May 31, 2008

Ancestral Lines




There is a woman in Somalia
Scraping for pearls on the roadside
There's a force stronger than nature
Keeps her will alive
This is how she's dying
She's dying to survive
Don't know what she's made of
I would like to be that brave

She cries to the heaven above
"There is a stone in my heart"
She lives a life she didn't choose
And it hurts like brand-new shoes

Hurts like brand-new shoes

There is a woman in Somalia
The sun gives her no mercy
The same sky we lay under
Burns her to the bone
Long as afternoon shadows
It's gonna take her to get home
Each grain carefully wrapped up
Pearls for her little girl

Hallelujah
Hallelujah

She cries to the heaven above
"There is a stone in my heart"
She lives in a world she didn't choose
And it hurts like brand-new shoes
Hurts like brand-new shoes


Pearls - Sade

For years, I have had to endure the dismal ignorance of a great many people concerning Africa & Africans. From high school history books, I learned of Africa through the eyes of the colonizer that did not sit well with me. Surely, there is more to this story, I thought; but owing to the lack of contrary views on this point where I grew up, this void & its' echoing questions persisted until I went to college. It was only then that the story unfurled in its glory and tragedy.

Some of the debilitating & pernicious lies that continue to rot and blind the minds of many are:

(1)Africans are prone to kill, maim and rape one another
(2)Most Africans are poor, diseased and malnourished
(3)Africa has no history to speak of
(4)Most Africans are by nature corrupt, hostile and hedonistic
(5)Africans are generally less intelligent than most and nothing will become of their uncivilized state
(6)Africans practice a primitive form of religion...

I can go on & on about these negative and uneducated portrayals of Africa, but for the sake of brevity, I will dash away these faulty lens & attempt to sketch an Africa in a clearer, more accurate way--the Africa of laughter, of joy, of originality, of improvisation, the Africa of legend, of story-telling, of playfulness, the Africa of brilliant colors, the Africa of generosity, the Africa of wisdom, of proverbs, of divination, of paradox, the Africa of ingenuity, and surprise, the Africa of magic, of faith, of mystery, of a profound knowledge of nature’s ways and the secret cycles of destiny

Africa's current woes can be traced back to European colonialism and subsequent neo-colonial pillage and plunder, often at the hands of local ruling classes who serve as de facto proxies to foreign capital/governments (with the U.S, Europe and now ascending China serving as the Grand Puppet-Masters). Before European contact,ancient civilizations of Egypt, Ghana and Mali among others – some of which grew over 5000 years ago – made enormous/untold discoveries in science, medicine, astronomy, mathematics, philosophy, and architecture long before they were known in Europe. Africans had crossed oceans by the time Europeans made their first journey to Africa and some of the European visitors to Africa recognized that these societies were just as advanced (oftentimes more so) than their own.

How do you justify the enslavement of another group of people? Deny their humanity and erase them from history which is what the Europeans did from the beginning of their conquests. And Africa is still reeling in the aftermath as it has yet to recover from this demonic legacy --Europe's progeny (as well as Oriental Asians though with a milder touch)have picked up the baton to continue on this trajectory of pillage and plunder in very sophisticated ways beyond the eyes of most. Here are a few ways this is happening right before our very eyes:

(1)IMF/World Bank Structural Adjustment policies
(2)Corporate profit-laundering, capital flight & offshore infrastructures
(3)Phantom aid, unfair trade, distorted investments and the continent's brain-/skills- drain.
(4)Abusively powerful ruling elites with incomes derived from foreign capital accumulation.
(5)The dearth of truthful images and historical context in the media and other institutions
(6) Corporate-based aid

(How a continent, so stupendously rich in natural resources with a potential to be entirely self-sufficient & thriving, can be brought to its knees begging, is beyond words ).

What undercuts all of this is the fact of AIDS/HIV which is ravaging many families across Africa, especially in southern Africa. This is a catastrophe beyond the primitive pale of prejudice, disconnected individualism/ethnic pride and unreflective judgements--we are in this together! Even though this catastrophe (HIV/AIDS) is not disconnected from what I've been discussing, this is not an area where fingers should be pointing, however justified--this is a human cry from people suffering & it affects everyone on this lonely planet. We are ALL Africa's children--Black, White, Asian and all the derivatives in between. Out of Africa, our common ancestors, in their wisdom and need, ventured out to seed & populate the entire world. We owe it to our Motherland to get her story RIGHT! More importantly, at this present juncture, we all need to honor & uplift our Mother and help her in her time of greatest need in a spirit of compassion & clarity of vision/purpose.

I end this on a positive note in the music of the great Senegalese musician,Youssou N'Dour, who is a shining light on a dark, moonless night guiding us on our way back home. Indeed, it is worth remembering that our (i.e humanity's) ancestral home is in the Rift Valley (between Nairobi and the Red Sea) and if it were not for Africa, we would not be here at all.



OneLOVE!

::MixMasterE::

May 28, 2008

Mugging: (n) An Assault With An Intent To Rob




What's going on? The truth of these ridiculous prices is a crime. Some facts:

-->Last week the price of crude oil reached about $130 a barrel after spiking to $140 briefly. The immediate cause? GUESSES by oil man T. Boone Pickens and Goldman Sachs that the price could go to $150 and $200 a barrel respectively in the near future on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX--the rich man's cocktail lounge).

-->Oil was at $50 a barrel in January 2007, then $75 a barrel in August 2007. Now at $130 a barrel, it is clear that oil pricing is speculative activity, having very little to do with physical supply and demand. An essential product—petroleum—is set by speculators operating on rumor, greed, and fear of wild predictions.

-->Over the time since early 2007, U.S. demand for petroleum has fallen by 1 percent and world demand has risen by 1.3 percent. Supplies of crude are so plentiful, according to the Wall Street Journal, “traders of physical crude oil say their market is suffering from too much supply, not too little.”

--> The major price determinant has moved from OPEC (having only 40% of the world production) and the oil companies to the speculators in the commodities markets. What goes on in the essentially unregulated New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX)is now the place that leads to our skyrocketing gasoline bills. OPEC and the Big Oil companies reap the benefits and say that it’s not their doing, but that of the speculators (gives new meaning to “passing the buck).

....you get it...it's just another snow job by the fat cats who will continue to get away with this broad daylight heist until folks start caring about what is happening to their so-called "democracy" and decide TO DO something about it.

Peace

::MixMasterE::

May 26, 2008

Lizz Wright Drops A Diamond



When I first heard the music of Lizz Wright, one word that kept popping up in my head was, "beatific". I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is something "other-worldly" about this woman's voice. It's easy to compare her soulful & folksy style to Tracy Chapman, Cassandra Wilson or Tuck & Patty, but Lizz Wright has this power of whispering a song, if that makes any sense. You feel as if she's singing especially to you in the most sincere way.

I've listened quite closely to all of her CDs-- Salt & Dreaming Wide Awake--but her latest, "The Orchard", is by far the most intimate, sparingly melodic and adventurous. It's as if she got tired of pretending to live up to what was expected and just let everything hang loose and easy. And our ears and hearts are so much more rewarded by this free-spirited musical wanderer. Below are five of my favorites from "The Orchard" (added a few more from her other CDs):




To get the background to the making of this CD, Check here
(Check here for samples of the whole CD)

OneLove

::MixMasterE::

May 22, 2008

The Joy Is The Living: The Garifuna Women’s Project



When I heard the music of "The Garifuna Women’s Project", I was blown. (Full stream here)

There's something about music that comes from the depths of one's soul, and it does not matter if it is sung in a language unfamiliar or if it's a symphonic piece: The language of the soul is universal and everyone can pick up on it. Listening to this CD, which can be sampled here, is a mesmerizing journey into the world of the Garifuna culture which the United Nations has labeled as endangered . The panorama of the preoccupations of the Garifuna women is deeply felt--from the agony of childbirth to the the brutal murder of a son in a far-off village.

The following clip is very instructive on the importance of language and culture expressed so charmingly by a Garifuna matriarch named Marcela (who reminds me of my late grand-mother):




My utmost respect to the late Andy Palacio (he died a few months ago) who brought the Garifuna culture/music from the precipice of extinction. His MySpace website is still up and features a few selections that are on the Garifuna Women's Project. Check the following playlist for more Andy Palacio music: http://www.myspace.com/umalaliproject>

peace::love::respect

\\MixMasterE//

Song on the End of the World



The music is simply beautiful. The epiphanic lyricism of the great Czeslaw Milosz's poem, "Song on the End of the World" reaches a depth beyond description. This video hints that the end of the world is happening before our very eyes yet the distractions of our daily routines keep us oblivious. This moving collaboration of poetry, music and imagery remind us to be grateful for all of the wonderful things in life that we seem to take for granted or that we have lost. This poem also segues effortlessly with another classic poem of Milosz's, Meaning~~Enjoy!

Peace

::MixMasterE::

May 15, 2008

Chanting Down Babylon






The truth is an offence
But not a sin
Is he who laugh last, children
Is he who win
Is a foolish dog
Bark at the flying bird
One sheep must learn
To respect the shepherd --Bob Marley

Keep searchin'!

OneLove!

:::MixMasterE:::

May 10, 2008

The Triumph Of Bullshit



Propaganda is the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist.

– Garth S. Jowett and Victoria O'Donnell, Propaganda and Persuasion


You wake up, yawn & stretch and drag yourself out of bed to the kitchen to turn the kettle on for your coffee. Coffee in hand, you return to your room & switch on the T.V to get "up to date" with what's happening in the world. Unbeknownst to you is the vast, intricate thredding that goes on behind the scenes to bring the "real world" to your favorite news channel or daily newspaper/weekly news magazine.

For the most part, you are being lied to. You are quietly being persuaded to view the world (and arguably, yourself) through the lens of others. Of course, being social creatures we are necessarily influenced by events, environments and people around us, but when our reality is being systematically manipulated to achieve certain ends by powerful organizations/cliques, then what we are dealing with is something of a deeply disturbing magnitude.

Our media landscape is controlled by the BIG 6. This cabal of very powerful and connected interests are the Grand Wizards of spinning our collective reality. Do you really think that General Electric (owner of MSNBC/NBC) will have commentators speaking openly and honestly about the War in Iraq when it is one of the most powerful defense contractors in the world? And that growing octopus, NewsCorp--Do you think the Wall Street Journal, Barron's and SmartMoney will print anything questioning tax or trade policies (e.g NAFTA) that benefit the powerful so much?

Some of the ways we're being manipulated, disconnected and rendered powerless through our media are via stereotyping, oversimplification, appeals to fear, appeals to authority, slogans, disinformation, generalities, intentional vagueness, bandwagon ("you're either with us or against us") and repetitive, unstated assumptions. Besides TV, newspapers, movies, books and magazines, another source of massive propaganda is through public relations firms. Major PR firms are enlisted by governments, corporations, entertainers to twist&bend public perception in order to deflect attention/criticisms from their shadier practices. For example China has enlisted Edelman and Ogilvy to "manage" its' image internationally. Another powerhouse PR firm, Hill& Knowlton, which has used its vast propaganda machinery to clean up the images of big tobacco companies, Papa Doc Duvalier & Union Carbide (amongst other detestable miscreants).

As Socrates noted, one should always question, question, question. Never for a minute allow your critical faculties to go dull and unchallenged (I have to remind myself of this daily). As Viktor Frankl noted years ago, "..finding meaning involves perceiving a possibility embedded in reality and searching for challenging tasks whose completion might add meaning to one's existence...".

Keep on questioning and get involved in dismantling The Lords Of Deception (the Media). Here is one way: http://www.stopbigmedia.com/

Peace

::MixMasterE::

May 9, 2008

Believe



(..you may not agree with all of his positions, but you have to admit that there is something about Barack Obama that makes you want to believe that he can lead this nation out of the dark shadow it's under.......)

::MixMasterE::

May 5, 2008

Big Fish, Little Fish



It is said that power corrupts, but actually it's more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power


Working with others can offer such valuable insights into human nature & its' multifaceted & paradoxical aspects. What particularly intrigues me is the dynamic nature of power relations in the workplace. For the most part, the jobs that I've held had top-down, rigidly-defined hierarchical structures where power was concentrated at the top and all below frantically scurried hither & thither to get recognized, validated, remunerated and elevated in the quotidian quest to get closer to the sweet nectar of power and influence at the top.

Power, like a desolating pestilence, pollutes whate'er it touches

Over the years, I've witnessed the most disgusting and disingenuous displays of self-promotion & exaggerated self-worth in the workplace that would make Napoleon or Hillary Clinton proud. In this period of increasing job losses & out-of-control living expenses, one can argue that, "Hey! You gotta do what you gotta do to get by. Gotta pay the bills and feed the kids!" This argument, although understandable to a certain extent, suffers from the absence of depth, backbone & an ethic of genuine cooperation and care. Lamentably, such shady and distressing ethics is encouraged in many workplaces as "looking out for number one" is the mantra that is pretty much part and parcel of the U.S economic order. I sometimes wonder if our consciousness has been so manipulated as to blind us all to the reality of our lives and what our true purpose is. Furthermore, living in such an aggressively individualistc society carries with it a tendency for many people to take advantage of others for their own profit. This obviously carries over to the workplace where one will readily find individuals willing to do whatever it takes to advance even if it means back-stabbing or stepping on others in order to get a larger slice of pie.

Power is something of which I am convinced there is no innocence this side of the womb

Power is precarious. Isn't it funny (in a tragi-comedic sense)how some individuals tap-dance, bend-over & blow smoke on their way to the top only to be cut down and sent fleeing into obscurity the minute he/she falls out of favor with the powers that be or when the not-so-invisible-hand of the market slaps 'em back to reality? The fact of being a person of color makes this perilous ambition (i.e power) all the more worrisome to me.(I'm sure Colin Powell is still cursing his former boss for his elaborate web of lies concocted for the invasion of Iraq and berating himself as well for being so damn spineless and gullible). I am not against power per se. I am against the power of one individual or clique who use their positions abusively & under-handedly which seems to be an all-too-common tendency.

Where love rules, there is no will to power; and where power predominates, there love is lacking. The one is the shadow of the other

I have never bought into this anxiety-ridden false paradigm of playing up to power and have dealt with those in power on my own terms without compromising my dignity ("Most powerful is he who has himself in his own power~~Seneca".) I have held positions of relative power only to be told by functional superiors (mostly morons) that I'm "too accomodating" or "too easy-going" towards "subordinates". Well, damn any hierarchical structure if people are made to feel "less-than". And damn those with power/influence who parade around as if they will live forever or have their positions/titles into perpetuity. I'm no team player in a system that has no balance, no decency, no imagination, no faith in people who, for the most part, want nothing more than to be treated with honesty & respect in an atmosphere of mutual support and common purpose.

Maybe I'm just a hopeless dreamer, a castaway in a sea of "go-getters-at-any-cost"...But I cannot fathom a world without dreams of making it better than what it is...and if one would simply look at the trail of human tears & suffering caused by those who get drunk on their own power & conceit, it's not a pretty sight. American labor has been trashed by powerful egos & interests in pursuit of profits and prestige and in this era of contract work and at-will labor employment, we are really getting pissed on big time.

We have to take the time to reflect on the way in which we are being assaulted ( in varying degrees) by those who claim to be our "superiors". More importantly, we need to critically cast our gaze at society as a whole and muster the courage to do something about it.


OneLove


::MixMasterE::

May 4, 2008

What Is 'Neo-Soul'?




When I first heard D'Angelo's debut CD, "Brown Sugar", Groove Theory's, "Groove Theory",Maxwell's, "Urban Hang Suite" & Eryka Badu's, "Baduizm" , I knew something had changed in soul music-- a departure was made, a new road was being embarked upon. As an avid music fan (& wannabe song writer), I was literally jumping out of my skin on this innovative hybridity. Teddy Riley's synth-based funk which dominated the scene in the late '80s to mid-'90's, was on its way out and 'neo-soul' was making its' presence felt from the underground to a wider audience. From the mid-nineties to the present, an amazing array of artists have blossomed and shifted the musical landscape just as Prince, James Brown, the Philadelphia Sound and George Clinton/P-Funk did in their generation.

Although a lot of artists hate the labeling of their music as 'neo-soul', it is a term that I think loosely describes their sound & swagger. Like any movement, there are & have been quite a number of mediocre, copy-cat artists who have donned the "neo-soul artist" label, but lacking in originality, artistry and personality, they are/were anything but. I guess that is what made Jaguar Wright name a CD she did some time ago, "Divorcing Neo 2 Marry Soul". This mislabeling/rigid categorization of musical genres can be quite distorting and neutering, but exploiting artists & making quick bucks off their artistry is part of the sordid undertow of the music industry. (I will examine this at length in a future essay).

In any event, here is a sample of some of the best innovators of the 'Neo-Soul' movement. One artist on this list that I am particularly crazy about is Hope (the last two selections on the third playlist)~~Enjoy!


Neo-Soul Playlist1

Neo-Soul Playlist2

Neo-Soul Playlist3

....I had to include this wicked interpretation of Sade's classic, "Love Is Stronger Than Pride" by Rahsaan Patterson which blew me away...




peace::love::truth


MixMasterE

May 3, 2008

Grand Theft Semantics

I wrote a short essay on educated fools a few weeks ago & this 60 Minutes clip of Judge Antonin Scalia fits oh-so-snugly into my definition of what one is. What an unrepentant buffoon! In the 60 Minutes interview, we learned (amongst other tidbits) that he never received a grade less than an "A" and was always on top in his class. I guess his 'high intelligence' served him well when he gave the 2000 elections to President Bush and when he says that torture should not be considered as punishment (check this critique as well)...Sharp and critical minds like former Supreme Court Justice Brennan & Thurgood Marshall are sorely missed.


::MixMasterE::

May 2, 2008

...the superfluity of words...


                                 (..there are times when we all just need to shut the hell up....)


:::Silence is as deep as eternity; speech as shallow as time:::~~


:::It is in deep solitude that I find the gentleness with which I can truly love my brothers/sisters. The more solitary I am the more affection I have for them…. Solitude and silence teach me to love my brothers/sisters for what they are, not for what they say:::


:::Silence is a source of great strength:::


:::Sometimes being a friend means mastering the art of timing. There is a time for silence. A time to let go and allow people to hurl themselves into their own destiny. And a time to prepare to pick up the pieces when it's all over:::


:::Nowadays most men lead lives of noisy desperation:::


:::Music is the silence between the notes:::


OneLove


MixMasterE

May 1, 2008

"Rich people, God Bless Us!"



This has to be one of the most ignorant statements I have ever heard ( and I have heard some doosies). This coming from a presidential candidate who claims to be looking out for the middle to low-income people of this nation. What an abomination as it is the rich who continue to make off like the bandits that they are at the majority's expense. Welcome to the saddest sideshow in town: Witness the greatest concentration of income since 1928, with 23.9 percent of all income going to the richest one percent of the population. Behold!This one percent now owns 34.3 percent of the nation's private wealth, more than the combined wealth of the bottom 90 percent (that's us, the crumb-catchers and our offspring, the crumb-snatchers). This same one percent also owns 36.9 percent of all corporate stock and are getting additional benefits from unprecedented levels of capital gains income. Today, the world's 1,100 billionaires have a net worth double that of the bottom 2.5 billion people. The richest 10% of adults worldwide own 85% of global wealth while the poorest half barely own 1%. The 10 million millionaires worldwide have seen their wealth double to nearly $37 trillion over the past 10 years...I can go on, but you get the point: we are getting pimped big time and the biggest pimps are not the ones standing on the corner with the wide-brimmed hats with the long feather sticking out & matching fur coats, The biggest pimps are the Mastercard/Visa, Exxon Mobil, Halliburton, Veritas Capital, Bank of America, Monsanto, L-3, Walmart & Blackstones of the world who are playing cities, states, nations and families like dispensable fodder to feed their avaricious, bottomless appetites.

"Rich people..God bless us?" God has nothing to do with this so-called blessing. It's the same old corrupt and conniving bullshit, Senator.


::MixMasterE::

The New Corporation

  The New Corporation ​is a 2020 documentary directed by Jennifer Abbott and Joel Bakan, law professor at the University of British Columb...