The Destruction of the Poor

“Something is happening here, but you don’t know what it is. Do you Mr. Jones?”

- “Ballad of a Thin Man" by Bob Dylan


When you talk to some people, it seems that either they don't have a clue on what's happening to the world's impoverished masses, or they do, but lack empathy. As much as you try to bring some detail to their attention, they would much rather talk about some nice bedroom set they saw at IKEA, what Lebron did on the court or what the ladies on Housewives from Atlanta were up to on the last episode. It seems that as long as they're eating well and living comfortably with money invested and kids doing well in school, they could care less about the numerous socio-political, educational & ecological crises that rage around them (which will threaten their own security in the long term).Vacuous people. They should all be pimp-slapped & all their possessions taken in order for them to feel for a moment the utter ruin & desperation billions of people feel every waking moment of their lives. Check out rhe following documentary and be humbled....



OneoLove


:::MME:::

Poet's Nook: Derek Walcott's "Love After Love"



Derek Walcott



I particularly like this piece by Derek Walcott. This poem can be interpreted on both a personal & socio-historical level (specifically, from a post-colonial context). I tend to favor a broader rendering of this poem as it brings to mind the gender, race & class struggles that continue to this day. This poem can also resonate powerfully with many women who sacrificed their lives for their husbands, children, lovers & forgot themselves in the process, but rediscovered who they were in the end.

The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other's welcome,


and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you


all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,


the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

Take from it what you will, it's a beautiful thing!

OneLove

::MME::

Valentine's Muse

Love is Friendship that has caught Fire

OneLove

  ::MME::

Compromising with the Uncompromising

Cartoons are still the best medium for explaining the complicated by use of metaphors, symbols and caricatures. As an avid reader of Mad magazine and Marvel comics in my youth, my senses were primed to the absurd & heroic nature of the human enterprise. This animation highlights some of my frustrations with President Obama on many fronts, but alas, he is but a spokesman for more powerful entities, like every other President that preceded him.
Peace

:::MME:::

World on Fire

 

It takes a revolution to make a solution;
Too much confusion so much frustration, eh!

I don't wanna live in the park 
Can't trust no shadows after dark 
So, my friend, I wish that you could see,
Like a bird in the tree, the prisoners must be free
Never make a politician grant you a favour;
They will always want to control you forever....

-Bob Marley 

Times are a'changin'! Whether you're paying attention or not, you will be rocked by these shifting currents one way or another. From the mess industrial capitalism has made of our planet, we seem to be at some critical turning point. Once lush and plentiful rainforests are rapidly disappearing & the few remaining are now endangered; the seas and lands are being ravaged 'til life is sucked out of them; and to me the most troubling, a quarter of all mammals face extinction - 90% of the largest ocean fish are gone (species are going extinct at rates equaled only five times in the history of life, according to many leading scientists). These man-made events are converging on natural phenomena such as earthquakes (they are occuring more frequently with last year's  Chilean earthquake so powerful that it shifted the Earth's axis & shortened our days) and the increasing solar activity which is expected to peak this year into 2012 (potentially causing widespread disruption to aircraft navigation and emergency location systems that rely heavily on satellite navigation data). When you add the wide disparity between the haves & the have-nots and the crumbling of social/physical infrastructures the world over, what you have is the making of something that can scarcely be imagined or predicted, though many pretend to know.

The historic uprising in Egypt is only the tip of something much bigger, I believe. Demands for political and economic justice are bound to proliferate & the reaction of the powerful "haves"to these events will be quite interesting to witness. Like Tracy Chapman sang in her prescient song, "Talking About a Revolution":

Don't you know

They're talkin' about a revolution
It sounds like a whisper
Don't you know
They're talkin' about a revolution
It sounds like a whisper
While they're standing in the welfare lines
Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation
Wasting time in the enemployment lines
Sitting around waiting for a promotion
Poor people gonna rise up
And get their share
Poor people gonna rise up
And take what's theirs
Don't you know
You better run, run, run...
Oh I said you better
Run, run, run...
Finally the tables are starting to turn
Talkin' bout a revolution

I think we all should be unsettled by what's happening. As intelligent and decent as most folks are, I believe we can turn this thing around & make this world a brighter place for our children--but we have to do so right now.

OneLove

:::MME:::

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

Natural Mystic Blowin'

    (illuminedsoul)

                                                        

The times they are a'changin'..

Pay attention to what's happening in the world......The ground has been shifting for some time now in ways not easily discernible...,,Seek information from sources beyond the mainstream, beyond hearsay or common opinion....Think for yourself, reflect & critically connect the dots....Like a natural mystic, let's arise from our illusions & embody a deeper understanding of the chaos that surrounds like brother Bob says:

 

 There's a natural mystic blowing through the air;
If you listen carefully now you will hear.
This could be the first trumpet; might as well be the last:
Many more will have to suffer, many more will have to die.
Many more will have to cry - don't ask me why....

Stay awake.

OneLove

:::MME:::

Desiderata (Desired Things)

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,

and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender

be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly;

and listen to others,

even the dull and the ignorant;

they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,

they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,

you may become vain and bitter;

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;

it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs;

for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

many persons strive for high ideals;

and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.

Especially, do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love;

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment

it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,

gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,

be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,

no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,

whatever you conceive Him/Her to be,

and whatever your labors and aspirations,

in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,

it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

~ Desiderata: a Poem by Max Ehrmann

 OneLove

:::MME:::

The New Conquistadores

 Among the destroyers there was no respect for anything we could say. They had come determined to see nothing, to listen to no one, bent solely on the satisfaction of their greed, of which we had ample news. But the king was infatuated with the  destroyers and would not heed the people's will.....
-- Ayi Kwei Armah from Two Thousand Seasons


After reading an article in the New York Times yesterday, I was reminded of Alex Jones' comments on the ruling banking elite and their shady dealings.The facts are all around--it's just a matter of disallowing ourselves to become so distracted by the many irrelevancies & being about the business of uncovering the untruths and misdeeds of the Ivy League bullshitters.Check out Alex Jones commentary on the still unraveling financial crisis.....

A couple of footnotes to Alex Jones' comments:

The Secretive Banking Elites

Market Alarm: US Fails to Control Biggest Debt in History  

Are we going to just sit around, watch our soaps or ESPN sports programs & just act like we're not getting screwed every which way? And even if some of us are making a decent & comfortable living, is this an excuse for being disinterested? Ignore reality at your own peril......


OneLove

::::MME:::::

Questioning the Two-Party Monopoly

Quite an interesting interview..The dude looks like someone's drunk Uncle Bernie, but he makes a lot of sense



Peace

:::MME:::

The Genius of R.Kelly

R.Kelly is, without a doubt, a musical prodigy. In spite of his questionable, well-publicized personal issues, he ranks up there with the best (Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder..) when he is at his best. His latest release, "Love Letter", is an ode to an era that produced the best music ever, the mid 60's- mid-70's. You can hear echoes Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder & Quincy Jones throughout which makes this release outstanding in every way. I selected my personal fave, "Number 1 Hit" , but you can stream the whole thing on his Facebook page~~Enjoy!
 



..Here is a "Best Of.." playlist I assembled some time ago which features some more slammin'  R. Kelly tracks from "12 Play" to  "Untitled":

OneLove!

:::MME:::

Truth Crushed (....shall rise again)

With the world abuzz with the Wikileaks bombshell, we should all take heed and reflect on the meaning & ramifications of this information. However one may judge Julian Assange & his mysterious past & motivations, that's a separate matter--we should not shoot the messenger if we don't like the message. Let's make it our duty as citizens to get the facts and question, question, question....With that said, I offer a few relevant quotes I especially like on the nature of 'truth'...

Truth, like milk, arrives in the dark
But even so, wise dogs don't bark.
Only mongrels make it hard
For the milkman to come up the yard.
~Christopher Morley


Truth has very few friends and those few are suicides.
~Antonio Porchia


When I tell any truth, it is not for the sake of convincing those who do not know it, but for the sake of defending those that do.
~William Blake


Theories are private property, but truth is common stock.

~Charles Caleb Colton

Truth breeds hatred.

~Bias of Priene, Maxims

Truth is the breath of life to human society. It is the food of the immortal spirit. Yet a single word of it may kill a man as suddenly as a drop of prussic acid.

~Oliver Wendell Holmes

We swallow greedily any lie that flatters us, but we sip only little by little at a truth we find bitter.

~Denis Diderot



Man has always sacrificed truth to his vanity, comfort and advantage. He lives... by make-believe.

~W. Somerset Maugham

If a thousand old beliefs were ruined in our march to truth, we must still march on.

~Stopford Brooke

Peace & Guidance


:::MME:::