Cynique

You better delete that phony unsynchronized video after a day before you get caught. (Surely a 19 year old girl could find something better to do in life besides spazz out over a book store.) Your sock puppet characters just don't ring true. They reek with the ficticious contrivance that they are. You're more than anal, you are a narcisisstic psychopath, KOLA.

LMAO. This I gotta see. Is there no end to your chicanery? Instead of being non-plussed and clueless about the suspicious over your being a troll, it's like you were anticipating challenges as you immediately shifted into the defense posture you are so adept at executing because you have to rely it so often inasmuch as somebody is always outing you. Mount Holyoke, my ass. Did you even finish highschool. You probably got your GED while you were in the nut house. What would you do without the _ insertion which allows you to use different user names on the same IP and you probably have a collection of lap tops, photo shop soft ware and flunkies as looney as you to do your bidding.

I was fun hooking up with ya, FK. You got it goin on, girl!

"Yeah", is my response to the question "are we really smart enough to govern ourselves". It's like when there's a power failure and the traffic lights go out. Drivers quickly figure out that they have to go into a 4-way stop mode, taking turns, those going in one direction alternating with those going in the other direction, and things move right along. When it comes to a power shortage in America, my scenario would not immediately become a doomsday one. If the Administration in Washington were to come to a stand still, and this wasn't made public, nobody would notice the difference. Our Government is an anarchy masquerading as a democracy, - a bureaucratic entity composed of self-serving politicians, and the people rarely benefit. The nation actually runs on its own momentum and each one of us is our own little country. We survive or fail depending on how well we have figured out how to ride the coattails of a government propelled by its own weight. Eventually, however, things would skid to a halt, and then it will become a "dog-eat-dog" situation, a method of survival Americans are quite capable of participating in. We'd then degenerate into a populace of predators, at which time, the year 2012 would be looming on the horizon, and a second big bang would soon occur, blowing us back to square one, where we will then be ready to start over and get it right this time. Have a good day. .

Seemingly the black romance genre has undergone a make-over at the hands the gritty street-lit authors. But, although I am personally not among them, I'm sure there is still an audience of black females who like "relationship" novels, preferring their heroines and heroes to be something other than skanks and gangstas. Obviously, your publisher thinks this.

Also considered Harlem Renaissance figures were poets Countee Cullen and James Weldon Johnson, who wrote the lyrics to the Negro National Anthem which always gets a lot of play during Black History Month. Cullen was the prolific and premier poet of this era, winning many awards for his works.

Gee, Troy, I just now saw this post, yet another reason for me to bemoan this convoluted new system, a gripe I will not go into detail about... Anyhow, in response to your "philosophizing", I ask: Is it a case of self-hate, when one person shoots another in self-defense? Do you consider criticizing black gangsta rap a case of black self-hate on the part of the criticizers? Is a person who has corrective surgery guilty of self-hate? Obviously distinctions have to be made, and the catch-all category of self-hate does not lend itself well to generalizing. As far as the subject of one black person disapproving of the name that other black people approve of goes, I still don't agree that someone is gulity of self-hate when they criticize others for doing something they would not, or do not do. Five fingers make up a hand and when my middle finger flips someone off, I don't confuse it with my pinky finger. Why? Because they are 2 different digits. The same applies to the black race. One black person disapproving of what another black person does, does not necessarily constitute black hate because the whole is made up of individuals.

For somebody who claims to be young and feigns humbleness, you certainly make a lot of demands and do a lot of lecturing. It goes without sayng here, that people can declare what ever their sentiments are and others are free to challenge. Welcome to the board. If you have thin skin, don't jump into the fray. And I distinctly mentioned that the pyramid I meditated in, not on, was a cardboard one that I had purchased. So your insipid questions doesn't rate an answer. BTW, your sock puppet vibe hasn't receded...

Sheeze. You sound like somebody's sock puppet. There are 30 million black people in this country, and believe it or not, we are a diversified group and there is room for the many different degrees to which Blacks embrace their afro-centrism. Being named Barak Obama didn't prevent this man from getting elected to the presidency. Could it be that he didn't let his name interefere with his whiteness. Do your thing and let others do theirs and you won't be in danger of having another breakdown. Get real.

Hi "Se-Se" and "Vee" Good to hear from you. Thanks for reminding me that there are and have been others out there on my wave length. (As opposed to ol dumb Carey who apparently can't even figure out how to respond to a comment on a thread without reading the whole post.) Vee, I like your way of referring to the old wisdom as being just outside of our consciouseness. Indeed. Se-Se, your son does sound like he was my kindred spirit. Amazing! And I will tell you what he probably would if he could. He didn't die; he just ascended to another plane.

Well, it's easy to indict so-called self-hating negroes when you give your own defintion of what one is, Troy. But since black folks are not clones, or monolithic, I don't buy the theory that when one black person disapproves of what another black person does, this is tantamont to self-hate. It's more a case of a self-righteousness, which is a manisfestation of self-love. Everybody thinks their way is the right way, including those who dismiss other Blacks who have capitalized on the benefits of assimilating into the culture of the country in which they live. Whether doing this is disloyal or whether it is self-serving can be debated, but I continue to maintain that it's not a question of self-hate. More than anything, I find the practice of making up names and adopting African ones amusing. But this indulgence on the part of others exerts no personal reflection on me or does it have a negative effect on my life. I am not "one-and-the-same" with such people, so if I hated them it would definitely not be a case of me hating myself. When I look in the mirror, I see "me", not "them".

Well, since I never got past the first paragraph of Carey's post, thanks to the distraction of me trying to figure out what a "gruel" world was, I have to rely on your feed-back Chrishayden. (I guess I should assume that he meant "cruel" world as in the saying, "Good bye, cruel world.") So why, I ask, is a gay - or straight wedding reception cause for pushing the panic button? Don't the traditional proceedings for these affairs consist of guests simply giving well-wishing toasts, led off by the "best man"?? Guess I'm behind the times. I didn't know such occasions where comparable to gigs for stand-up comedians. Tacky, tacky, tacky.

I think it's significant that Asar Imhotep continues to annouce that he will not bother responding to posts he deems unworthy of anwering and then proceeds to favor us with one of his self-aggrandizing lectures. This is an arrogant, self-important man who can't even recognize his own contradictions. And he certainly has no fine-tuning mechanism, apparently stuck in the Afro centric mode that stunts his ability to realize that all Blacks acknowledge the influences of The Motherland on their culture. They are just not obsessed or preooccupied with proselytizing something that has little relevance in the dominant culture because they have their priorities together and are more focused on staying afloat in the mainstream - just like all other ethnic minorities. Asar takes himself so seriously that he couldn't even recognize the levity I injected into our debate by accusing him of being descended from the victimizing West African tribes instead of the victimized ones. Watta stiff.

The subject involving the names black parents bestow on their children generated quite a debate here, and it wasn’t long before I landed in the midst of it, peripatetic gadabout that I am. I’ve tried to adopt a tolerant approach to life, - one that reflects a "live-and-let-live" attitude, but people who assert, stir up my assertiveness. So, fresh from my literary excursion through a book about the esoteric realm of Masonic symbolism, I cast aside the ethereal veil which had enthralled me, donned my cynical game-face, and jumped into the clash. As usual, the subject split out and went off on different tangents. Before long, arguments in favor of made-up names merged with an advocacy for African names, and I neglected to make a distinction when passing judgment. Now, I want to better clarify my position. To me, choosing an African name is about making a statement. Making a name up is simply an uttered inspiration, the latter having less substance than the former. In any case, people are free to make their choices and to attack me in the process of defending these choices, just as I am free to voice my opposition to their rationales. Shakespeare said “what’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” So be it. Let’s hear it for aroma; forget the drone. Incidentally, I have always been interested in etymology and language and sounds, believing that if you repeatedly intone any syllable long enough, it loses its worldly significance and blends into the "atmospheric hum". The word “WHO” is the name I have given to the Omiscient Ubiquity that gives cohesiveness to our existence. So, in retrospect, when it comes to the subject of what names folks decide to give themselves and their children, I suspect that WHO gives a damn... But I don't. WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I didn't expect a self-appointed griot like you to agree with my comments because people like you can't stand for others to challenge their pontificating. But be advised that I am equally unimpressed with your rebuttal because what you say hasn't proved its worth. And you mimic your so-called oppressors by repressing dissent. Until the countries of West Africa set an example of how their noble ancestry has benefitted them, then you need to focus on what Blacks need to do TODAY to survive in America. Having an African name or any other kind of name ain't gonna get an unemployed person a job. It's the economy, Stupid. And you better believe that the generic Barak Obama wouldn't be president if he hadn't had a white momma from Kansas and who, even as we speak, is bending over backwards to accomodate white folks. So get real, and find a new label to try and neutralize your opponents with. The old "self-hate" stand-by is played out. I LUV myself because I am not deluded. I am native to this country and am proud of the rich heritage that is indigenous to the black presence in America. You and all of your preaching are probably descended from the tribes that sold their captives to the white slave hunters.

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Touche! Like a pyramid, there are 3 sides to me, and one side is a polemic who takes the opposite view of a debater who wraps himself in the confidence that may be built on sand instead of rocks. Anyway, WHO knows. What does WHO know? Whether Afro-centrism will find a home in "Babylon".

Dr Noble's rhetorical definition of power is more about wishful thinking than implementation. And the "core" of your argument is more about pride than rights, the implication being that pride is synonymous with power. I disagree. Acquiring power calls for pragmatism, which in turn involves infilterating the ranks of those who own power. Flaunting all of the superficial trappings of Afro-centrism is comparable to a theatrical performance. Confronting the white power structure on its own terms presents more of a threat to it. America is not Africa, so Afro-centrics are swimming against the tide. They can mount their soap boxes and spout a lot of patented smack and metaphoric cliches, or they can leave the 1960s behind, enter the 21st century and equip themselves to go with the flow, or, - they can return to their natural habitat and fully embrace their African heritage.

I don't dispute what you say, Asar Imhotep.(How could somebody like me who once meditated in a pyramid argue with somebody bearing a name like yours? ) I've been hearing your mantra for at least 40 years, - all to no avail. The diaspora are strangers in a strange land. America is not accomodating to black nationalism so who is to condemn hybrid slave descendants for finding ways to navigate the mainstream of the Promise Land, just like descendants of Europeans do? Those who want to venerate and celebrate their African origins should, perhaps, return to the Motherland to avoid frustration.

BTW, there are odd names and then there are crazy names. IMO, "Deesha", the real name of my gurl Ferocious Kitty, is not a crazy name, it's an odd name. And while I'm mouthing off, changing one's given name to an African one is, to me, an affectation. Having said all of this, however, I do think that having a name people stumble over, doesn't necessarily prevent a person's progress, it can just hamper it. Obviously I am an opinionated old school person.

All of the input into this discussion neglects to take certain things into consideration. As much as we defend and justify the made-up names people are given, the bottom line is not about a parent's prerogative but about Society's perception. You can't control how people will react to the name you give your child, and children are the ones who have to shoulder the burden of a bizarre moniker. Even if a name doesn't inspire raised eyebrows among a child's peers, the general reaction to it by the powers-that-be can prove to be a handicap once adulthood is reached. Yes, the President of the United States has an African name and from day one it was considerd as big a liability as his cocaine habit and his wreckless youth. A child deserves to be given every chance to succeed in life, and names are a brand. Of course it isn't fair to judge a person by his or her name, but life is not fair. Haven't black folks learned by now that there is no justice in this world???? Enuff with the poly-syllabic tongue-twisters replete with apostrophes. Stop using your child to indulge your whims.

We are in the midst of changing times. All around us things are evolving; subtly in some areas and blatantly in others. Uncertainty permeates all facets of our lives. Young people look ahead, focusing on the future, oblivious to how much they have to learn. Old people look back, resigned to what the past has taught them. Some say what lies ahead has been prophesied and that what awaits will be either The End or The Beginning. I say WHO knows. And upon deciding to make “who knows” a statement rather than a question, I am inspired to contemplate. In the seventh year of the seventh decade of my life, I look around, seduced by the implications of the 77 that defines my tenure here on earth, hoping these 2 fortuitous digits are a sign that Luck will smile on me, feeling certain that there is validity to Numerology. Not surprising. Whimsy enchanted my childhood, making me more into fairies than angels, more prone to wishing on stars than saying my prayers. And as I grew older I began to read and explore anything that pertained to the metaphysical and the mystical. There was no bigger New-Age flake than I when those of us sharing the same vibe hailed the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. Suspended in an alternate mind set, I was convinced that “thoughts were things”, that you could generate creative energy by intoning chants and that such energy could transform images into existence. I hunted for the answers to riddles that Sages said were contained in the questions, - even experimented with out-of-the-body experiences, and conjuring up spiritual guides to ward off danger. While listening to me babbling about cosmic forces and 4th dimensions, people’s eyes would glaze over. Family and friends snickered when I purchased a cardboard pyramid and sat inside it meditating, hoping to benefit from how these geometric talismans could reputedly rearrange molecules and create magnetic auras and turn water into a magical potion comparable to the fountain of youth. As time when on, I became critical of language, deciding it was an inadequate tool because reality couldn’t be imprisoned in words. I concentrated on getting in touch with my spirituality, pondered Buddhist koans, became awe-struck by the paradoxes of quantum physics. And with the passage of more time, without realizing it, I gradually established my own personal religion, choosing and rejecting tenets from many different schools of thought in the process of interpreting clues about the mystery of life even as, just recently, I began slipping into involuntary trances that allowed me to look at my surroundings with new eyes. Crazy, I know. Then, an epiphany! A couple of weeks ago, I picked up a book, a 509-page best-seller I had been hearing a lot about. It was entitled “The Lost Symbol”, and was written by Dan Brown, who wrote the “Da Vinci Code”. Once I started this book, my epiphany was soon followed by a revelation. Up until now, I assumed the ideas I had become compatiable with were my random conclusions. Imagine my thrill upon discovering that what I had discerned from my searching was the essence of a Brotherhood which has existed down through the ages, surreptitiously drawing order from chaos. The Masons - the group whose original members were the architects and builders of pyramids, and whose initiates include those from all walks of life, from all over the world! So, needless to say, I found Dan Brown’s novel centered around the enigma of Masonic symbols to be very absorbing. I also found him to be a skillful writer who is quite adept at creating suspense! In the course of his harrowing tale, Brown dispels a lot of misconceptions about the Masons and absolves them of the sinister intent many have attributed to this ancient secret society that pre-dates the coming of Christ, and which later was very instrumental in the founding of America. One of the more interesting aspects of this book is how the author links the Masons to the Bible, making its members the source of the “the old wisdom” that’s encoded in parables which mask empowering secrets to be kept hidden until Mankind is ready to re-claim the divinity that is its true destiny, - an implication that is at the core of all religions, a promise that whatever God can do, we will be able do because God dwells, not in heaven, but within the temples of our bodies, inside the chambers of our brains and the sanctuaries of our souls which upon transcending death, become the ultimate manifestation of a miracle! Equally intriguing is the recurring theme that appeared throughout “The Lost Symbol”, a hint assuring that “there is nothing new under the sun”, that everything Mankind yearns to know is right before its eyes, needing only to be recognized. This became increasing clear to me when realizing how the confirmation of my conjectures that was provided by my reading “The Lost Symbol” was already “right before my eyes” - there on the walls of my den, there filling the shelves of my book cases. Ritual regalia and volumes of knowledge, - relics left behind by my father and my brother and my husband, who were all 32nd degree Masons and my mother who was an Eastern Star Worthy Grand Matron! All there, seeping into my psyche through the alchemy of osmosis, making me receptive to what I had strayed elsewhere to seek. So as I ended my journey through the burning sands of “The Lost Symbol”, I emerged as a “Found Token”, eager to pay homage to a family legacy I had resisted, ready to merge with a cult of which I was already a convert, prepared to continue my quest for enlightenment. Lucky? Maybe. Amazing? Yes. What lies ahead for me? WHO knows. “The Lost Symbol”? I give it 4 (Eastern)Stars.