Cynique

Troy has made it possible for me to upload images, and requested that I confirm that this feature is working, so while i'm at it, i'm also confirming my credo. Thanks Troy for expanding what i can do.

I would like to share an experience, something that happened to me yesterday during a beautiful summer day, just the kind i love to walk about and revel in, which was what i did, After ending a stroll around my block , i decided i would go sit on the back patio of where i live and contemplate life. I passed my grandson's car parked in the drive way on my way there . After settling into a chair, i sat there, basking in what might be my last summer on this earth because at my age tomorrow is not promised. Gradually, i became immersed in deep thought about life and its meaning and my entrenched resistance to religion. Slowly emerging from my pondering, i casually gazed around and noticed that my grandson's car was gone from the driveway and i hadn't even heard him leave because i was so deep in thought. Since i was getting hot and thirsty i decided i was ready to retreat into the cooler confines of my bed room. Knowing the back door to the house was always kept locked, i went round to the front, it never occurring to me that when my grandson left, he would lock the door. But, "lo and behold", that's what he had done, apparently thinking i was inside the house , chilling in my bedroom. So, there i stood baking in the heat, locked out; no phone with me, not to mention there was no one immediately available for me to call. I have never had anything but a nodding acquaintance with my white neighbors and at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, all the adults and able-bodied ones were probably at work. I took myself back to the patio and, after checking, sure enough the back door was locked. I took a seat, convinced because i was totally deserted, that i was in a dire predicament dangerous to my health , having nothing to anticipate but drying out in the sun until my daughter came home from work 5 hours later. My grandson was also gone for the day. What to do ? What to do? Time for more contemplating. i thought how i was the star of a scenario where i needed some help from the lord so many of my folks call upon in a time of need. Finally bestirring myself, i got to my feet and started investigating the house windows accessible from the patio,. But much to my distress, they were all sealed, the storm ones having never been removed - except for the last one that looked into my daughter's bedroom. It had no storm window and was open just a couple of inches. After much exertion i managed to raise it. The screen was my next obstacle. Wrestling with it, i eventually managed to get it out of the way and all that was left was for me to drag a wrought iron chair over for me to stand on and try and wriggle through the small window. i was out-of-breath, dehydrated and over-heated, but i pressed on with all the strength that was left in my 83-year-old tired body. Struggling and twisting, after squirming side-ways, i managed to halfway way get through the widow. More scuffling followed until i finally got inside, falling to the floor, knocking over a table and a lamp. My mental state was slightly confused, and all i could think of was to pick myself up, go unlock and open the front door, - as if this was some kind of reassurance . When i did this, coming up the front walk was a huge, roly-poly, bald-headed black man, bringing to mind a genie from a bottle. I stood there staring at him and he smiled as if to reassure that i had no reason to be alarmed. At closer scrutiny i saw that he was wearing a uniform, and parked in front of the house was a big fork-lift truck. He informed me he was from the village and was there in the neighborhood to inspect the dead limbs they would be removing from trees the next morning and to tell residents to park off the streets. i nodded dumbly and he was on his way, as i thought how he could've probably helped me had he appeared a half hour early. Anyway, after a matter of minutes I was ensconced in my bedroom, relaxing on my recliner, imbibing a refreshing Gatorade, as the overhead ceiling fan circulated cool air. Within the space of an hour my desperate situation had totally reversed itself, prompting me to again engage in contemplation. Had help come from above in the form of a village worker who could've rescued me, a hero i had no need for because, calling upon my inner strength, i had done for myself, what no one else was there to do? I don't know. What i do know is that I've never had a problem with the idea that god helps those who help themselves. Praying for help in this situation was not something i had enough faith to settle for.

Hummmmmm. My answer is in the haiku vein. The person held in my high esteem blocks out the sun when casting a shadow.

@Pioneer1 Maybe the message Nicki is sending is that she identifies with her fans and is "keepin' it real" because what she portrays and depicts in the video is what is already happening in their culture. I repeat: "Art imitates life".

@Troy No need for anybody to apologize about not keeping up with pop culture. It is a lot of vapid blather. I just follow it so i can hate on all the phony, air head celebrities, - and participate in the conversation when others discuss it. I've always tried to be a well-rounded person, conversant on a broad scope of subjects. This is a throwback to my 1950s up bringing, back when girls were always advised to be this way in order to hold a boy's interest. It was considered having a good personality. But it didn't necessarily work with guys who were more interested in loose girls with big boobs and fine legs.

)@TroyWell, i'm saying what sports pundits are saying about the players who have been chosen over Kaepernick. (notice i've finally gotten the spelling of name correct.) Kaepernick's back story is what gives him some credibility. He's a bi-racial child who was adopted by a white couple who are now very non-plussed by his demonstrations against racism. He apparently had an epiphany, "aided and abetted" by his girlfriend who is a woman of color, and he became inspired to embrace his black side. He may have gone overboard in doing this but i like how he is spreading his money around for black causes and how he has the courage of his convictions. I actually think he has accomplished just as much as the black lives matter movement which hasn't been very effective.

Pioneer is a "stick in the mud". Pop culture is not his strong suit. He's always trying to "intellectualize" trivia. Art imitates life. This video is not sending messages; it's reflecting what's already out there in the mix.

Malcolm X was very fond of saying that black people can birth albinoes but white people cannot produce a black offspring. Black anthropologist Frances Cress Welsing talked about white mutants being driven out of their black tribes and banding together and migrating north to cold climates. She also claimed, rather facetiously, that white mutants never recovered from being shunned and exiled and it's in their DNA to resent black people. I have a fair-skinned blue eyed slave descendant on my mother's side and a coal-black slave descendant on my father's side. My mother's father was born a slave but was freed as a child. My father's grandmother was born in slavery but was freed as a middle-aged woman.My father's mother was half Native American. Having a DNA test is on my bucket list and i better hurry up and have it done.

Who says that music videos can't be political and provocative ???

Making me a moderator was just a temporary formality to make it easier for me to log in.

Why is it so hard to accept that white people are mutations of black people, a natural phenomen.. Every species has mutations that evolve into their own kind.

@Troy The point is , is that NFL teams are bypassing Kaepernak to sign on second rate quarterbacks who are not even as good as Kaepernak currently is. He's an agitator. He makes people in high places angry and uncomfortable and he hasn't gone away. He still makes news and creates controversy. This is certainly a part of what he was trying to accomplish. Obviously, i have no problem with this late-blooming brother. I like seeing amerikka outed for what it is.

@Troy In answer to your question, you can watch music videos of all genres all day long on cable Music Channels VH1 and BET. This video is really well-produced; the hook is catchy and Future and Nicki really complement each other. They certainly typify what rivets black folks: "bling and swag".

@Pioneer1 in answer to your second silly question, a question indicative of how your mind seems incapable of processing no matter how many times i explain it to you, Reggie Lewis is an exception to the rule, a perfect example of a black man who succeeded in spite of the odds being stacked against black people because he was an extraordinary individual with a brilliant mind. Has the gist of this answer registered with you yet or do i have to look forward to another silly example of your need to bring me down to your groveling level of loving this wunnerful country. i don't give a damn whether you love amerikka or not so why are you so determined to convert me into giving a damn about this bull shit bigoted country whose idiotic president exemplifies half the population but who, nevertheless, is obliquely approved of by you on a regular basis. SMH

@Pioneer1No, i'm not insinuating that there was some sort of conspiracy involved in his death. Any other silly questions?

@Pioneer1You gotta lotta nerve with all that drivel you inject into every half-cocked theory you come up with. LMAO. @Troy Come on now, Troy. That's a bit much. But thanks for the kind words.

I can't find the words to describe what a scum bag Trump is. What's even worse is that he typifies half the American population. Scaramucci won't last long because he is so volatile and larger-than-life-that he will soon overshadow Trump. A no-no. Trump has suffered another setback with the Republicans failing to replace Obama Care and to divert attention from that, he has now fired his Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, and replaced him with General John Kelly who was the head of Homeland Security. Wonder whatever happened to HUD secretary Ben Carson? He seems to have just disappeared, leaving the office idle. The white house is in total disarray and the laughing stock of the world. @Troy BTW, Kaepernick was a highly-regarded well-paid quarterback who has Super Bowl credentials. Meanwhile Michael Vick's chances of being nominated for the NFL Hall of Fame are being contested by the people he is so quick to side with, who aren't so willing to forgive him for the terrible "no-no" of animal abuse. NFL teams are spitefully bypassing Kaepernick for less talented players because he's rockin' the boat. The franchise owners all hate him because he's an abomination to their blue collar jock fandom and is putting things on the mind of the dense black brutes who they own. He is a thorn in their side and i have no problem with what he has chosen to do. He also puts his money where his mouth is. I also love "Game of Thrones". It is so well-produced, well-written, and well-acted and the special effects are awesome!

Trump was who was at the Boy Scout national Jamboree and he encouraged the crowd to Boo Obama, which many did.

I'm finally good to go. i didn't realize that i was signed out. I couldn't get back in until i went through the procedure of getting a new pass word because i forgot my old one.

@Mel Hopkins what you said about DNA coding is so interesting! Instinctive behavior occurs frequently in the animal kingdom. Like how dogs always go through the motions of tamping down the little area were they are going to take a dump, and then scratch at the ground as if to cover it up, an instinct supposedly left over from the times when they had to conceal their feces so their enemies couldn't pick up their scent and track them down. And how bees are born knowing what division of labor they belong to in regard to the queen and making honey. And how geese have a kind of radar that enables them to fly in flocks, and how other birds know when to migrate south for the winter. I have an interesting experience similar to your Rome one. Mine has to do with the music of Frederick Chopin which I'd never been exposed to before my early teens at which time i heard a selections i learned was written by him and it sounded so familiar that i became enthralled by it. From then on i could always distinguish his music from other classical masters, because of how familiar it sounded to my ears. There may be another explanation for this but it's something i've always been curious about. And then there is the discomfort i feel around fundamental evangelical Christians. When they begin to make biblical references especially ones that are judgmental, i have an actual physical reaction wherein in my insides recoil. I've been exposed to religion all of my life and have never really had any bad experiences connected with it, but the concept of it always produces a negative reaction in me and gives rise to an urge to debunk and ridicule anyone who is devout. Whenever i see Vice president Pence, a staunch bible-thumper, i just want to bring him down...

You guys are aware that Reggie Lewis died in 1993 at age 50 of a brain tumor, aren't you? To have become a billionaire before age 50 makes him even more extraordinary. How ironic that the brain which enabled him to be so brilliant, was the source of his untimely death.

@Pioneer1 i don't know why you are so obsessed with getting me to join the "I love america" club. I also don't understand why you can't see that my having managed to co-exist by staying under the radar in this bull shit country does not change the awful history or disgusting hypocrisy that is so objectionable to me, and which does not inspire feelings of patriotism or respect on my part. Or is my dislike for amerikka something i have to work at because it comes natural to me after a lifetime of observance. Any gratitude i have is directed at Fate, which figured into my being born in a rich country where being a second class citizen is less inconvenient than in the poor corrupt countries who also have terrible histories. English is an international language which does not exclusively belong to America. It just happens to be the language i speak, so it is the one in which i marinate.

@Linda Chavis i hope everything works out well. Lucky there's a successful treatment for your condition. It'll all be over before you know it and you'll be back to normal. Trust.

I confess to being a stickler for correct grammar and speech. I also have a fascination with language and words and what they say or don't say by implication, and how they are sometimes inadequate in capturing an emotion or conveying a message; not to mention how they can be misinterpreted because people hear what they want to hear. What power words pack! I realize that I'm "old school" and that my sentiments on this subject can be considered superficial and pedantic in today's world. But, my thinking as has always been that when you can compete with your would-be oppressor on his level by correctly using his language, this neutralizes his advantage and very often gains his respect. So correct speech can be a tool as well as a weapon. This is just an eccentricity of mine, I guess. Of course there are people who can effectively get their point across by using incorrect grammar or speaking slang, but there will always be those who will judge and classify you by your speech. Just as when it comes to black folks, made-up, multi-syllable names with dashes and apostrophes send up red flags to white employees, whether justified or not. Of course, out of necessity, black folks are bilingual when it comes to Standard English and Ebonics. BTW, one thing that many people seem to snag on when writing, is the difference between the words, "effect" and "affect". "Affect" is a verb used to express action. "Effect" is a noun because it is the name of a thing. So, the sunshine affects the flowers because the "effect" of the sun helps them grow. Also, no apostrophe is necessary when "its" is used as a possessive pronoun because it is a possessive pronoun on its own. "It's" contains an apostrophe when it is used as a contraction of "it is". So, it's cold out side. And the weather is taking its time to warm up. This is for detail-oriented people. Since cursive writing is becoming extinct, perhaps grammatical technicalities will, too. Language does gradually evolve in collaboration with its relevancy to the culture.

Mohamed Noor the policeman who shot, the Australian woman in Minnesota is a Somali-American and is, in all probably, a Muslim. He's not your run of the mill black cop. He is a college graduate and became a cop because he had a calling to go into law enforcement. He also has previous complaints lodged against him because of his aggressive behavior. I'll reserve judgment on this case. However, unlike ZEON, i'm a little less inclined to give white cops the benefit of the doubt. And perhaps where i live influences this. In Chicagoland, there is literally an "us-against-them" relationship between white cops and black people, and these white cops are not backing down. They shoot at the drop of a hat and if they don't start out as racists they become them after dealing with black folks. And just because black people are also guilty of being racist doesn't prove anything except that 2 rights don't make a wrong. . A WEB site run by a white cop was uncovered by authorities in the city and what the thousands of white cops were posting on it was as racist as you could get. And yes, these bullies harass white people as well. There is also a high rate of sexual harassment of female cops by their fellow officers. And make no mistake about it, they are a Fraternal Order who protect their own. My opinion is that white people who aren't racist, who are even-tempered, and capable of exercising good judgment don't become cops. They go into other professions. And if they do enter law enforcement, they eventually quit, becoming disillusioned after observing the misconduct of cops of all races. Finally i would say that these young black punks out there need to stop testing these trigger happy cops, and other blacks should use common sense with dealing with them. These guys want to be looked up to and treated with respect and since they are in authority, humoring them is the best defense against them, albeit an unreliable one.