Cynique

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.

In the latter years of his career, jazz legend Mils Davis and Prince became friends. During the MTV era in the 1980s Miles, looking very Princesque, even made a video playing his version of Cyndi Lauper's, 'Time after time". Jazz purists were miffed by Miles' cross over into the pop domain, but he brushed them off. ''So What?" is vintage Miles, and a phrase that could sum up his approach to life. Also appearing on this video another jazz icon, John Coultrane. https://fb.watch/8pW5Nyh5Hm/

@ProfDYes, Prince was a true wunderkind - the likes of whom will not come this way again. I am familiar with spoken-word poet and social activist, Gil Scott Heron, from way back; another tortured genius who left us too soon. Did you, by any chance, watch the recently aired "Lovecraft Country" on HBO? One of Gil's cuts, "Whitey on the Moon", was featured on the soundtrack of this miniseries. What is your music genre?

Really starting to appreciate what a great alternative to words music can be.

@DelAnd what is a "mandala"? i am still stumbling because we don't use language in the same way. I need to re-orient my mind and not take your words literally. How does one "read" a painting? is that the same as "interpreting" a painting? A painting can speak to me so is that the same as hearing it? A color pleases my eyes but does not inspire me to connect with time. I've previously given you the information about my date of birth and i think that is probably the most significant date in my life: August 18, 1933, @ 1:30 pm central standard time. i do have a persistent experience of shifting back and forth between parallel universes. It's like i am about 5 minutes ahead of myself in one universe, which makes me 5 minutes behind that in a parallel universe.

Welcome aboard. i'm curious about your screen name. You respire with professionalism. Is being a professor your profession? There may be times when we will disagree on a subject but let me just say, what a pleasure it is to read the way you write, especially your smooth concise style and your grasp of what's relevant. What a breath of fresh air you have the promise to be!

@DelWell, Troy seems to get what you're talking about. it figures because his brain is scientifically wired. i think the reason i don't get what you're saying is that i need you to define just what a time marker is since I'm language oriented. i also find it surprising that i am having such a difficult time, coming up with significant dates in my life. I'm very conflicted about this.

@Delano: I can dig that. Very Zen...all about spaces and pauses...the impact and subtleness of silence...the sound of one hand clapping...reading between the lines, The power of silence is a discipline i'm learning late in life. it figures that you and Mel are on the same wave length. i forgot that you 2 pronounced yourselves to be gemini twins. Mel and Del.

A critical thinker would never make such a stupid statement inasmuch as i am 88 years old and wouldn't expect a fine young man to want want to hang out with me, Dummy. And there's no way, under any circumstances would I want to be in YOUR company. While scrolling through the gallery of stock photos of black men to misrepresent you, why didn't you choose somebody who doesn't look like a left over from the 1970s, reeking with Hai Karati cologne. Definitely not my type if i was still on the market. which i'm not. I got visions of my husband to get me through the night. You still humping blow-up dolls? Hey, baby. Miss you much. See ya soon.

@peeonear: Oh, stfu. You just proved everything i said about you with your silly illustrations, made-up lies and the wishful thinking that pollutes your warped imagination. Mel and Chevdove are my girls, and Mzuri and I go waaay back, so i aint mad at her. She means well. She just has bad judgment when it come to adopting mutts like you. i don't have any rank or status on this board so your accusation about me feeling threatened by other women who sign on here is your desperate attempt to portray me as being insecure about a position that i relinquished and your being worthy of my jealousy. Dream on, you dufus wanna-be. Come get him, Mzuri, his diaper needs changing. ()

Now, that's interesting! And sad. John H. Johnson must be turning over in his grave, while his adopted daughter Linda is enscounced in the residue of his wealth and lost legacy.

@MzuriI wonder if you are serious or just devious. No wonder you and Pioneer have such rapport. Because you both conjure up false images of me in order to reinforce the incorrect conclusions you come up with. You resort to false flattery and psycho-babbo in a pathetic attempt to neutralize my contrariness. You are a pseudo Polly Anna. And fyi I have no desire to be reinstated at the helm of this site. i left voluntarily because i thought i was more of a liability than an asset due to the combative nature which so offends your sensibilities. i have not mellowed with age. Sometimes I wish i had but the bitch endures. @Troy & Mel: Thanks for being perceptive enough to know where I'm coming from.

@MzuriOooh puleeze! My feelings weren't hurt. My juices were salivating for a good exchange of insults because it doesn't matter whether folks make malicious remarks to me or about me. So i yanked your favorite blow hard's chain; much to your distress.poor baby. Plus, i notice you don't bite your tongue when you get impatient with some of the other posters on here. Awkward, be damned. So, if you're lookin for everybody to clasp hands and sing a chorus of Kombaye, count me out. (You should know me better than that!) BTW, those volatile exchanges with Kola were actually fun to me. Also this site is no longer known as "Cynique's Corner". It is an public forum and as a lurker, i feel no obligation to be the house mother here. I'll leave that role to you. >> <<

@Mzuri peonear said this to Delano about me: "First you said she's like crack on the brain... Then she was like balsamic vinegar... NOW you're claiming she's like the moon... I don't think you know whether you want to SMOKE her, EAT her, or just WALK all over her.....lol." I think my response to this was appropriate whether you, as peeonear's caregiver, do or not.

@peeonear: Just a sample of the MANY things you don't know or should even care to know -- if you had a life. You don't even have the gumption to scroll past my posts like you said you were going to do.

In 2 different documentaries i have seen about Prince, both of them reported that he was heavy into cocaine early on in his career. An older half brother and sister, who have both since died, are the ones alleged to have claimed this, warning that someone needed to check this out and get him off of Cocaine. He was apparently doing this drug in secret. Prince, himself, revealed that he had epileptic seizures when he was a toddler but outgrew them. He was an extraordinary individual, a musical genius, so nothing about him surprises me. The last song i liked by Prince was "Adore". I couldn't get into his later work. I was introduced to him by my kids in the 80s. They were rabid fans of his. i liked him best when he was raw and authentic, when Andre Cymone and Dez Dickerson were his side men. https://youtu.be/ZiuSRQHLv88

@Del i don't understand what you are saying. Words can be inadequate when using them to capture ideas, and they are especially hard to process when they are technical terms. i am fascinated with the sound of words especially when repeating them over and over resonates into a chant that can generate energy. But i don't understand the concept you have devised as it relates to symbols and dates converging into a code that you can translate into data. it's too complicate for my old mind If by a time marker you mean a significant date in my life that impacted the future then i will get back to you because i have to think about this.

Au contraire. l've always identified myself as "cynical". Hence my screen name. The world is full of "Polly Annas" and "Mary Sunshines" and - too much sugar can be problematic in a well-balanced diet. I am admittedly hyper critical, but i give credit where credit is due, and have the utmost respect and appreciation for excellence. I also love wry humor, something there is, in my opinion, too little of in the current culture. That's why i love Chris Rock's raw satire. Wittiness has become a lost art.

@DelYou are obviously not among those who say that time doesn't exist... Are you explaining that you identify time by associating it with specific events and this scheduling has fine tuned your mind? Other than sun rise, sun set, the phases of the moon, the constellation of the stars and the changing of seasons, the only way i currently experience time is through the reminiscing that allows me to recreate the past in my mind. Tempus fugit

@MelHi! Glad you are still accessible. Too bad i don't have anything of interest to say, which is why i'm not really altogether "back". (Not that having something interesting to say has ever been a criteria here.)

@TroyWell, that's what i said: the world as we know it is coming to an end. However, the claim has been made that dinosaurs were the predecessors of man, but they being flawed precipitated their becoming extinct, and the process started all over again with humans being the result. Civilization may implode and wipe mankind out, setting the stage for the process to start all over again in yet another attempt at "getting it right". This is the grand design theory.

I think the world as we know it is coming to an end right before our eyes. Computerized technology is enabling artificial intelligence and together they are co-opting society. The covid pandemic provides the perfect matrix for this transformation because it has inhibited and distorted our lifestyles, in addition to making us physically vulnerable. America's political polarization will be the final nail in its coffin. "Retrumpicanism" and the way it has hi-jacked the truth and bastardized reality has created a threatening herd of robotic maggots. Meanwhile, the family feud between progressive Democrats and moderate ones is destroying the party's unity and deflating its power to counteract fascism and maintain democracy. White supremacy is thriving, genocidal black-on-black crime is ongoing, law and order are in shambles, and natural disasters are rampant. Moreover, America is a microcosm of countries all over the globe where internal conflict is never ending. Planet Earth may survive, but its population will have computerized itself out of existence amid an atmosphere of the chaos that will necessitate a return to square one.

@Troy I think you're probably right about a lot of things coming together to bring about the dwindling participation on this site. i was hesitant myself when you changed the format. I thought it took away some of the intimacy. But all good things must come to an end. For a brief moment in time we all shared something special and unique, then it all dissipated. Before Ferocious Kitty (Deesha) gained fame, she and i met for lunch when she was in Chicago for some event, and we had a somewhat interesting engagement before she ended up sticking me with the $50 tab because her fiancee never showed up to bail her out. Yvette and I also met for lunch when she was in Chicago. She is one of my favorite people and our afternoon was much more fun. And, before she went ape on me, Kola and I briefly corresponded during this period as did Chris Hayden and I as well as me and "A Woman". My brief encounters with all of them broadened me. My participation in that forum back then was a new experience for somebody who was past her prime. It rejuvenated me and was a great diversion for someone who had recently retired and was new to the Internet. 'Will always be grateful to you for providing an outlet that allowed me to spread my wings and be something other than a wife and a mother. And of course i can't overlook the book collaboration with you and Mzuri that never panned out. LOL And where is Mel? I miss her! Lotsa luck with tracking Chris Hayden. I explored all avenues with no results. He's from St. Louis, btw.