Requiem for a Species

Just as millions were led astray by the housing fraud--millions now in foreclosure or living in heavily devalued homes--here we are again being led astray by climate change deniers/skeptics who claim that we are not in dire straits environmentally and can continue to live our lives just the way we always have. I am no scientist and don't pretend to keep up with all of the details of climate science, but the following reports are quite disturbing to me & do point to the possibility that this won't end well:

• Australia experienced record floods on Biblical levels
• Brazil  experienced its worst natural disaster in its history
• Sri Lanka's experienced floods that displaced over 1 million 
• South Africa's recent floods have rendered 9 provinces as disaster zones
• Pakistan experienced its worst floods in decades affecting over 14 million people
• St Lucia experienced its worst natural disaster ever in one of the most active hurricane seasons to date
• 2010 went down as the wettest and hottest on record

At the risk of sounding fatalistic,  we have no choice but to accept the reality for what it is: the situation is  fucked up. What should be done is not being done as the failure of the Copenahagen climate summit signifies. Industrialized countries have absolutely no concrete offers of hope to developing countries (did you really expect that?). Newly industrializing countries like India and China, continue to grow their economies without any checks and balances for the climate. Business as usual. How many more tragic news stories will it take for industrial societies to change course? 'Til New York is submerged?


A MUST-READ book that tells it like it is with regards to climate change is Clive Hamilton's 'Requiem for a Species'







Ominous stuff but the choice is ours to at least prevent some of the worst impacts. We can't change the cold, hard facts - but we can change the politics.
 
Peace


:::MME:::

The Gospel According to Shug

Alice Walker

The following beatitude was excerpted from Alice Walker's classic, "The Temple of My Familiar ".It is a brilliant Gospel-like meditation made by Shug Avery, one of Ms Walker's pivotal characters in The Color Purple:-

HELPED are those who are enemies of their own racism; they shall live in harmony with the citizens of this world, and not with those of their ancestors, which has passed away, and which they shall never see again.


HELPED are those born from love: conceived in their father's tenderness and their mother's orgasm, for they shall be those - numbers of whom will be called "illegitimate" whose spirits shall know no boundaries, even between heaven and earth, and whose eyes shall reveal the spark of the love that was their own creation. They shall know joy equal to their suffering and they will lead multitudes into dancing and Peace.


HELPED are those too busy living to respond when they are wrongfully attacked: on their walks they shall find mysteries so intriguing as to distract them from every blow.


HELPED are those who find something in Creation to admire each and every hour. Their days will overflow with beauty and the darkest dungeon will offer gifts.


HELPED are those who receive only to give; always in their house will be the circular energy of generosity; and in their hearts a beginning of new age on Earth: when no keys will be needed to unlock the heart and no locks will be needed on the doors.


HELPED are those who love the stranger; in this they reflect the heart of the Creator and that of the Mother.


HELPED are those who are content to be themselves; they will never lack mystery in their lives and the joys of self-discovery will be constant.


HELPED are those who love the entire cosmos rather than their own tiny country, city, or farm, for to them will be shown the unbroken web of life and the meaning of infinity.


HELPED are those who live in quietness, knowing neither brand name nor fad; they shall live every day as if in eternity, and each moment shall be full as it is long.


HELPED are those who love others unsplit off from their faults; to them will be given clarity of vision.


HELPED are those who create anything at all, for they shall relive the thrill of their own conception, and realize a partnership in the creation of the Universe that keeps them responsible and cheerful.


HELPED are those who love the Earth, their mother, and who willingly suffer that she may no die; in their grief over her pain they will weep rivers of blood, and in their joy in her lively response to love, they will converse with trees.


HELPED are those whose every act is a prayer for harmony in the Universe, for they are the restorers of balance to our planet. To them will be given the insight that every good act done anywhere in the cosmos welcomes the life of an animal or a child.


HELPED are those who risk themselves for others' sakes; to them will be given increasing opportunities for ever greater risks. Theirs will be a vision of the world in which no one's gift is despised or lost.


HELPED are those who strive to give up their anger; their reward will be that in any confrontation their first thoughts will never be of violence or war.


HELPED are those whose every act is a prayer for peace; on them depends the future of the world.


HELPED are those who forgive; their reward shall be forgetfulness of every evil done to them. It will be in their power, therefore, to envision the new Earth.

HELPED are those who are shown the existence of the Creator's magic in the Universe, they shall experience delight and astonishment without ceasing. 


HELPED are those who laugh with a pure heart; theirs will be the company of the jolly righteous.


HELPED are those who love all the colors of all the human beings, as they love all the colors of animals and plants; none of their children, nor any of their ancestors, nor any parts of themselves, shall be hidden from them.



HELPED are those who love the broken and the whole; none of their children, nor any of their ancestors, nor any of themselves shall be despised.


HELPED are those who do not join mobs; theirs shall be the understanding that to attack in anger is to murder in confusion.


HELPED are those who find the courage to do at least one small thing each day to help the existence of another - plant, animal, river, or other human being. They shall be joined by a multitude of the timid.


HELPED are those who lose their fear of death; theirs is the power to envision the future in a blade of grass.


HELPED are those who love and actively support the diversity of life; they shall be secure in their differentness.


HELPED are those who know.

OneLove

:::MME:::

Tribute to a King

"Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love." -Martin Luther King, Jr.


Much has been written about Dr. Martin Luther King since his untimely death by assassination in 1968. It is the late great literary scholar, James Baldwin, who in my opinion, comes closest to describing the essence of the man in his remarkable Harper's essay, "“The Dangerous Road Before Martin Luther King”. He opined, 

"King is a great speaker. The secret of his greatness does not lie in his voice or his presence or his manner, though it has something to do with all these; nor does it lie in his verbal range or felicity, which are not striking; nor does he have any capacity for those stunning, demagogic flights of the imagination which bring an audience cheering to its feet. The secret lies, I think, in his intimate knowledge of the people he is addressing, be they black or white, and in the forthrightness with which he speaks of those things which hurt and baffle them.  He does not offer any easy comfort and this keeps his hearers absolutely tense. He allows them their self-respect—indeed, he insists on it."

On this day of his noble birth, let us all take a moment to reflect upon his message, especially the speech he delivered on April 4, 1967, at a meeting of Clergy and Laity Concerned at Riverside Church in New York City.The speech,"

Beyond Vietnam -- A Time to Break Silence" was a very powerful one which some scholars argue led to his ultimate demise.

Unlike most leaders today who rather crawl than stand, he died nobly holding on to his convictions 'til the very end.

Tribute to a King by MixmasterE


 




OneLove

:::MME:::

Illuminations: Appreciating Abraham Joshua Heschel

Abraham Joshua Heschel

On the weekend before Martin Luther King Day (1/17/11), it was somewhat ironic that I thought about doing a piece on the late great Jewish philosopher & mystic, Abraham Joshua Heschel. It's ironic because I never made any direct connection between Abraham Heschel & M.L.K, but having read that he and M.L.K were very close friends (even marching with King in the Selma to Montgomery civil rights march in '65) , it felt like a reunion of sorts of two fellow pilgrims fighting the good fight of faith in action. 


I've read quotes and excerpts of Heschel's work over the years & always kept his presence on the back-burners hoping one day to know more about him. Dr Cornel West has referred to Heschel quite often in his books and speeches & I think he was the one who introduced me to Heschel in the first place. Heschel's illumined soul has much to teach us. A few morsels.....

On What to Pray For: "We do not know what to pray for. Should we not pray for the ability to be shocked at atrocities committed by man, for the capacity to be dismayed? Prayer should be an act of catharsis or purgation of emotions, as well as a process of self-clarification, of examining priorities, of elucidating responsibility.... Prayer is meaningless unless it is subversive, unless it seeks to overthrow and to ruin the pyramids of callousness, hatred, opportunism, falsehood. The liturgical movement must become a revolutionary movement, seeking to overthrow the forces that continue to destroy the promise, the hope, the vision."

Attitude Towards The Old: "A test of a people is how it behaves toward the old. It is easy to love children. Even tyrants and dictators make a point of being fond of children. But the affection and care for the old, the incurable, the helpless are the true gold mines of a culture."

 

"Just to be is a blessing. Just to live is holy." 

"When I was young, I used to admire intelligent people; as I grow older, I admire kind people." 

"A religious man is a person who holds God and man in one thought at one time, at all times, who suffers harm done to others, whose greatest passion is compassion, whose greatest strength is love and defiance of despair." 

"As civilization advances, the sense of wonder has declined. Such decline is an alarming symptom of our state of mind. Humanity will not perish for want of information, but only for want of appreciation. The beginning of our happiness lies in the understanding that life without wonder is not worth living".

"Self-respect is the root of discipline: The sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself." 

 "People of our time are losing the power of celebration. Instead of celebrating we seek to be amused or entertained. Celebration is an active state, an act of expressing reverence or appreciation. To be entertained is a passive state--it is to receive pleasure afforded by an amusing act or a spectacle.... Celebration is a confrontation, giving attention to the transcendent meaning of one's actions".

 An excellent primer to Heschel's thought & understanding of our times is , The Wisdom of Heschel. The following clip also provides an excellent intro to this remarkable person:





OneLove!


:::MME:::

NASA: The Frontier is Everywhere

This socially-conscious & inspiring video released by a YOUtube user weds science & technology with the enigma & fragility of terrestrial life and offers a thread of hope for our collective future.



OneLove

:::MME:::

Like a Comet.....

Like a comet
Blazing 'cross the evening sky
Gone Too Soon

Like A Rainbow
Fading In The Twinkling Of An Eye
Gone Too Soon

Shiny And Sparkly
And Splendidly Bright
Here One Day
Gone One Night

Like The Loss Of Sunlight
On A Cloudy Afternoon
Gone Too Soon

Born To Amuse, To Inspire, To Delight
Here One Day
Gone One Night

Like A Sunset
Dying With The Rising Of The Moon
Gone Too Soon

-Michael Jackson

(A little tribute to a few of my favorite artists who have passed on but will never be forgotten).





Hope you enjoy.

OneLove

:::MME:::

Black Orpheus: Gil Scott Heron

My introduction to the work of Gil Scott-Heron came through listening to a piece on WPFW FM entitled, "Winter in America" back in the eighties.I was blown away by his commanding baritone, powerful poetic diatribes & impassioned political observations against a backdrop of jazz & blues rhythms. This man is a modern-day Socrates hurling verbal Molotovs at the Gods acknowledged by the State (i.e mass consumerism, individualism, materialism, nihilism, ethnicism &authoritarianism). Way too many artists succumb to their greed & egoistic desires, but Gil Scott remains true to his calling in spite of having succumbed to his own demons (drugs & alcohol). Living up to Henry David Thoreau’s dictum that ‘rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.’, Gil Scott continues to be one of the few lone voices left dispatching missives from his weathered depths.

Take the time to absorb & reflect upon his latest release which is absolutely brilliant in my opinion.This release is not as instigative as his past albums, but it is stirringly redemptive.




(A remix of this CD will be out in February. Take a listen to the first single that's out now...)




OneLove

:::MME:::

A St. Lucian Jazz Affair

St.Lucia

 Every time I return from my native land (St. Lucia), I get the urge to share the music of the talented musicians who reside on this blessed land.  St Lucia probably has one of the most eclectic populations on the planet. Out of this tiny, edenic island come two Nobel Prize laureates, world-class athletes, scholars and a rich variety of artists and musicians to include Grammy-nominated Taj Weekes. 

Two of St. Lucia's most respected musicians, Ronald "Boo" Hinkson and Luther Francois are featured on the playlists below. Most people are not aware of the fact that roots of jazz music was  heavily influenced by Caribbean musicians (Jazz is a 20th century music developed from the African traditions of the free black Creole populations of the Caribbean and New Orleans). "Boo" & Luther can be both credited for popularizing jazz music in St Lucia which now hosts one of the most successful jazz festivals in the world. 


Check out their vibes here & here.
                                                                         

OneLove

:::MME::: 

Dedication: Teena Marie (1956 - 2010)

.

The ivory Queen of Soul will be missed....what a loss....

OneLove

MME