it. And it was such great relief from all of the platitudes and religious testimonies that saturate this site.

Is Rap still alive? The last I heard he was in jail, serving time for murder. He was always uber radical and down through the years he changed his name yet again and became increasingly militant and erratic, undoubtedly frustrated with the lack of true racial progress.

Just curious, Troy. Is there a reason you have changed your profile picture to an ankh symbol?

"Writing is a lonely profession", somebody who knew what they were talking about once said. Today, if you are an aspiring author, you are your brand and your words are your product. In current lingo that's the name of the game and its a tough game to make the cut for. In the economical world, there has to be a demand for the supply. And one has to keep up with the times. Original plots seem to be more important than good skills, and selling your manuscript can be equivalent to selling your soul, what with there always being a chance that the draft will be revised and adapted and transformed into what will make it more appealing to the mass reading audience. How else to explain the success of trash like 50 Shades of Gray? Make-believe sagas are holding their own because teenagers primed by computer games are receptive to reading fantasy fiction about wizards and mesmerizing vampires and futuristic adventures and dragon tales. But the competition posed by reality TV is tough because it offers up enough trash and melodrama and mushy romance to satisfy those more amenable to visual rather than printed entertainment. The future doesn't look bright for authors or hard cover books. This genre may be reduced to cult status. A new wave is sweeping us along in its tide and adjustment on many levels seems to be the only option. Change is inevitable.

Hello 2014. Glad to meet you. I knew you were a possibility but I was never sure you'd be a reality for me. Sooo, here I am, out here in the frigid heartland, snowed in and holed up in my woman cave, emerging briefly from the malaise of my cabin fever to marvel at the news that records may be broken when it comes to the winter weather besieging the Chicagoland area. Baby, it's cold outside, and somebody got the memo to let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. What to do, what to say?? My writer's block is descending into a deep freeze. Let's see; I ended up being locked out in the wee small hours of January 1, 2014. Having attended a small gathering at one of my daughter's houses, after drinking and eating and laughing and talking, once the clock struck midnight and mushy kisses exchanged, one by one the attendees gradually began to take their leave, glad we managed to survive the barrage of gun fire that exploded throughout the neighborhood. Everyone was going their different ways and my son, who I came with, entrusted me into the care of my granddaugher, who was to take me back to where I live with my other daughter. To make a long story short, when we got there, the house was locked and nobody was there to let me in. Phone calls only succeeded in pointing fingers at everyone who should've known better than to leave me stranded without a key. Whatever. I ended up spending the night with my grandaughter and her boyfriend at their place. I slept on the couch, keeping a wary eye on their adored pit terrier who they swear is the most gentle creature in the world and who seemed to be mistaking me for his nana, too, nuzzling and snuggling up to me. Anyway, when I woke up a few hours later from a restless sleep, since nobody else was aroused from their alcohol stupors, I proceeded to browse around, gravitating naturally to the book case, and what immediately caught my eye was what seemed to be laying there on a ledge waiting for me: a manual entitled "Christianity for Dummies". Dummy that I am, it seemed like a good idea to pick up this book and flip through it, which I did. Captivated by its chapter headings, I sat down and began to read. I was especially inspired to do this because one of my New Year's resolutions was to stop harassing people about their steadfast devotion to Jesus and his clone, Obama. I read just enough to know that I would take this book home and complete it in the leisure and quiet of my solitude. One should never stop learning and I need to be better enlightened about what it is that I am scoffing at. I doubt that I will become born-again, but I feel that mellowing out is an appropriate stance to take at this juncture in my life. I've refrained from classifying myself as an atheist because I'm still searching but I found this post on FaceBook an interesting one. These are also some interesting quotes that I have come across recently and found thought provoking. "Religion is belief in someone else's experience. Spirituality is having your own experience." Deepak Chopra "My brain is only a receiver. In the Universe there is a core from which we obtain knowledge, strength and inspiration. I have not penetrated into the secret of this core, but I know it is there". Nikola Testla "The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood were made in the interiors of collapsing stars...Because the cosmos is also within us...we're made of star stuff..." Carl Sagan

Xenon, on the old board, you were known as Ntfs_encrypton, right? As I recall there was a story behind this name, having to do with a technical term that came up during your first connecting with the board, and you just decided to stick with it. You were always one of my favorite posters because we usually agreed on things, and you used to give my nemesis ChrisHayden a run for his money. In my previous post here, I just cited the posters who appeared in the PAWGs thread Troy provided a link for, but there were a host of other regulars who were among my favorites. There was Crystal, Urban-Scribe, Yvette, Ferocious Kitty, Sister Gal, Li-Li, Linda, Tanya, Babygirl, Soul Sister, a-woman, Ce-Ce, WaterStar, Lambd, Doberman, Carey- not to mention, THUMPER. Others came and went and a few well-known authors were among them. IMO, the chat room/discussion board phenomena that took the Internet by storm back in the '90s, fizzled to some degree because the novelty wore off as things got repeticious. Also these venues had to compete with the various social media outlets. Now these original forums are dinosaurs. And, so it goes...

LMBFAO. I forgot what PAWGs meant. Anyway, I still maintain to this day, that BrownBeauty was one of Kola Boof's many alter egos. I also suspected SerenaSailor was a troll. In his early appearances on the board, (he?) could barely express himself. Then, suddenly, he became articulate and long-winded. There was a whole cast of characters who'd pop up on the board, even in the middle of the night, and parrot Kola's views. They would always come out when the subject was about black womanhood and its African influences. I certainly miss the input from posters like ChrisHayden and Yukio and ABM and Mzuri and Ntfs_encrypton and Nels and Schakspir and Moonsigns and Jackie, but those others I never quite trusted their authenticity; just a gut feeling. My favorite of all time was Igbogirl(?), who everybody thought was the avatar of Lola with the Nigerian surname who (was)is a reporter-at-large on CNN. (My memory for names is failing me.) She was so profane and vile but I luved her, not to mention the terrible lascivious pictures Kola used to post. Ahhh, those were the good ol days. oops I mean bad ol days. >sigh< Anyway, I standby everything I said on that thread. I was old then, and I'm old now and haven't changed a bit.

HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE! HAVE A GREAT HOLIDAY! HO! HO! HO!

Yes! I meant "objective"! I corrected it. It's funny how one wrong word can change the whole gist of a statement. My ageing thought processes are catching up with me. Ann Coulter is the physical template of Republican women in the media but her airhead colleagues cannot match her in deviousness. She has a response to every liberal argument because she is a supreme sophist, skilled at advancing specious arguments. As a cynic, I have to giver her credit for bamboozling the public. Thomas Sowell's tendency to be a detached observer of the passing scene is also what makes him tolerable to me. Al Sharpton has tempered his militancy since joining MSNBC, even to the point where other Blacks are calling him a sell-out". But his loud mouthed delivery can still be a turn-off to Whites who don't judge Al by his words which might not be that different from those of Sowell, but by his pimp persona. Just another example of the influential effect of image. The longer I live, the more I realize that the world is gonna "do what it do", and in the long run People are at the mercy of trends and cycles and are just along for the ride.

As is often the case, I miss postings probably because of the method I use to access a thread, which consists of clicking on the the last post under a heading. So, I didn't see the video of Ann Coulter until I accidently stumbled across it today. It was quite funny. But what I really was impressed with was what appeared when her video was over, which was a collage with links to a roster of conservative oriented topics. One of these topics was an interview with Thomas Sowell, a prominent black academic who I've often glossed over because I considered him too far to the right. But he had some very interesting things to say about intellectuals. Something I always suspected. He contended that intellectuals enjoyed an inflated status, and he outed them as pedants who weren't held accountable for their pontificating because they dealt in abstract ideas as opposed to brick and mortar results, and that they were fixated on their own points of view. He also dismissed "experts" as unreliable because they are paid to embelish whatever claims they are hired to verify. Sowell really has some inconoclastic views about people who are getting by on reputations and credentials which qualify them for nothing more than opportunities to promote their personal theories and philosophies. In other words, half the people in the world are not objective enough to know what the hell they are talking about. I wanted to ask Sowell, if that applied to him. Me, I've always felt that there is the world as it is verbalized and condensed into language which can be misinterpreted. And then, there is the real world as it actually exists. But - what do I know?

I realize that this is the age of the Internt, but you might take into consideration that there is a community of black readers who fly under the radar and don't create a blip in statistics because they are not computer oriented. These are a silent rank of people who are usually older and often eccentric but who are rabid readers, not only of books but news papers and periodicals. You'll find them in the libraries that they frequent with a great deal of regularlity. They are usually very intelligent and well informed and sometimes even indigent. Unfortunately, they have little impact on society. But they are there. I see them. Turning pages and absorbing knowledge.... Old, eccentric person that I am, I, myself, don't always google book topics. I read newspaper literary reviews and see titles on the best selliing lists posted at libraries and... I get on the check-out list.

With all due respect to Guy Johnson, if you already have his book and are looking for a different gift for either the guy or the gal in your life, you might want to pick up Beyonce's new album which just dropped unannouced and will go on sale next week It's proclaimed to be a real blockbuster, featuring an endless roster of new songs featuring guest appearances by a host of celebrity artists, not to mention husband, JayZ and daughter, Blue Ivy. But, wait. There's more. A panorama of videos wherein Beyonce's whole life passes before your eyes will also be available. Who could not want to put at the top of your to-do list the purchasing of Mrs. Carter's self indulgent love letter to herself. Oops. Sorry. Beyonce insists this monumental exercise in narcissism is a gift to her fans who apparently can't get enough of her. Thank you, thank you. Merry Christmas. Super couple that they are, JayZ and his royal consort Beyonce are so over the top that they overwhelm me to the point of getting on my nerves. Who needs Prince William and Duchess Kate to be bored by when we have the king and queen of hip-hop right in our midst. Not suprising I smh over all of Jay and Bey's hype; my age prevents me from being their target audience. But I just find both of them so 2-dimensional, the total embodiment of all style and no substance. How much strutting around in a scanty outfit with a wind machine blowing your blond hair extensions as you shake your booty and belt out yet another inocuous song do we need? How much creepin up and down the stage in Timberlands and street gear, rappin' about the thug life do we have to endure? Do either of you ever use your fame to promote things that will benefit the black community? So why am I pluggin Beyonce's new album? Because I need a break from Miley Cyrus? No. Because Kanye and Kim are even worse? No. Because I have nothing better to do now that I've gone out and purchased my lottery tickets for the 500 million dollar Mega Bucks drawing...

The right-wing Republican-oriented media is bogged down with blonde, blue-eyed ditzes like Ann Coulter and ex "View" panel member, Elizabeth Hasselbeck, air head extraordinaire The latest example of the absurdity that exists in the ranks of this sisterhood comes out of the mouth of Fox TV host, Megyn Kelly. She is who broke the news that Santa Claus and Jesus were white, just in case some miguided black folks didn't realize this. She further advised that dissidents should just resign themselves to accepting this "fact' since they can't change it. We have to assume it was the tooth fairy who told Ms. Kelly that the symbolic ol guy dubbed as Santa Claus is white, and that the Easter Bunny confirmed this belief. As for Saint Nicholas, the figure who Santa Claus, was copied from, many have come forward to inform that he originated in Turkey, and was arabic, not caucasian Jesus, of course, depicted in Western Civilization as blue-eyed and fair-skinned with flowing tawny locks, was Jewish and in all probability was swarthy and dark-eyed as were most members of the Semitic tribes. And the BIBLE even noted that JC had hair like a wooly lamb. If Megyn Kelly's ignorance wasn't so appalling, it would be hilarious. Me, I figured after Santa exited the sleigh which was drawn across the sky by 8 reindeer, and then wiggled his way down a sooty chimney, that he would be black by the time he crawled out of the fire place. But, of course, fools like Megyn are so afflicted with tunnel vision that they live in a mythical world where history, itself, is more of a fairy tale than a rendering of the truth. It never occurred to this plastic Barbie doll that, as figments of the imagination, fictional figures like Santa Claus can be whatever color children of all ages prefer him to be. (The same goes for Jesus.) What was most offensive about Ms. Kelly's assertion was that people should accept what they can't change. Puleeze. Nothing should be automatically accepted as permanent. Making an effort to change detrimental things should always be an option. But this apparently never occurs to creatures of Ms Kelly's ilk who are determined to defend the status quo - as long as their status is the standard. Fork-tongued bitches aka numb-skulled twats.

Yes, Nils, it can't have escaped you how times have changed. There are so many new venues where people can share their experiences and vent their aggravations that the competition for sites that offer a forum for opinionated debates have taken a toll on the original trail blazers in this field. What seems to be left now if just a dwindling audience of silent lurkers. The good ol days when all the fireworks that once occurred here are gone. But those times were fun and stimulating while they lasted. All good things must come to an end as they say. And so it goes... I miss all of my ol sparring partners and hope they are all well. Me, I'm just plodding along, callin things as I see 'em, and my old eyes are not wearing rose-colored glasses. This country is a hot mess.

Unfortunatley, no particular benefits come with being black in America. It is a status that ranks at the bottom of what anyone in this country wants to be. Blacks are the shadow figures in America society. Nobody seeks to emulate their trajectory. Understandable. Sports and entertainment are the only fields where Blacks enjoy great popularity. Being the exception to the rulis has not rewarded with wide spread admiration the individuals who make achievements in other venues such as the political and literary arenas. People like Oprah and Obama and Toni Morrison are aberrations. And black pride, such as it is, has mostly to do with the race having survived the adversity that is synonymous with not having white skin. In the real world, Blacks who have escaped the dead-end ghetto existences settle for safe professions that will provide them with enough income to acquire the tangible assets that the greater society equates with "having it made". Among the younger generation, underprivileged Blacks see becoming a super star athlete or rap musician as an escape from their circumstances . Like their role model elders, upper class black youngsters see education as a means of acquiring the jobs that pay enough money to acquire the materialistic symbols that will make them the envy of their peers. Blacks are primarily stuck in a mode of striving for the right to ape white people by having equal access to excesses of luxury and extravagance. Black athletes like Jim Brown and entertainers like Harry Belanfonte can't help but harbor jealous resentment about the exorbitant amount of money their latter day successors are earning, and this has to be one of the factors motivating them to criticize celebs like Kobe Bryant and Jay-Z for not giving back and being more pro-active in uplifting the race. More important, however, is that Belafonte and Brown have paid their dues and earned the right to chastise high profile figures whose dubious claims to fame consists of scoring points in a game or spewing obscene lyrics on a recording.

AMEN!

Not only interesting, but inspiring. The work of a resiliant and creative individual who was a natural born writer.

All 3 posers are guilty of inappropriate behavior at a memorial for a world leader. "Inappropriate" because there is always the danger of putting themselves on blast, thereby becoming the objects of world wide criticism and ridicule. Which is what happened. If Michelle wasn't embarassed, she should've been. imo

NELS! Where ya been, babe?? It has been a long time. Stick around.

OK. SNOPES says:The article was originally published on a satirical website called The Daily Currant, whose disclaimer reads: "Our stories are purely fictional." WGCI is a Chicago-based urban radio station. I should've been suspicious when no media outlets in Chicago mentioned this article. Obviously I am not a big fan of Kanye so I ponce on any example of his rabid conceit. I don't know who to blame for this. The people who spread the lies about Kanye, or Kanye for making the negative rumors so easy to believe. This also raises the question as to whether we can trust all the internet reports about white racism, - and black heroism. Bottom line: people believe what they want to believe. But when it come to internet releases, it behooves all of us to consider the source.

Are you saying that somebody actually went through all the trouble of falsifying this long, detailed account with quotes attributed to Kanye, and then circulated it on the internet???? Where are Kanye's indignant denials about these "lies"? If the reports are true and he thinks that proclaiming himself as the next Mandela will endear him to black people, then he is, if not totally deluded, at least misguided. and he deserves all the negative publicity. My problem with Kanye is his preoccupation with bling. It just reinforces the shallowness of young blacks who are as much damaged by materialism as they are by racism. And he may be a superstar to the current hip-hop community but to others he's just another foul mouth rapper. His peers, incidently, didn't think enough of his current work to nominate him for a major Grammy award this year. Yes, show biz reeks with BS and rumors but the difference between Kanye West and a star like Miley Cyrus is that everything she does is tongue-in-cheek. She has mastered the ploy of generating publicity by projecting a caricature of youthful rebellion. Kanye, on the other hand, takes himself much too seriously and rather than becoming more famous, is gradually becoming infamous for his need for adulation and validation. He makes it easy to believe all the allegations of boasting. As for making a claim to Mandel's "throne", West has done very little to advance the black race. As a role model and paragon of black manhood, he falls short. He comes across as a vain, petulant status seeker, whose choice in women is exemplified by the superficial object of ridicule who is his baby momma. Kanye West as the heir apparent of Nelson Madela? Puleeze.

Kanya in a recent interview compared himself to Nelson Mandel and proclaims himself to be the next Mandela. This fool is definitely suffering from delusions of grandeur. I don't think any figure in the entertainment industry is as egomanical as this lap dog of Kim Kardashian. If Kanye compares himself to anybody it should be Muhammad Ali, who was a loud boastful buffoon in his hey day. Now he's a disabled old man who inspires as much pity as he does admiration. A similar fate may await West whose self absorption may eventually have a crippling effect on him.