Cynique

This is true. It's about developing your self expression. Once you can express your questions you sometimes realize that the answer is in the question. I do believe that answers are all there just waiting to be observed and integrated into knowledge. 😲

In my new status as a divorcee from the black race, it's a relief to be excused from plowing through the bumper crop of "what black folks need to do" farmers. In an economy of opinions, talk is cheap. Yada, yada. Here's my 2 cents. A couple of the many factors that contribute to this country's chaotic state of affairs are: Misinformation. (false or inaccurate information. ) and Cognitive dissonance("when people hold a core belief that is very strong and when, they are presented with evidence that works against that belief, the new evidence cannot be accepted so they will rationalize, ignore, or even deny anything that doesn't fit with the core belief." Franz Fanon) Truth has lost its meaning. Meanwhile, music hangs in there. And that's no lie. (An oldie from the favorite vocal group of The Temptations.)

Yes! This is why it is so intriguing. The idea that what's unobserved does not exist and that consciousness visualized the universe into existence.

@Rev Yeah, yeah, yeah, i've heard it all before. i reserve the right to not be religious. Nor am I promoting white supremacy. It promotes itself.

Why is my 3 year old post resurrected? There's nothing about it that deserves to be re-examined. Around Chicago a few Bear fans were hoping the team might pick up Kaepernick in its hunt for a new quarterback. But we got a hotshot black rookie instead. They really did good last week - against the worst team in the league, the Detroit Lions. GO BEARS! 🐻

What white supremacy is also superior at is longevity. The black candle flares up and burns bright but it doesn't last the night. It melts down. Rev keep injecting the bible and Christianity into the mix, 2 things that have consistently de-fanged blacks. The one instance where those 2 are relevant is the fable about Ham's descendants being cursed. Somebody once said about Democracy that it is the worst form of government, - except for all the rest.

@Mel HopkinsAnother interesting contribution from you!

Since I have divorced the black race, i no longer feel I have to perpetuate the narrative about Africa's great civilization, a lore that African Americans have been relegated to take pride in in order to bolster their morale and maintain their self-esteem. But today, black peoples world wide are pretty much at the bottom of the totem pole. It's true that African-Americans are descended from kings and great warriors whose science and art and wisdom was stolen and co-opted by the Greeks and Romans. And later, the African continent was pillaged and stripped of its resources bringing about the fall of these great empires. This is the history that Africa and its diaspora clings to. It is a sacred legacy but it is an incomplete one. Possibly because the big picture would support white supremacy. White Western man conquered the black race because of superior weaponry, superior armies, superior fleets - and a calculating left brain intelligence that spawned a cruel capacity for annihilating foes. Spiritually-oriented blacks didn't have a chance against this Caucasian breed of homo sapiens. Might made right and white supremacy never relinquished its dominance. Nevertheless, African Americans, who are now a hybrid species, did OK, all things considered. They have a remarkable history which they carved on their own in this country. And over the centuries they have managed to endure, survive - and individually thrive. But the specter of white supremacy won't go away. There are, however, cracks in its pillars.

I go on FaceBook regularly. Why? Because it is a social venue. For instance: it allows me to keep up with my cousins all around the country, On there, I also find out about the deaths of people in my hometown and am apprised of their funeral arrangements, while the obituaries "celebrating their lives" are subsequently posted by their families. I have the choice of looking at or scrolling past the plethora of photos posted by my living friends "leading their best lives", and some are even worth looking at. I belong to my high school's alumni association, a group that is facilitated by FB and, like a bulletin board, FB keeps me up to date on local civic events. i also enjoy its funny memes and appreciate the many special interests groups it sponsors, 2 of which have united me with like-minded people curious about Pantheism, and Quantum Physics, a subject I am fascinated with. I no longer engage right wing Retrumpicans on forums because, as much as i like to argue, that eventually got repetitive and futile so I took my opinions and moved on, denying FB the chance to do its algorithm thing My point is, is that there's more to life than politics and racism. There's community and congeniality, things that provide an escape from the stress and tumult of the real world. For a lot of folks, that's the obvious appeal of FaceBook. It is what it is. You don't have to be an air head to go on there! You just have to keep things in perspective. This is a Capitalistic country. Money and power prevail. If you ain't got it, tough shit. Do the best you can.

It was not me who said I was going anywhere! All I said was that my divorce from the black race was final. That doesn't mean I have become a non participant in activities of my choosing. It just meant that, as far as my people are concerned, I am no longer a part of the solution, i am a part of the problem - by way of indifference.

I never said I was going anywhere!

i don't think my decision can be challenged. I am invisible. Nobody pays any attention to old folks. and neither blacks nor whites will be interested in claiming me. I am Vampira; raceless! .o r

Herbie did stray from the fold with that "Rockit" video that found a home on MTV. He has to live with that. i prefer to forget it.

My divorce from the black race is final. I am no longer wed to this sprawling entity reeling under the spell of the "what black folks need to do" mantra, an insanity that chants the same things over and over again, expecting different results, blaming the same conditions, fixating on the same villains, excusing the same behavior, mesmerized by the same denial, creating the seductive narrative that my diminished appeal couldn't compete with. My own unfaithfulness made things worse. Love didn't conquer all. Now, here i am, on my own, lanquishing under the radar, living out my remaining days, realizing that some things are just not meant to be... Should a great grand child of mine come across this decree 50 years from now, will the words inspire laughter or tears? Anyway, feel free to bid me a rousing good riddance!

@ProfDYes, Chicago's finest, Herbie Hancock, has earned jazz immortality! along with his homeboy Quincy Jones, and home girl Chaka Khan, a favorite of Fred Hampton who is from my suburb of Chicago hometown.. Here is a cut from the album that launched Dave Brubeck into the jazz stratosphere. This is what woke up the 1950s silent generation and lured the "gray boys" away from Pat Boone and Elvis Presley. The R&B crowd at least tolerated him and, for better or for worse. he's worth listening to if you're a jazz buff. Saxophonist Paul Desmond was also underrated. Anyway, does this sound like "smooth jazz" or "cafe music" to you? https://youtu.be/0fommAa94ow

Jazz elitists look upon their community as being esoteric, Once one of their of own gains broad acceptance by the public this dulls their sheen in the eyes of these snobs. Dave Brubeck became tremendously popular and was anointed by Down Beat Magazine, which is the bible of the jazz world, but he was dismissed by certain critics. Whatever.

@Troy. how come i have to post as a guest here when I'm on my smart phone. Then even when I try to post as a guest using the name Cynique, I'm rejected. Knowing my password might make a difference, but i forgot it.

Maybe Brubeck who was considered rather pedestrian by Jazz aficiandos. But not Errol Garner. He was a bona fide jazz pianist, - a genius who played by ear. His "Concert by the Sea" album is considered a jazz classic. i was around "during that time".

Miles is credited with "the birth of cool" after he moved on following a short flirtation with the frenzy of BeBop. I'm a late comer to the Miles cult. when he was breaking ground, like a good 1950 college girl that I was, i was into Dave Brubeck. and his sideman saxophonist Paul Desmond I was always a fan of jazz piano and i loved his style of playing it. this was way before his commercial hit Take 5. Yes, Brubeck was a white musician, but - it was the bland 1950s...

FaceBook is my conduit to family: near and far; friends: old and new. i also belong to Pantheist and Quantum physics groups on there, both of which I learn things from. I find social media a diversion and i consider the source of what it reports. i never respond to memes that give instructions or ask questions. I would miss FaceBook if it was gone but I'd find other diversion on line and on TV. The difference between FB and my children and grand kids and dog and cat is that i can click away from it when it bugs me. Not so with them. When all else fails solitude is my haven. And music.

I never said anything about Prince being "sexy". This was something that pioneer implied so that so he could try to make a point that had no merit. Let the record show that I liked Prince's music but he was not my romantic fantasy; more like a rebellious son with a Napoleonic complex. When it comes to "types", people like who they like, and there's no accounting for taste...

@ProfD So do you think black jazz masters are not on a par with Beethoven, Mozart. Chopin , Shubert. Handel, et al, whose works are timeless and who hold permanent places of honor in the annals of white classical music? Why do you think vintage jazz artists and present day ones can't co-exist and be judged on their individual merits??? Why does it have to be one or the other when it comes to listening to them?

i wouldn't label someone who longed for the black music of yesteryear, as being a "grumpy old man". i'd call them someone who rightfully wants to preserve and respect the legacy of jazz classics that gave rise all the variations on a theme that followed the original. You must be a Millennial. LOL i never heard those rumors. i have no idea whether they might be true. i tend to think Prince was straight. i did hear that Miles was HIV positive something he could've gotten from his heroin addiction and the exchange of needles. It was also rumored that this was the reason Cicely Tyson dropped him. i also heard later that he actually had sickle cell anemia. Whatever. May they both rest in peace.

In a world that has become increasingly computerized, artificial intelligence (A.I.) occupies a prominent place in the technology equation. It also poses an ominous threat. How so? Because it makes humans dispensable, and does so in some of the most unlikely areas of every day life; such as card games. I read somewhere that with all of their high-tech programming, robots do not make especially good bridge payers. Something l can attest to. I am a fan of this game which i have been playing since i entered college 70 yeas ago. Back in the 1950s before the advent of television, and the Internet, Bridge was a very popular past time among campus denizens. Today its popularity has waned what with how so many of its faithful fans are dying off, or becoming victims of Alzheimers. Consequently, Bridge is not a game widely embraced by younger generations. Among Blacks, Bid Whist and Spades have supplanted Bridge the way Rap has has kicked Jazz to the curb. But, all is not lost for those of us still lucid enough to remain devoted to this compelling game. For the computer literate among us senior citizens, there are on-line sites where we can go play bridge with robot players. And it's true. Robots are not great bridge players. One of the many compelling things about the game of Bridge is how nuanced it is. So many factors figure into being a savvy player. A good memory, the ability to scope out your opponents as well as your partner who you have to have a special rapport with while discerning the style and temperament of your opponents. Being good at doing these things is what will enable you to disarm your opponents. Embodying these subtleties is such an inherent part of the way good card players approach the game, that they don't realize that they are doing what comes naturally to humans in mastering the game of life! And that's the key. Dealt a decent hand, I am frequently victorious against these tin hats that are programmed to beat me. That's because they are predictable in their play, never bending the rules, never taking chances, never discerning visual cues from their partners, always instead going with the odds and doing what's expected. Because they do not possess the instincts, judgment, and gut feelings that humans rely on, they are the outplayed victims of their inflexibility. . So much for robots. Maybe Mankind stands a chance after all. Maybe. Back to music. Stay tuned.

Miles Davis was a contemporary of many jazz trailblazers, "straight ahead" cats like Charlie Parker, Oscar Peterson, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Wes Montgomery, Max Roach to name a few. They all paved the way for the jazz fushion movement and the saccharine "smooth jazz" brand. Too bad that jazz, along with the Blues and the big band swing music of Count Basie and Duke Ellington and, of course, negro spirituals, all of which were originated by black musicians are under-appreciated nowadays due to the popularity of Rap. and the longevity of R&B. Delta Bluesman, Robert Johnson, so revered by white blues lovers, is thought to be a genius in his field. but appreciation for his lean laments is an acquired taste.