Troy

Here is a better example Del. Remember when we were discussing digital sampling and I said mathematically one could reproduce an analog signal, 100%, with enough samples. You disagreed with this. Your belief ran counter to fact. I challenged your belief until a point that I realized you were fixed. Look, we know what the source of the light is, and have for 100 years. The idea of the light being the sourced from the mind runs completely counter to what we know. The same goes for space being the universal mind. While that may be an "idea" that you "believe" in, it would be be something that I would readily embrace. Our minds are SO limited and space is infinite why would something so measly as our minds be represented in space in a way that we can conceive? I do not believe that humans have the ability to really understand the universe any more than a housefly understands our solar system. We don't even understand ourselves. If would be nice if we did. But if we were close to being that smart we would not be killing each other over the color our our skin or for having different beliefs...

Since it is a belief it is open to challenge Quite the contrary, Cynique I think everyone being the same is boring, perhaps this is why I like large cities and traveling to different places. My problem is the governments fixation on "race" and how it sets people off against each other, creating unnecessary special interest groups. That plus the fact my belief that the term is essentially meaningless when dealing with people. Do realize there is more biodiversity in Black people, alone, than there is in any other "race". We could start categorizing Black people based upon these differences, but that sounds silly -- because it is. As far as Jazz, and i can speak to what Del was thinking, but I was simply thinking of Jazz as an American creation, heavily influenced by Black folks. If we were still in African who know if a Jazz, or the Blues, or Rap would have emerged at all.

Pioneer1, if you are talking about "erotic sexuality" in a major motion picture -- you can forget it. There is simply no way you can generate enough interest among the masses -- I doubt the majority of Black people would want to see that type of film. Black folks can be pretty conservative as a group. Del you are fortunate to be able to related deeply to and actually love people of other cultures and races. Most people in the US are FAR too racist to even consider it. You were made to feel uncomfortable while in Boston because those people, like many of us, are too primitive to see beyond the color of someones skin. The entire culture suffers as a result. People are so fixated on race they refuse to let it go, it is sad really. I don't know if Jazz would exist if Negro were not chained up an dragged over here for hundreds of years. I suspect if that tragedy not occurred the world would have something even BETTER than Jazz! .

Del most people "points" are either expressions of facts or feelings. Feeling can be interpretations of facts or beliefs. I don't challenge facts. I do challenge interpretations of beliefs. Sometimes I may be ignorant of a fact and challenge it as if it were a belief until I learn. I believe most of what you wrote are believe -- open for challenge. I do not make a distinction between a belief and an idea. What do you see is the difference between the two? What was riddly? Your question about the source of the light from a bulb. What was the point of the question? One can easily ask what is the source of anything. Ultimately the answer is unknown -- perhaps unknowable; as you can infinitely regress, repeatedly asking the same question, "What is the source?"

So Del, you won't give me credit for playing Devils advocate well, instead ascribing this ability to my very nature. OK I'll take that, but I think you know me well enough to know that I have a pretty open mind with regard to these things. I also like to think I am willing to see more than one side of an argument -- understanding it well enough to take a position on various sides. Were your last statements meant to obfuscate reason through riddles?. When you flip on a light, the light comes from photons emanating from the bulb at light speed and vibrating in the very narrow EM frequency range that our eyes can perceive. Vision is a function of the eyes, and our mind is a function of the brain. There is no vision without eyes and no mind with brain. Sure there are people who believe our consciousness exists independent outside the brain, I hope if this is the case my mind is infinitely better. I'd hate to think I'd be the same Troy flowing around for eternity with the same nuts walking around on earth Of course it is easier to see fault with in others, But I don't see where I was doing that. If I disagree with you about something that does not mean I see fault in you. I only ascribe fault in a person who fails to see the truth when it is presented or made plain. Like the person who insists the world is round when it has been proven it is flat. In a topic like this, the source of inspiration, no one can "prove" anything. We are just exchanging and challenging ideas. --------------------- There is a LOT we do not know. But I do get nervous when people take situations and ascribe them to otherworldly causes -- with certainty over a more likely physical one. For example, like Cynique I too have thought about a problem gone to bed an woke up with a solution, or completely new insight. I just assumed my brain worked on it unconsciously -- I'd never make the leap that my deceased grandmother gave me the answer or that the universe helped me out. It might be true, but it would not be my first assumption. Sometimes I have that dream where it feels like you've been thrown into bed wake up with a start. Some have told be that was my body returning from an out of body experience. That might be true, but it will take a lot more for me to be convinced of this.

"Racism that involves deliberately persecuting others because of their skin color is, of course, learned." Precisely! And the government is the biggest teacher of the perverse. inhuman lesson. Cynique your statement, "Whether they decide to regard you with suspicion for not resembling them is also a natural reaction because of the xenophobia that resides in our brains", seems to conflict with your final statement. In any event, I know you realize, in the US, Black women give birth to children with every complexion under the sun -- sometimes with complexions dramatically than their own. Do you really believe, absent a racist culture, that these children would "naturally" view their own mother with suspicion or even hatred the way a Xenophobe would?

Since this video was taken Obama has traded in Dr. West for Reverend Sharpton. Obama has also failed to live up to much of what he promised on the campaign trail, to a crowd of adoring supporters in Harlem's Apollo theater. The audience was virtually 100% Black. My oldest daughter and I were part of the audience. I apologize for the quality of the video but the words are loud and clear, It is fascinating to listen to the statements now more than 5 years later. While West's strong support of Obama was strong, he fully recognized Obama was no Dr. King, or Malcolm X. More interesting is what Barack said, about what he was going to do to support the Black community; Obama said he did not want to see, 4 years from then, "...more young Black men in prison than in college". In reality were actually more Black men in college than in prison in 2007 and this is still very likely to be true in 2013. Barack said he would raise miminum wage every year when he became president. The last federal increase was approved by Bush administration in 2007, and took effect in 2009. He said he would give us universal health care without caving into big insurance companies -- without a public option, insurance companies will enjoy a huge windfall. He spoke about the Civil Right Commission. It would be nice if someone could tell me what the CRC has done for Black people in the last 5 years. He spoke about education particularly people in the inner cities of Chicago and Harlem. Today 22% of Black boys graduate high school in 4 years. I could go on picking apart what Barack said he would do versus wast he actually did. But at the end of the day ALL politician say whatever they think the audience wants to hear. My personal problem is that, for some silly reason, I was naive enough to think Barack would actually be different.

People can be dumb, governments don't have to be. Sure, children can make a distinction, but the part about discrimination does not come naturally it is a learned behavior, one that our government facilitates. When my sister and I were children, my sister thought she was white and I was Black. She was not making a value judgement -- just an observation. "Bi-racial", is an even more sloppy term, you simply can't tell by looking at someone that they are "biracial". -------------------------------------- Some of you may find this interesting. The graphic below depicts the results of my ethnicity as determined from my DNA. Some of you would insist on calling this my racial makeup. Even more interesting. To me at least, is that I have information on my European ancestry going back to the 16th century. This line line come from an slave holder, of English descent making a child with one of his enslaved women. A woman who the owner ultimately freed, through some difficulty, in 1811 (I read a summary of the Slave Petition). That woman is my 4th great grand mother. Reading some of Slave Petition from the time period is... depressing. Notes from Ancestry.com: How is Ethnicity Determined? Your genetic ethnicity is a prediction of your ethnic background. We take segments of your DNA and compare them to our ethnicity database, which contains one of the most comprehensive collections of DNA samples from people around the world. We group individuals with a well-established family history in a given place (British Isles for example) and then compare your DNA to each unique group in order to identify overlap. And as our database continues to grow, you could receive updates with new information. DNA changes slightly with each generation, and over time any group of people that are relatively isolated (by geography or culture) develop unique genetic signatures that we can look for. It’s this aspect of DNA that makes our ethnicity predictions all possible. We expect that over time, as the science continues to evolve, we'll be able to show more granular ethnic regions—even regions within a specific country. Is it accurate? When determining your genetic ethnicity, we hold our process and results to an extremely high standard of accuracy. Our lab’s analysis uses some of the most advanced equipment and techniques to measure and analyze your entire genome at over 700,000 locations or "markers". During the testing process, each DNA sample is held to a quality standard of at least a 98% call rate. Any results that don’t meet that standard may require a new DNA sample to be collected. When reviewing your genetic ethnicity, here are some reasons why your results may be different than what you expected. 1. Your genetic ethnicity results go back hundreds of years. In some cases, the markers in your DNA may reveal ethnicities that go back hundreds, even a thousand years. This could differ from what you have documented in your family tree. So keep in mind that there may be some ethnic differences in your more recent family history as compared to generations ago. 2. Ethnic groups moved around. Because people move over time, (and when they do they take their DNA with them), a group may contribute DNA to other groups at different times. So ethnic groups can be defined by time and place—not just location. For example, if you have German or British ancestors in your family tree, it’s a possibility that your genetic ethnicity may be partly Scandinavian. The Viking invasions and conquests about a thousand years ago are likely responsible for occurrences of Scandinavian ethnicity throughout other regions. And there are similar examples for other ethnicities. With your results, we provide historical information describing migrations to and from the regions to give you a broader picture of the origins of your DNA. 3. Your DNA is inherited through the generations. Half of your DNA is inherited from your mother and half from your father (roughly). However, each half is variable and can result in many unique combinations. Your parents inherited their DNA from their parents and passed portions of that DNA down to you. So when you factor that out over a few hundred years, you may share little or no DNA in common with a certain ancestor. So let’s say your father is half Italian, you could (in theory) inherit anywhere from fifty to zero percent Italian (based on the random shuffling of DNA with each generation). When you take that into account over a few generations you can see how traces of ethnicity can be lost over time. So if you look at your family tree, it may indicate a pedigree-based ethnicity of 30% English, 20% Scandinavian, and 50% Italian (based on birth locations of your great-great-great grandparents). While this is one valid way to look at ethnicity (and in fact has been the only way until recently), DNA analysis can reveal the actual percentage of your DNA that is reflected by these ethnic groups. So your genetic-based ethnicity might reveal you are 40% British Isles, 15% Scandinavian, and 45% Southern European. Both measures are accurate and informative—but they are measuring different things.

"Troy - You make a very convincing Devil." Delano, thank you -- it is not easy Now back to advocating for Beelzebub... It is really fascinating what people are willing to believe. The Akashic record are open to everyone -- provided you have the money to pay a Rehki (sp?) master or someone else sufficiently skilled to convince you of something you are already inclined to believe. The mind, which is a function of the brain, is a complex mechanism, but not so complex that it can not be replicated artificially. In fact, engineers and programmers are making great strides to achieving this. A machine has already beaten the best Jeopardy players, and can carry on a conversation with another human such that the human doesn't know they are conversing with a machine. Indeed it will not be very long before machines are superior to man in intelligence, inspiration, intuition, compassion, and will be thinking FOR us. Much of what we think of as ESP has already been explained by those skilled in the art -- the art of tricking people. Insights or inspiration that come to us come to us from our own brains. Consider the fact that all brains are not equal. Some brains are simply incapable of empathy. Some brain are incapable of solving complex math problems. Some brain even struggle at performing the unconscious activities necessary to keep the body healthy. I would even argue that a large percentage of brains working today are incapable of caring about the Akashic record, what it means, or what it has to offer. I also suspect more brains would rather watch a cock fight that attempt to access the Akaschic record. I know that just because not many people care about or understand this stuff doesn't mean it isn't true. But how can something so truly "universal", a basic fundamental truth, escape so many?

Well Pioneer, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but haven't you noticed that gender differences have been greatly neutralized over the last half century. People are fighting for same sex marriages, men's clothing is becoming increasing feminized, girls fighting to be included on football -- with the men. Women literally standing up and saying they don't men men in their lives, to help them raise children, they can be just as good a father as any man. I could go on but you see my point. There are distinct differences between men and women -- indeed ignoring these inherent differences is what has contributed to the destruction of the family... The differences between, a typical white man and Black man are insignificant enough to be ignored -- as far as the government is concerned. Besides they can't even do a good job at keeping track of race, If you've looked at censuses as long as I have (not very long) this becomes self-evident. You've given me a number of different scenarios where victims of racially motivated crimes would have no way to describe the nature of they crime. Consider this: The victims of a crime have NO WAY of knowing the motivations of their assailants. Adding race just confusing things. We have this laws called "Bias Crimes" where, in essence, if the perpetrator of a crime was motivated by some prejudice the penalties would be far worse. This makes no sense to me. If a Black man yells, "nigger I'ma beat the shit out of you!" then proceeds to pummel a black man -- he gets a slap on the wrist. If white boy does exactly the same thing he gets thrown under the jail and his picture on the cover of the local tabloid. Suppose a mulatto guy does the same thing -- what do we do with him? Ultimately if people stop thinking in terms of race, there can't be racists, right. And isn't that our goal?

Del, exactly. We don't know where inspiration comes, from any more than we know where our next thought comes from. I don't believe it comes from deceased ancestors, of any of the countless different Gods man has conjured up to worship. I think inspiration originates with us and is initiated before we are conscious of it. Of course I don't know -- how can I? But I am willing to go with the most likely scenario; that our inspiration originates within our own biology in a chemical process no one understands beyond the basic test I described. -------------- Note: Honestly, I was playing devils advocate to Pioneer's original post. I appreciate once you start talking about spirituality or God people emotions can run high and the topic is usually not open for real debate -- but I figured I'd give it a shot. There has been a lot of discussion about interconnectedness, particularly since quantum physicists proposed, and have now apparently found evidence to support, the idea of a field permeating the universe -- in essence connecting everything in the universe at the quantum level. Some, though I've never heard a physicist make this claim, suggest that this means something much more, proof of a universal consciousness, etc. I'm not sure if Pioneer meant to imply all that, but this idea was my motivation for stirring the pot I could have just gone with the program and wrote that I meditate and fast for inspiration, but I thought this might be more interesting. I

Thanks for asking Cynique I thought things were slow between Xmas and New years but it feels like that right now. Anywho the answer is Treasure Blue. He is from Harlem and his story, family background was rough! It would not be unreasonable to even ask the question is this a true story... But he is a cool Brother. Here he is interviewed by my cousin Darryl Jenkins, back in 2007: Someone here, in 2004, first turned me on to Treasure Blue Either that person of Thumper...

Fred Hammond & Marvin Sapp Live Friday night (12/21/12) at the New Jersey Promising Arts Center (NJPAC) Click to Buy Tickets

I only watched about half of this film, but it seems like most of the people depicted are completely Westernized talking, dressing, behaving as if they are completely American, as if this is the definition of civilization...

Sounds like in this scenario people are still congregating in a building. The church of the future will take place virtually probably on a Facebook Group, or maybe on twitter @church It is probably happening already... But religious observance seems to be becoming more individualized, personal, as people are less willing to adhere to a single church's doctrine instead optioning for their own vision reach God, or opting out the religion thing altogether... 2 more days to go!

- The crackling from the pipe sizzled loudly as she inhaled the dense, deadly smoke. The drug raced through her body in an instant, causing her brain to register orgasmic-like elations throughout her body. All her worries were suspended. A lightness filled her head. She had no thought. No Memories. She was within a present and without a past at the same time. As Nika stepped slowly down down the stairs, and out of the abandoned building, the warm gooey liquid streamed more fluidly from under her skirt. Steam emitted from the liquid as it hit the freezing air oblivious to mother nature's wicked cold. She floated down the wary, dark street. She heard faint music in her ear, though she was not sure where it came from. "Oh, happy day...when Jesus washed...when Jesus washed...he took my sins away." As she neared Lenox Avenue, a couple ambling by STOPPED dead in their tracks, staring wide-eyed with mouths agape. It was a ghastly sight to see a women dragging a newborn FETUS through the freezing snow by its UMBILICAL"

With more than a billion people spread across 54 countries speaking more than 3,000 languages, Africa cannot -- and should not -- be limited to a single narrative. Africa Straight Up is a more complete story about Africa and its diaspora. http://www.africa.com

If someone fired all the "qualified" Asian people. The evidence would be, presumably, that they where fired over someone else less qualified -- which is the problem and not a function of race. If someone harms me, I don't really care what their motivation was -- I just want them brought to justice and punished for harming me. Let the shrinks in prison try to sort out their motivation during the rehabilitation process. Of course regular people will continue using the racist labels of Black and white; again I assert the government should not be using those terms. You many be right about the tribal aspect of mankind, but the US government is perpetuating the destructive mentality buy continuing to use the ever increasingly list of racist descriptors that serve no other purpose than to pit us against each other. While the wealthy kick back, sip champagne, and watch us fight over the crumbs which fall from their table.

Perhaps not caring is part of it. Perhaps an overwhelming sense of not knowing what to do is part of it too. True many, particularly "successful" Black people are too concerned with their own situation to engage in anything more than the annual volunteer work prescribed by their employers. Others follow behind "leaders" more concerned with their own notoriety and revenue than they are with really helping Black people, only to be disappointed as things continue to get worse...

Tarantino is a sick puppy. His movies are twisted and extraordinarily violent. That said, Pulp Fiction is one of my favorite flicks and also enjoyed Reservoir Dogs. Tarantino's new film, “Django Unchained” staring Jamie Foxx and Kerry Washington features the two engaged in strong Black on Black love relationship, the type of relationship which goes counter to the Hollywood formula some of us have observed regarding relationships. But fans of Tarantino expect nothing formulaic

Yeah I saw Good Deeds, you can read my comments after Kam's review to see what I thought about the film. I think Good Deeds would actually be yet another example of what Black women are complaining about -- over and above my anecdotal observations. Again the love interest, Thandie Newton, is a mulatto woman. Indeed like the previously mention Saldana, I'm not even sure if Newton describes herself as Black. So if Black women (particularly dark-skinned), feel they are unrepresented as objects of romantic love by Black men in major motion pictures -- I understand the feeling. Speaking of soap operas where is Angie and Jessie when you need 'em.

Cynique, your youth sounds very quite nice. Seems your moniker would be Optimique with that upbringing In stark contrast to your rearing. No one "owned" where the lived, very few had a car, there where no "white" kids, (though one could argue the some of the Puerto Ricans were actually white -- but that is another conversation). The City University, which Colin Powell attended a few years earlier, was free. The neighborhood was clean -- kids couldn't even play on the grass. Crime was low and folks seemed to be pretty content -- at least from the eyes of a child. Beginning in the late 60's the wheels fell off. My neighborhood became the ghetto. Kids I knew, personally, were being murdered, regularly -- kids just like me, wrong place at the wrong time or doing something stupid, but paying a price far too high. Thinking back on it now. I was afraid a lot... (y'all don't tell my mom). By the time I went to college in 1980 the 'hood was a hell hole. Most of my peers did not go to college, in fact more people my age, I'm sure, were incarcerated than in college. But even then the majority of us still graduated from high school. By the later 1980's "Wilding" was a common term and demographers were on the look out for the emergence of the "Super Predator". Several young boys were send to jail on trumped up charges and are known today as the Central Park Five. Today the hood is pretty nice. Fine new restaurants, banks, markets with fresh produce, clean parks, safe streets, and city services, Today there are plenty of white faces pushing strollers down streets that residents, a few years prior, would not venture down after dark. There is plenty of new housing long time residents can't afford. The remaining long term residents, see the writing and the wall know, deep down, their days in Harlem are numbered. The venerable Lenox Lounge closes it's doors this month. A venue I popped in one day and saw Branford Marsalis play. The venue where scenes from Shaft (both of them) and American Gangster were filmed. I believe a sushi bar will replace it. So yeah my perceptions of Cosby in the 1980's and Black love on film today are viewed from a very different perspective. All of the movies and TV shows you cited were comedies -- with Why Did I get Married being a complete farce -- certainly not a film I would use as an example of positive Black on Black love. But in any event the films are the exception not the rule. JeenyWhoa post made me sensitive to issues I'd not considered... So I completely understand if there are Black folks (not saying you fall into the category Cynique) that are perfectly content with how Black people are portrayed in major motion pictures and network TV. They can watch Kerry Washington turn into mush over the white dude on Scandal without their stomachs turning like mine -- indeed they may be riveted by the sight. And judging by some of the commentary I've found on Facebook (which is how i discovered the program), they are. At the end of the day, I only see things getting "worse". So I look for films from independent filmmakers like Ava Duvernay, and Nollywood. Y'all can keep the bullshit Hollywood keeps churning out. I stopped watching network broadcast TV long ago for this very reason. That said, I'm REALLY enjoyed that last Star Trek. Zoe Saldana and Spock did not bother me in the least bit I guess Vulcan's don't count in my racism (where is Tuvok when you need him?)

ABSOLUTELY Pioneer. When I took out a mortgage on my 1st home I would never say I owned it. People would say I owned it I would say the Bank owned it. The next house I brought outright. I'm still a little cautious in saying I "own" it cause if I miss a few tax payment the governemtn will take it. We really don't "own" any property. We just can just, temporarily, exercise a little more control over it that someone else. I would be careful calling people who took out adjustable rate loans, stupid or silly. The psychology is complex and part and parcel of the psychosis of being American. If you were unfortunate enough, unlike millions of Americans to avoid the financial blowout from the housing bubble consider yourself lucky. The housing bubble was yet another example that helped me understand our problem is one of class, in this country, nit race. The vast majority of people jacked up in the mortgage bubble were white...

"22% of Black boys who graduated from high school on time the majority of THEM were probably from African and Carribean families." True that! You were fortunate to have been reared in a middle class Black neighborhood. If you are poor and Black New York City should be the last place you wanna live. Growing up I really thought all Black people lived in the ghetto. My favorite movies like Claudine reinforced the image. Even when I went to college I was still oblivious to the fact. When I encountered Middle class or wealthy Black people we called them "Oreos", they talked white -- they weren't "really down", But I learned as as I traveled and raised my own kids. So if Black boys in NYC, for example, never see a dark women in loving scenes with Black men,what do we think the results will be... We already know. If you are poor and Black New York City should be the last place you wanna live. Interestingly, the negative impressions work both ways. Well to do Black people don't have very much respect for poor Black people. Indeed I would even argue this is an underlying reason for the disdain some, in the literary world, have for Urban Fiction authors -- it is simple elitism. It would be called racism if the elitists were white.

"It was a pinkish-looking man with a skinny nose and stringy yellow hair, he went dat-a-way" Pioneer, I appreciate the definition exists. I just think the word should considered "slang" as it is just about a clear as the word "Thick". People can use the word all they want. I use it all the time. I just don't think the government should use it, any more than they should use thick in conjunction with identifying people. There was a time when we thought the world was flat, but we learned and moved on. People who continue to believe the world is flat are too dumb to describe. There are Christians that interpret the Bible literally and believe the world is 6,000 years old, so I understand the reluctance of people to change the way they think. I just don;t think the government should continue to embrace what is proven false. Besides I also believe the government encourages racism by using terms like Black and white eventually they need to add Cablasain to their laundry list of racist race descriptors. The guy on Twitter also used the argument that we need the classifications "to point out injustices in society". I disagree, injustice is injustice and not a function of race. To think otherwise is racist in and of itself.