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What, oh what could prompt me to write a post while back on campus? I'm certainly too busy to do this & am missing an episode of sytycd (a complete no-no in my book). But I just had to let you know about this beast of a girl that I've added to my collection.

Her name is Janelle Monáe & she's epic. I was perusing Twitter, came across her page, & watched the video it linked to & was immediately infatuated. She's thoroughly unafraid of expressing herself & being bigger than life. Not only can you get into her music passively, but she's also a poet & her lyrics are deeply penetrating... even though her recurrent theme is being an android in the city Metropolis. She does what Lady Gaga wishes she could (& was doing it before her).

The entire EP, "Metropolis Suite I of IV: The Chase" is awesome. It's the old-school sort of album where the entire thing has a level of coherence that mainstream artists no longer worry about. I've got three tracks that I'm big on... her big hit, "Many Moons"; "Sincerely, Jane" which poetically addresses urban city life for girls like her; & an android aria called "Cybertronic Purgatory." She's just awesome (in the old, careful, un-watered down sense of the word). Suite II is scheduled for 2010, & I can't wait. Sallamomo alayhi wa sallam. [MdG]

The Fastest Year EVER

Yesterday I got an e-mail from the Huffington Post, including two headlines that read "Obama's First Year" & "365 Days and Still Thanking Jesus." I've also seen titles & subject lines that have the same ring to them on other websites. Everybody needs to fall back. Pundits seem over-eager to find some generally irrelevant time marker & use that as a moment to sum up everything the President has(n't) done before the engraving on his towels has even dried. Slow down.

Yes, as soon as CNN announced at 10 PM on Nov. 4th, 2008 that Barack Obama was going to be the next President of the United States, we wished that Bush was float off into the see & someone competent would take the reins. For the rest of that year, in fact, people seemed to turn to Obama to address the financial crisis, international issues, &c. instead of Bush who, unfortunately, technically had the power. But the man's only been in office since the end of January... let's not overstate the amount of time he's had to do this.

In all of these evaluations I keep getting this off-putting "He hasn't done anything" vibe. In 8 months he's garnered a momentous amount of energy behind one of the biggest pieces of legislation probably since the 60's. Yes, he made a lot of other promises &, especially to my gay brothers & sisters, the time for justice is always 'now,' but the alternative is to take on too much, appear to liberal, sink everything early on & then end up with Sarah Palin in office in 2012. Obama is a politician, not Jesus & the American psyche can only handle so much.

That said, put pressure on that him like he owes you money. & next time schedule your march for when Congress is in the building, please. Hadha min fadhle Momo. [MdG]

District Six

Two things. I've just come across a fantastic blog that I think you all should read. It's called "Samizdat." Dissidence is hot. One might call it anti-religious (especially if you are religious) & radical. Others might call it reasonable. I call it good. What this guy has that so many atheists like myself are missing is a patient tone. Often, atheists explaining what they see as clear as day tend to take on a tone that belittles religion & religious people. But Samizdat manages to steer clear & stays respectful while being firmly critical & logical. Props.

Second, Newsweek was on the ball with their most recent publication. The cover said something about aliens &, despite myself, I picked it up. Check it out if you haven't. On the website, I found this article about "District Six," a real place in South Africa that clearly set the outline for the recent blockbuster "District 9." As I said in an earlier post, I thought the film's metaphor about apartheid Africa wasn't perfectly clear (though when it comes to literature & film I usually need to be hit over the head with such metaphors). Had I not read an article cluing me in beforehand, I probably would have left the theater thinking "Poor aliens" instead of "Poor dehuamnized, disinfranchised, divided African nation." But the true story of District Six & the Cape Flats is a very real & clear example of our ability to destroy others' livelihoods over petty differences in appearance. & it's one that more people should hear, so spread it around. Qitaal fee sybil Momo [MdG]

Gimmy Gimmy Heaps

Yesterday all of the Europeans, azns, & a few Africans were allowed to legally purchase an album titled "Ellipse" by a certain Imogen Heap. But IN YOUR FACE entertainment industry that keeps putting "You wouldn't steal a dog from a pet-store" ads at the beginning of my illegally downloaded porn music videos. Imogen (or Immy as she is known) actually put the whole thing online for FREE. Not for download, but, like the makers of Enzyte, she was sure that once you'd tried it, you'd buy it. How very democratic of her.

As a contemporary dancer, I figured I'd have to be up on my vocabulary (contemporary dancers know what I'm talking about), so I checked it out. I've also been reading a few reviews, the first of which was rather scathing & set the tone for the rest of them. I believe this was an unfortunate endeavor on the part of the critics as it's hard to evaluate her work on the day that it was released. Immy's one of those artists that, a year after you've started listening, you're walking down the street with your iPod & say "Oh that's what this song's about." & then you keep walking & realize that you were probably wrong & don't think of another coherent yet equally wrong theme for a few months.

I'm sad to say that I was non-plussed by the album for a long time. I've since gone back & listened to some of it again & found that it hadn't gotten any better. While listening I got the uneasy feeling that she was somehow trying to mimic herself... breaking down & rebuilding what she'd made in albums prior. (She's also completely abandoned the "1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2" time signature that gave so much of her music such momentum & tension.)

That was until I got to the last 3 tracks where she started taking off my clothing & rolling me into a little ball. Raw g l i t t e r. I'd say more about about it, but see for yourself. (Ahahahah--her fans will get it.)

^^^ Democracy ^^^

Judging by the play-counts about 3,000 (& climbing) people stopped before they got there. Their loss. There are always a few gems in the back corner of the room, just have to have the patience to get there. But give the whole thing a listen... you won't be mad. Bismi-mohi r-rahmani r-rahimi. [MdG]

A Sympathetic Note

Last night at midnight I was dragged to the movie theatre to watch the film District 9. It was a fine enough film. There was a non-readily apparent metaphor about apartheid Africa going on that I guess was good, but it left me with that sinking feeling I get whenever I watch movies containing social commentary; a certain disdain for some of our baser instincts & our habitual (& now celebrated) lack of sympathy for one another.

Unforunately for the film, I was displeased before it started. Why? The previews. It's not that there were too many of them or the movies all looked bad. I don't mind previews... & I like good ones.

What bothered me was what the films were about. The films advertised were Haloween II, The Final Destination, Shutter Island, & a comedy about zombies. See a trend? They were all about murder &, more than murder, about suffering & torture. Here, I take the European position. What is appealing about watching a guy terrorize, torture & murder innocent people? Can't one of the characters in Final Destination just go into old-fashioned cardiac arrest? Is the stake-through-the-eye a must?

Whenever I watch or hear of someone being tortured, my first thought is, "This is unpleasant." My next thought is, as with most things I find unpleasant, "I should stop." & I usually do. For instance, my mother makes it a habit of recounting graphic details of terrible stories she hears & I usually cut her off halfway through. After suggesting we watch it, my friend described a scene from Saw II to which I could only reply, "Why would anyone (note: not just 'I') want to watch that?"

This sentiment is one of the many things that separates me & RdG from those many of those arond us. When I see someone suffering for whatever reason, I can't help but empathize & want to end my own suffering &, thereby, theirs. (Odd how I've never thought to just stop empathizing in the first place, but I'll hold on my empathy over a Rob Zombie film any day.) We're allowed to disregard the similarity of experience... just because the pain is not mine, it's OK if I don't deal with it, if I don't take it up as my own.

This is not to say that we have to be perpetually nice to one another or that it's never appropriate or in good fun & even affectionate to be a little mean. But one must have a sense of propriety. What good roommate doesn't pull a prank or two? Waking up & finding all of your shoelaces tied together is funny. Wrapping someone in toilet paper while he's sleeping is funny. Pouring bleach on a woman because she asked you to quiet down in a movie theatre & fundamentally destroying an important part of her livelihood is not. (& no, she's not just being up-tight.)

I think that that's my issue with these films & a culture that enjoys them. If I can watch a man have a hole drilled in his ankles & told "You're free to go now" with nothing more than an "Eww!", I can't say I'm "shocked & appalled" to hear about businessmen abusing the un-infranchized around the world or that a teenager reacted to a minor embarrassment with an atrocious attack. If I get some sense of enjoyment out of watching people tortured (& it must be some form of enjoyment -- or people wouldn't attend), do I not tacitly condone it in real life?

Here is a film that decries the human ability to disregard the suffering of others being funded by & promoting films that revel in it. I'm one who does not like inconsitencies & I see a big one. Bismomo Hir Mehran Nir Rahim. [MdG]

Sing to Me, Muse

EVERYONE STOP. For your own edification you're going to have to research several things.

First of all, 900+ plays later, I just stumbled upon the Marcussen Album Version of Black & Gold for the first time ever. For a few months now, I've been listening to the single version basically all the time. The difference would only be noticed by someone who had listened to one version of the song 900 times -- as if a new wrinkle had shown up on the back of your hand -- but it struck me & I spent the next two hours listening to it. It was like listening to the same song from the opposite side of a window pane... I'm still on the fence about it.

Project #2: The quest for the song led me to Last.FM where I listened to the song numerous times & somehow ended up listening to Sam Sparro Radio. Last.FM > Pandora. So if you don't listen to Last.FM, -- I was probably the only one left -- start. & Sam Sparro Radio is that ish.

While listening, the song "Give Me Danger" by Dangerous Muse came on & I went into a seisure. I have since come to, but I did my research on Dangerous Muse & I LURVE it. They're a gay American band fronting as a British pan-sexual band from ambi-sexual America. I can feel the black glitter pumping through my veins & out of my sweat glands with every beat. They & many of the other groups popping up on SS Radio are part of a growing trend where musicians stop pretending they're not gay, & it's about time. If the masses stopped consuming gay products (particularly art) we'd probably be left with a box of crackers & a watered down Cistine Chapel. So the homos pulling the strings may as well own up to it... no one understands the strings as well as those being hung by them.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled cruising. La ilmomo ill-Momo. [MdG]

Pretty (Fairy?) Wings

Maxwell is back! Can't say I noticed that he'd left, but that's because the music industry somehow managed to push all of the artists under the radar at once, so it was hard to keep track of who's gone where. (Lauryn Hill, where you at?)

& he's got a whole new look. His signature unruly, artsy/beach-bum black/white person 'fro is all but gone (not sure how long that's been) & he's looking more mature & serious. Here's the song of the moment, "Pretty Wings." I'm supposed to have some kind of witticism here about the relaxing/sexy vibe of the song & the intimately uplifting lyrics, but the only thing I really like about it is the syncopation.



I judge how good a song is by how many times I listen to it on repeat uncontrollably. Been listening to "Black & Gold" by Sam Sparro non-stop for 3 months now, so my standards have shifted. I'll probably be listening for another hour or so before I get bored, but as far as my music collection goes, that's a solid run. Fi amanimomo. [MdG]

Mister Gates!

So Obama spends an hour going over the details of an intricate healthcare plan & the four days since have been spent with the media scrutinizing an entirely unrelated comment he made in the last minute or so. We've certainly got our priorities in order.

Perhaps I'm not understanding the psychology behind racial profiling, but I feel like a 50-something year-old wearing glasses, a polo shirt tucked too far into his pants, slacks & a clean shaven gray beard who apparently walks with a cane doesn't fit any kind of criminal profile, regardless of his race. As such, I don't feel comfortable saying that he was suspected of robbery because of his appearance (which is not necessarily the debate at hand, but a distinction I think I ought to make), even if he is black.

What I do not doubt is that the police officer in question, Police Sgt. James Crowley, didn't believe that Prof. Gates was the owner of the house because he is black. (& don't take my word for it. Husband #1 & I are on the same page.)

Racial profiling (the sort of which all of us are guilty) is about (unconscious) mental schemas. Black male, black sweatshirt, black sweatpants, Timberland boots trying to pry open door... Thief. White male, black sweatshirt, black sweatpants, Timberland boots trying to pry open door... Thief? (Definitely a rabble rouser.) Old guy, polo shirt, neat beard, glasses trying to pry open door... Senile? I'm willing to bet, though, that "Black" & "Owner" didn't quite fall into the same scheme for the Sgt. Crowley. This may explain why the officer was so dubious as to whether or not Prof. Gates was actually the homeowner, thief or not.

This sort of standard psychological state (pathetic though it be) is one thing. What happened after Prof. Gates proved, unequivocally, that he was in fact of the proprietor I think is a phenomenon specific to police officers. Charles M. Blow wrote a fantastic article about his & others' personal, disturbing experiences with police. At lunch today, one of my old (white) teachers recalled sitting in the back of a Cambridge squad car after witnessing a robbery & listening to the two police officers shoot off derogatory epithet after epithet about black people. It seems that American police culture is one in which overt racial discrimination is affirmed & protected (with tangible effects for black & latino men).

& last, what the hell's up with Sgt. Crowley not giving up his name & badge number? (This part of the story has not been denied by Sgt. Crowley &, of all things, would have been if it weren't true.) This is the part where Sgt. Crowley loses what little credibility he had left. Up until then he's been working with the same gut feelings & suspicions that police officers are supposed to use (as poorly fashioned as those feelings were). It is at this point that Sgt. Crowley most clearly, in the words of my boyfriend, "acted stupidly."

So many layers... First, we have this mental schema that, for many, has trouble fitting in a black male who owns a nice house in Cambridge, Mass. Second, a police culture where sub- & overt racism is either supported or, too often, left unchallenged. Third, an officer who just should have coughed up his name & badge number like the law requires. I won't comment on what happened afterwards as the two accounts conflict. I wouldn't doubt that Prof. Gates went on a yelling tirade & prompted his own arrest. I wouldn't doubt that Prof. Gates repeatedly yet politely asked for the Crowley's name & badge number & "prompted" his own arrest. The Truth of what happened then is lost in passionate memories & group agendas, never to resurface. But I don't believe we need much more information than we have to assess the root problems of this event.

This much is certain; we must work to make our schemas fit reality. Take this test (click "Race IAT") & you'll be surprised at just how biased you really are, regardless of your deep philosophical beliefs about human equality. The media, our parents, our books must all work to promote a psychology of equality. & it looks like our police culture has a long, long way to go. I would love giant strides, but I'll take baby steps over static any day, just as long as we keep it moving.

According to the police report, Gates was hysterically shouting, "This is what happens to a black man in America." Hysterical or not, he's quite right. Fi sabil Momo. [MdG]

Penny For Your Health?

As I watched my boyfriend during his press conference about healthcare, my main thought was "Can you imagine how much more confusing this would be if ol' George was trying to explain this?"

But I seriously, seriously don't get this whole debate. A few people with a lot of money are bending over backwards to paint government healthcare as anti-capitalist. Since capitalism was created by Jesus, anything mildly opposing it is clearly from the devil/Hillary Clinton & ought to be destroyed. In response, a lot of people with very little money are trying to show that government healthcare is actually pro-capitalism & will increase competition, promote rainbows, strengthen marital fidelity, &c.

Who cares?

The real question is: Is capitalism good for healthcare? The answer is clearly 'no'. I don't mean to say that every aspect of our society should be centered around healthcare. Nor, as the contemporary debate might make it seem, should every aspect of our society be centered around capitalism (does this count as blasphemy?). Rather, leave capitalism where capitalism is good (like with I-Bankers & AIG... LOL) with a solid understanding that it's not good for everything.

So why isn't capitalism good for healthcare? Put simply, I don't get why we allow peoples' health, the most basic aspect of their livelihood, to be part of someone's profit-maximizing scheme. Not their money, not their homes, not their food. Health.

The basic function of a health insurance plan is to provide services when your health is damaged or put in jeopardy. But spend a minute looking at health insurance providers as they actually function, & you'll see they dedicate a disproportionate amount of time denying people the only service they're supposed to provide. That's what happens when capitalism & health mix. Icky. If I'm paying for my cookie, give me my cookie.

So perhaps this doesn't necessarily call for government healthcare -- though I have to say I'm a fan. But it definitely is a call for healthcare providers to start... I dunno... providing healthcare (& not leaving families in the dust). Qitaal fee sybil Momo. [MdG]

30 years & still gay

We're now almost a month after the 30th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, that infamous day when the most bullied segment of society rose up & stuck his boot stiletto stiletto boot up the ass of "The Man." A few days ago, I listened to a podcast featuring two gay rights leaders. They recounted the events & how the gay ____ movement (will explain the blank in a moment) has changed over the years. This tied into another article I read that day on the Huffington Post titled, "In Defense of Bruno"; all of this got me thinking about the gay ____ movement & where it is going.

Why the gay ____ movement? That's because it depends on who you ask. The leaders from the 60's referred to the gay liberation movement while we in the new millennium are quite engrossed in the gay rights movement. A subtle, but important difference.

The two gentlemen (can't find their names for the life of me) talked of a revolution where glitter & boas were the slogan of choice. Nowadays, the flamboyant Brüno's of the world are shunned by uncomfortable straights as well as ashamed gays. We are no longer looking to "liberate" ourselves, per se, but rather we are looking to show that, despite a long history of ostracization, limp wrists, & show-tunes, we can be just as bland as the next hetero couple. The movement once asked society at large to accept us with all of our differences. In many ways, it now asks society to overlook them.

As Bill Maher said – & (shame on me) I haven't looked up statistics on this – the gay rights movement picked up speed when folks realized they weren't stopping that guy in the ass-less chaps from marrying the bear with the whip & nipple piercing. They were really impeding Aunt Sheryl & her friend Marsha with the short haircut who keeps coming to Christmas... & considering they've been coming to Christmas longer than Daddy, it seemed more than unfair. So perhaps the de-glamorizing of the entire affair has done us some good... at least in the rights talk.

But did we lose something when we made the shift? Depends on your perspective. This is more a difference between loud & soft than gay & straight. I heard a gay man decry the acceptance of gay marriage because it would mean that the gay community would lose part of its distinctiveness. While I'm certainly a fan of diversity as a means of promoting progress through the intersection of different lifestyles & ideas, I wonder if we don't defeat the purpose by stewing in our difference & clinging to it, even if it means losing touch with the individual. The gay community can be just as oppressive as the mainstream society that fostered its growth.

Gays as well as straights are coming to terms with an important fact. Being gay, for many people, does involve a level of noise, flamboyance, & broadcasting (unintentional or otherwise). But for many others it really is nothing but a sexual preference. Not a community identity, not a fashion statement or a certain taste in music -- just who you want in your bed. To maintain this wholly as a liberation movement would be to ignore or suppress an entire segment of the gay population who, quite frankly, would like to go quietly about their day. Hockey players (not unlike the glittery Brüno) are gay, too. Radiyamomohu anhuma. [MdG]

In Support of Polygamy

... if it means I can marry both David Brooks & Stanley Fish. Both columnists for the New York Times. Both smart (= sexy). I was looking to dig up an article to post re: my earlier post, "The Best Medicine" & was going through Brooks' archives to find it. Turned out it was written by Fish, at which point I was going to retract my love for Brooks until I saw under "What David Brooks is Reading" a book titled "On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You're Not" which I plan to mail express to my grandmother & the Pope (after I read it for myself, of course). Plus Brooks writes pretty good stuff on his & Gail Collins' blog, "The Conversation". (People having a conversation about... their opinions? I might have to bake a cake.)

Anyway, for those of you who still don't get the situation with the firefighters & why there's no simple or "right" answer to the problem, here's the article from husband #1. As I've already written my own, I'm not 100% with his conclusion, but the analysis is very bien cuit. Masha Momo. [MdG]

Barry says...

This week the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People... I actually had to explain that to someone a few days ago) celebrated its centennial & had, for its final speaker, the big man himself, Barack H. Obama. (Check the video here.) The material was so-so... Nothing particularly thought-provoking (unlike w/ Cornell West who spoke the day before &, among other things, warned us not to become "adjusted to the injustice." Glitter). Some stuff about self-determination that I can get behind.

As he spoke, & especially towards the end when the speech hit its crescendo, I was perpetually reminded that he grew up as an atheist in an all-white household & learned how to speak gospel much later in life. His well-placed use of ancient clichés that moved the audience to thunderous applause sounded just that... well-placed. This only served to remind me that while it's certainly true that he's our first black president, his experience is such that he is moved squarely out of what many blacks refer to as the black experience. (I'm not sure exactly what this experience entails, but I know a white atheist mother is not usually a part of it). What's more, I have to admit, I feel we do Ann a disservice when we refer to a man who looked up to his blanche mother each day as if he's "exclusively" black. Show the woman some respect.

This is the part where I started going on at some length about race & language, but I've decided your tight little jaws are probably tired already. I'll let you chew on that one a little later. Momòhu Akbar. [MdG]

Triflin' Ass (Black) People

Over the past few years, I've found myself saying "I hate (insert income/racial/ethnic/social/sexual/gender/intellectual/&c. class) people" over & over again after attributing some stupid action to their _____-ness. Now I just cut the middle man & say "I hate people" since most of the shit they do really rubs me the wrong way, no matter where the hell they're from.

Most recently, I hate (black) people. Some bitches just don't know when to stop. If she didn't keep that smile on her face I'm more than certain we'd have a sexual harassment case on our hands & we would never hear the end of it:

"Oh no, he's bigger than she is, what was she going to do?"

"She's taking advantage of him, she didn't say 'no'."

"He didn't get consent beforehand, I cannot support the objectification of women!"

"She was just trying to live out her fantasies with a black man & now she's trying to keep us down!"

Ugh. Momo Yeh'fazak Wa Yar'ak. [MdG]

p.s. I always hate stupid people. Always.

The Revelation

The precursor to the second coming of Momo & The Prophet:



What I don't understand is why this gem wasn't on Sam's freshman album. For those of you who don't know, Sam Sparro is only the hottest thing since the electric stove. His self-titled debut album has everything from sickly seduction to a techno ballad questioning god, self-searching & an ode to marijuana. "Black & Gold" is the first future-club-feel song that I expect to hear in 20 years & say "That's a classic," perhaps along with some tunes from the likes of Adele & Ms. Knowles. (Something about "P-P-P-Pokerface, P-P-Pokerface" seems like it will never properly fit into the category of 'classic.' Sorry Lady.)

Unfortunately this one wasn't on the otherwise fresh album, so I had to go digging to find it. I remember hearing it once when I started my Sparro binge a few months ago (thanks to RdG). I found this song again about two days ago & haven't stopped listening to it since. Make sure to listen to the words on this one. A near-perfect blend of classy yet raw vocals, delicious harmonies, butt-poppin' beat, & the reflective lyrics that have kept him square off of the American radio circuit. Sam, keep the juice going (do I smell another album in the works?) & barakmomo fik. [MdG]

The Best Medicine

The court is out. The City of New Haven has officially reversely discriminated against some white firefighters. They gave a promotional test to firefighters, the higher scoring officers were white, & to fix it, they pulled a No Child Left Behind & got rid of the test. A lost-lost situation, in my book. Why? The problem happened long before this test was even created.

First of all: reverse discrimination?? furreal MSNBC? I thought we got over this term back when we were having the affirmative action debate (...as if that's done)? The whole concept is like walking in one direction, turning around & then walking backwards. Same shit, except now you just look dumb.

Here's the problem with this case, with affirmative action, with every initiative to integrate minorities who have been systematically oppressed since the 30's. Always too late... not matter how little or how much... always too late. When would have been the best time to remedy this problem? About 200 years or so ago when a couple European dudes landed on a rock called Africa. Unfortunately, that moment is passed.

A metaphor: Imagine I had stolen at lot of money from your father. Now, imagine that between that time & now, your father & his whole generation had died. You would say that the appropriate thing for me to do would be to give you & your siblings that money. Simple enough.

...But now it gets messy. Imagine I stole a lot of money from your father & he had died, but I had since invested it in my family. So mixed in with your/father's money is my blood, sweat, & tears. And what happens next? I pass it on to my kids, they bleed on it, sweat on it, cry on it. & so on. My offspring feeding off of my wealth & your offspring feeding off of your unjust poverty.

Eventually, it comes out at this time that I stole it all in the first place. You would say that some kind of recompense should be paid to your family. The problem is that none of my family members did anything wrong, so to take from them would be unfair. But at the same time, here are all of your offspring who should be enjoying your father's wealth, & so to leave them with no recompense would also be unfair. The criminal is dead & the victims are only multiplying.

If America didn't have a long history of systematically not educating & then (after some arduous changes to American society) systematically under-educating an entire “race” of people, then we wouldn't need affirmative action or to get rid of tests to have a fair racial representation. But we do. Keep it moving.

If things were as they should be, more non-white & -asian students (& thereby fewer white and asian students) would be on college campuses not because there would be any discrimination against white & asian students, but because everyone else would have a fighting chance. So what are we trying to do? Retroactively make the dispersion better reflect our ideals when kids are 18 or graduates of the Police Academy? Terrible, terrible idea.

The answer to the problem is not "affirmative action" or doing what the City of New Haven did. It's the 14th Amendment. Obviously, it doesn't make any sense to lower standards because some people can't meet them, that defeats the purpose of a standard. Instead, let's actually made this the "Land of Opportunity" & give everyone the tools & resources they need to actually get into college & the promotions they desire. Can't say it's unfair to give everyone a fair shot. Let's pull it together. [MdG]

& the veil of the Apollo was rent in two ... (A goodbye)

At first this post was really long & flattering, but then I started watching & listening to some of his work and decided it would be better just to let Michael speak for himself.

I remember when I was about 4 or 5 that at the end of every song on the radio, I'd hope 'You Are Not Alone' would be next. & the times that it did play, I wanted everything to stop so I could relish in it, & it always ended too quickly. Ladies & gentlemen, Michael Jackson.



(Keep watching...)


Enjoy your well deserved rest. (And I hope you feel bad about that Michael Jackson joke you made last night. I know you said it. Don't lie.) As-salaam alaikum. [MdG]

Baby steps

How to begin... It's walking into a room or writing the first sentence of a novel, first impressions last. Most of all I still have to set my tone just for myself. As you'll see, it will be markedly different than that of my partner in crime. Do I talk about my nonplussed-ness at tonight's episode of SYTYCD or go on about the so-far amazing film "Before Night Falls"? Decisions!

I guess for now I'll start with a quote from a book I read in high school. The quote hit me so hard I fell unconscious for a week & I had to get two new kidneys. It's from a book called Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell that is actually a piece of work just in structure. It's 6 separate stories that move from colonialism/slavery to the 60's & eventually a post-Apocalyptic future where everything we know of has been destroyed by some unknown means. The writing styles vary from a journal, film with producer commentary, letters, to a mystery novel. The most interesting part is that the first 5 stories are cut in half so you read the first half of the first book, the first half of the second book all the way up until the 6th which you get as one whole. Then, a character in the 6th begins to watch the second half of the 5th, at the end of which a character from that watches the second half of the 4th, & so on. I suggest going & picking it up as it's a great read. But it's really the first (& last) book, "The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewig" that has all of the waxing poetry & philosophizing. Here's what Adam writes after talking about the extinction of a race of aboriginal people...

"As many truths as men. Occasionally, I glimpse a truer Truth, hiding in imperfect simulacrums of itself, but as I approach, it bestirs itself & moves deeper into the thorny swamp of dissent."

Glitter. Everywhere. Read it again? I dare you. Now go sit in the corner & eat a muffin. Jazakmomohu Khairan [MdG]

¿Qu'est-ce que c'est?

Ceci, c'est l'histoire de deux jeunes gens.

We are musicians, philosoph(iz)ers, smart, writers, black, misunderstood, students, sons, irreverent, gay, artists, opinionated. This blog, so far, is an outlet for our thoughts, our words, & the things everyone wants to see but no one wants to show. Literature, music, political/social commentary, visual art, philosophy, what we had for lunch ... we've got it all. We were going to wait until the world was ready, but last night we realized that no one will ever be ready for the glitter that is BdG, so we're just gonna smack you in the face & hope you feel good about it afterwords (you will, trust us). We might start out a little rough, but stick with it & this will be the best ride of your life. Pomise. As-Salamu Momo [BdG]

Praise be to Momo

The Revolution has begun. [BdG]