Don't Sleep On This White Boy By MixMasterE

When I first read Tim Wise's work, I assumed that he was a person of color. His richly expressive, intellectually honest and fiery expositions are quite refreshing and remind me of the writings of Michael Eric Dyson. That he is a white man impresses me as I am prone to think of white men (in general) as close-minded and reactonary, to say the least ( apersonal prejudice, I know, but I am actively trying to work through it). Tim Wise goes against this perception and I have thus added him to my personal list of the few white men I think are truly visionary /against the grain--Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Michael Parenti, Tom Paine, amongst others.

His site : http://www.timwise.org/

Excellent speech from his book, White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son:

Octavia Butler's Genius

Life is strange.

On 2/25/06, I went into Barnes & Noble to browse for books and magazines with the usual prospect of purchasing the ones that piqued my interest. In a somewhat aimless fashion, I wandered down a book aisle and casually glanced at a few books. One book in particular struck me in a strange way, namely, Octavia Butler's, "Parable Of The Talents". I have read a few articles/books over the past few years which referenced this work. I read the back of the book then flipped through the pages to get a feel for her wrting. I was immediately struck by her power.I purchased that book along with its' sequel, "The Parable Of The Sower". Yesterday I found out that Octavia Butler died in an accident inside her home. She died on the day after I bought her books unbeknownst to me until I read an article yesterday stating that she had passed away ( on 2/26). Truth indeed is stranger than fiction.

God is change.
And in the end,
God prevails.
But meanwhile...
Kindness eases Change.
Love quiets fear.
And a sweet and powerful
Positive obsession
Blunts pain,
Diverts rage,
And engages each of us
In the greatest,
the most intense
Of our chosen struggles.

-Octavia Butler, 'Parable of Talents'

Octavia Butler links:

http://authors.aalbc.com/octavia.htm
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/487/

-MixMastere