CLOSING THE ACCOUNTS
TERMINANDO LOS CUENTOS....
"Some...argue that they work hard all year and that Kwanzaa is a time for them to relax and enjoy themselves. However, it is difficult to understand such an argument. There is no doubt that most of us are working hard for hostile Europeans all year, but when it comes to working for our own liberation, we are tired and want to relax. It would seem that the serious African would work twice as hard for his people as he does for his enemy....It is unreasonable to speak of relaxation and enjoyment in times of war, particularly when casualties are high, and our troops have already lost numerous battles. If there was not a war being waged against us, then the argument would have merit, but this is not the reality and therefore this argument should be dismissed."
--
Manu Ampim
ASE to that. for real.....
---------------------
yo, i dig Erykah and all. for real.. but i might be tripping. i wear glasses so bear with me.. but does she look like she got a booty here? :
someone on okayplayer pointed that out to me... for real...i know i am tripping.
well here is more proof, that maybe, just maybe:
--------------------
NOw i don't mind watching Kelis do her thing in the song "Milkshake" but is it me or is it HORRIBLY WACK?!! that joint is trash. but the people like it, i don't know why ....
you must excuse me, i just watched PUNCH DRUNK LOVE again.. that ish is dope and i can't tell you why?
------------------
Meca beat me to the punch. she sure did. Damn her.. ! but cop the
Style wars Dvd.. , it is so hot... the extras are like chunky stupid dope... for real... they got a nice tribute to Dondi White (Master Style General.. what?)
Speaking of DVDs, you let someone borrow some stuff, never get it back. that's wack. Bonn , you konw you who are.. dame!!!
by the way, this year i was very broke. i did not get that many albums. but i will not make that mistake next year. i can say this, All the albums i got were either dope or okay. i can't recall purchasing a dope one.
------------
Te dejo con esto:
"Outer space is a pleasant place
A place where you can be free
There's no limit to the things you can do
Your thought is free and your life is worthwhile
Space is the place"
-
Sun Ra
yup yup
Habari Gani!
if you are in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia for the holidays:
Remember that the Imani Foundation is having their 1st annual Umoja Ball on Friday Dec 26th, 2003 at the PACC (still called the Parc) on 5301 E Princess Anne Rd in Norfolk.. there is a $10 cover charge and a dress code. There will be a Dj, Karoke, Juju and the After Hours Band (these brothers are hot!), and Spoken word. so come out and support black peoples, ya'll
Then on Sat Dec 27th at 7pm, the Imani FOundation is having their 15th Annual Kwanzaa celebration at the Hunton YMCA on 1139 CHarlotte St. in Norfolk (off Tidewater Drive)... it is free and bring the whole squad... we are still looking for volunteers so if you are interested contact moi at travado1@yahoo.com or call the Positive vibes office at 757-248-3820
thank you
Asante Sana
Kit Fisto, yup....
on the Xmas thing....
i know its the third blog and i am still on the subject. i know... but alot of people ask me why i don't celebrate it. the first thing they ask is if I am muslim. i had to laugh because they are not the only people on this planet who don't celebrate Xmas. but i laid down the list for ya'll. you can cut and paste it and pass it on. But here are my reasons. if you get offended, it ain't my fault. I am speaking for me and hold my tongue for no one. before i go any further, here is a site you may want to check out
about Xmas...
1.
I am not a Xian. Not that it matters. Xians don't really celebrate what Xmas was originally for. But i notice even people who don't claim to be Xian or saved or what have you, continue to celebrate it. Some even go to church for it. Being raised a Xian i was sort of bred into the entire Xmas thing. Then again, we did not celebrate Xmas on the 25th of December. We celebrated the day of the THree Kings on jan 6th. Which makes sense according to the HAY SOOS myth. But being around people who did, watching TV during the Holidays, and listening to the radio, i was conditioned into the Xmas thing. which leads me to my next reason:
2.
I refuse to Conform. that is the bottom line right there. People will tell me, "well you don't have to do the Jesus thing..." okay, so because i am not Xian, i should still act like a nut? I should still spend my hard earned money to impress people i can really care less about ? I should send out greeting cards to a bunch of yahoos who will probably not even flinch if i fell flat on my face right now? I should go ahead and put myself into debt that will take a whole year to pull myself out of and do it all over again next year? I don't think so. Why should i allow someone else to tell me to be jolly ? why should i be jolly when there are mofo's in Walmart basically making slavery legal? why should i be jolly when there are devils in the white house messing things up for us...? I mean i am jolly just being me and with my family. I can do that any time when i want and feel like it.
3.
Xmas has always made us feel poor.... yeah its a class thing. Growing up we were very poor. I don't like to be reminded of that. Instead of showering my children with 100 gifts at the end of the year i rather invest that in their education, well being, and health. I rather spend the rest of the year making sure they are not injected with dangerous vaccinations and flu shots, or eating nasty foods and ingesting all kinds of sugars. that is how i continue to elevate. I don't have to tell them that santa claus is coming or that Jesus came to save them when i can show them how to save themselves and reward themselves for their hard work when they get older. which leads to my next reason
4.
That dang santa claus myth... I have a problem telling a child that Santa brought them presents when it was their parents who got it for them. I mean its a myth and its fun and all. but i ain't stooping that low.
WARNING : If you tell your children about santa, keep them away from me, I WILL SPOIL IT FOR THEM...
5.
About the class thing... I find that one of the reasons that the media pours the holiday cheer on is so that we can forget stuff like Haliburton, the Iraq crisis, the economy, the BS that is the terrorist threat, and other propaganda and stuff we REALLY need to worry about. People will argue that we need a celebration like this. Once again, we allow others to tell us when to be happy and celebrate it. Things like this make us complacent. It makes us forget. we have to remember that we have the attention span of fleas. we need to kill that. while we act like savages at malls and spend hundreds trying to satisfy children who will just discard the expensive stuff we buy them a few days later, there are devils at work.
and that's about it.. if you cut and paste it and send it to your pals, make sure you give me credit, aight? if not i will send Kit Fisto up there knocking on your door.
man i thought i was middle of the road when it came to the political spectrum.. here i am :
Your Personal Self-Government Score is 80%.
Your Economic Self-Government Score is 50%.
Scores falling on the centrist border are counted as centrist.
Libertarian 34.43 %
Left-liberal 19.10 %
Centrist 30.27 %
Right-Conservative 7.28 %
Authoritarian 8.91 %
you can take the The World's Smallest Political Quiz on the
libertarian website...
dat's all folks
"A process cannot be understood by stopping it. Understanding must move with the flow of the process..." --
Lady Jessica quoting the
First Law of the Mentat in
Dune by
Frank Herbert (ha ha, Meca, i got a Dune quote, what what!)
I got a chance to see my oldest, X-man, play the vibes at his church. I forgot his mother is pentacostal. basically these kinds of Xians love to "raise" the roof when it comes to praising the lord. They do all the dancing and stuff. a speech can turn into one of those chitlin circuit plays. But my son repped. he played alongside his brother. He did a good job. I am proud of him. He speaks with conviction and clearly. Unlike his peers, his speech is sophisticated. you gotta hear him talk. I promised him i would show up at his house for Xmas. imagine that. but it is what he wants.
Its bugged, cause alot of people who kick it like they don't celebrate Xmas really do. its funny. Heads who i thought would not conform or were against any eurocentric type of stuff, really celebrate it. alot of heads fake the funk. and you know, if you celebrate Xmas and its your thing, knock yourself out. that's you, who am i to criticize? but alot of heads trying to downplay the whole holiday thing but secretly got Xmas trees in their house or are out there playing the elbow game at Wal Mart or Target. that's wack to me. I rather deal with folks who are grounded in what they do. I have friends who celebrate Xmas and make no bones about it. they will let you know with the mistletoe and all. i can dig that even if i don't agree with it. that's their thing... Xmas being wrong is another blog, but at least they hold it down no matter how ignorant it may seem. but heads that fake the funk , i got beef with that. i know some heads who will rant about how Xmas is wack and why you shouldn't celebrate it, but when i got by their spot, they got a tree up or they struggling to buy presents for everyone. that's wack for real...
----------------------------------
"too many people get props for doing the minimum" --
my dear wife said that one...
"you said no officer lord/ you must be mad..." --
Barrington Levy "under mi sensi"
before i talk about this weekend. i wanted to talk about a conversation i had a a few weeks back before school was out. Last semester (Spring 2003), i met this older woman in my geography class. she was really nice. I helped out with some stuff. we had some cool conversations. I know she was an evangelical Xian as well so i usually strayed away from religious topics. I did not want to offend her or disrespect her. she is my elder and normally i stay away from topics that they feel strongly about when dealing with my elders. The other day i ran into her before i took my Early REvolutionary HIstory exam. this is how it went down (after the formalities):
The older woman: yes, i want to take Spanish next semester.
Self: that's great! i just op'ed out of my spanish classes.
The older woman: okay? that's wonderful. Is spanish your native language?
Self: Well, i was born here but my mother spoke spanish at home so that was the first language i learned. I debated about taking a foreign language, but i am trying to graduate for real.
The older woman: that's great! you are so fortunate
Self: thanks
The older woman: me, i am international minded.
Self: how so?
The older woman:: i have a strong love for hispanic peoples.
Self: you do?
The older woman: yes, it is my calling to bring the word to them.
Self: and that makes you international minded ?
The older woman: yes? see you young folks are not international minded.
Self: I guess its difficult to be international minded when your parents are from another country? (yeah i was sarcastic...)
The older woman: huh?
Self: i meant to say that i am international minded since birth. My parents are not from here. So were most of my friends growing up. I grew up around people from the islands, Africa, Europe, etc. So i have always been international minded. I was also in the Navy so i got to travel alot. My wife is from Nigeria and many of my friends are either not from here or are first generation born here. So i think that i am pretty much "international minded."
The older woman: that makes sense. so how long you got left?
Self: well at this point about a year and a half. I dropped my minor?
The older woman: why did you drop your minor? and what was it?
Self: it was African American HIstory. but they don't offer any classes. so i am going to drop it.
The older woman: why would someone take African american history?
Self: i can't see anyone being a social studies teacher and not knowing that part of history.
The older woman: but if you are so international minded, why would you need it?
Self: well, quite as kept, much of Latin America is populated by black folk. CUba is about 70% black according to Fidel Castro... Puerto RIco has a black majority and so does the Dominican Republic. Peru has a thriving black community and so does Venezuela. Panama is black period! so you can't go down there expecting to 'enlighten' folks and not knowing the deal. black people are all over the world. we think we are just here in the US? come on man, even that son of a Bush had to get checked on that Brazil thing.
The older woman: i never knew that.
Self: AOL keyword: research... cause we out there.
---------------------------------
why did i find this conversation disturbing? not because she was going to preach ghost spells to my folks, but that fact that she saw no reason to learn african american history. and she is black! its a damn shame. then she was going to go places where there are huge black populations and front like she knows it all. that's my beef with it. We americans are a trip i tell you....
last night i had a gig in Murfreesboro, NOrth Carolina which is a like 20 miles south of Franklin, VA. it was cake. the hard part was getting there. Setting up my equipment is so much easier now. i can set up in like 15 minutes without the tape. it took me close to 2 hours to get there. and they had no dance floor! i was like what? then they made me set up like on the other side of town (the place was huge)... i got a fat tip and really played music to my liking. So i was loving it. the guests left early so i just played to my delight. i was playing mad old school and much neo soul. i even played some Dre 3000. then i headed back home. that was about an hour and a half. everything was smooth. i had a good time. i spoke to my man Baron from MAP. i needed to speak to him. i been kind of depressed the last few days. so he lifted my spirits up.
big up to the folks at
playahata.com
RAnTinG Time!
I am really getting sick and tired of people saying that US Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are "fighting for our rights." How are our troops (actually The Bush Administration's troops) fighting on foreign soil fighting for our rights? now if Saddam had come to the US and took over and our troops fought him here, they would be "fighting for our rights..." but that did not happen. Instead , US troops are told to invade another country and occupy it. That does not sound like fighting for our rights.
I feel sorry for US troops for having to go thousands of miles away and do work that most of these yahoos who claim to be patriots would NEVER do. I can speak on it since I am a veteran. People ask, how come you say US Troops and not our troops. Simple, i can't ask the troops to go kick someone's ass. The president can. That is why he is called the Commander in CHief.
We can say that they are fighting for the rights of the Iraqi people. But that is not the true motive. And that is yet another story in the sage of the Bushes... or the Sons of BUshes.
--------------------
yes i am done.
Big up to Dj Dolo, still got your records money
"There are many words that have come. There are many words that will come. The only thing that matters is
doing the work."
--
Nation Shrine of Afrikans in America
it feels good to play capoeira again. man i missed it. we played on MOnday and Wednesday. what a workout. It was such a welcome to reality. Capoeira brings me right back to planet earth man. Physically i am so limited. But i feel as one with the air and ground. I am electrified and am ready to crash into my opponent. yes, party people, i am in the zone.
I received a letter from my man a hundred grand, Cabacador in Cameroon. If any of you want to write him let me know. He is NOT locked up. he is in the Peace Corps. email at travado1@yahoo.com .. word to herb...
Big up to P-matik in east bubblebuckshottownville, Idaho.. stay away from the cows brother man.
LOTR!!!!!!!!!!!!! (mad shout outs today right?)
"Terrible is the fragility of good beginnings. Look at the egg; what strength can you see in it with your physical eyes? Yet from that fragility can come great vitality. That is one reason for us not to lose courage simply because our current reality is so fragile in the face of established chaos."
--
Ayi Kwei Armah
man, a whole week! i am falling off party people. Finals, court, and accident and a whole mob of other stuff slowed me down. but here it is. but let me say this...
We--you, yes YOU and ME are the legions of "They". We are the people who can make impactful changes in subtle and resounding ways in our personal lives, families, communities, nation, and the world. I urge each of us to seek to become more fully awakened each day to the enormous wisdom and potential to shape our minds, strengthen our
spirits, and model and form positive and enduring realities for ourselves and those around us.
--
Benin Dakar
October 27, 2003
people say ish way better than i do.. but where should i start? oh, the accident
well simply: it was the other guys fault. his insurance company is paying for everything. no one got hurt. i was the only one in the van. IT still drives. here is a pic:
that held us back a little. the sliding door and the passenger door won't open. so we get real ghetto and go through the front door and put the children through the back door. wild huh... ?but we all straight, we alive.
-----------------
Finals, i kicked butt as usual . if all goes well, i will be getting a 4.0 this semester. i know, i know. it's expected. ha ha ha hah ahahaha
then i had to go to court and that took all day. so i had to change up a mob of schedules. nothing major happened. oh yeah, i took my youngest son to the doctor. My wife was panicking on something he was doing. i had to take him. which was all good but i was put in the "sick" room with him. its kind of ill but i think it works out. Most pediatricians have two waiting rooms. one for regular check ups and the other for sick children. that way if your child is not sick he or she will not catch anything from the other sick children.
what was ill was the fact that everyone in the sick room had the flu shot and my son didn't. yet their's were coughing and hacking and everything. OUr son was and still is fine. wild huh? stay away from those flu shots everyone. for real.
"To break the spirit of a man who fights for freedom is not easy when that man has the strength of tradition behind him."
Lee Miller
-----------
am ill weekend. i know its been a while since i touched this spot. once again please forgive me. where should i start?
well i missed Etymology and Elegba Society performing at ODU. i was mad about those things, but school has got me bogged down. its funny cause its not hard just alot of work.
The children are doing great. man, they are getting big. My youngest gets excited too easily. he is too funny. So is my daughter. she is a bag of laughs. She has inherited so many of my traits, its amazing. Well all my children are amazing.
and i am not saying that because they are my children.
they are.
But i had an ill week. where should i start?
oh yeah last tuesday i took the bus while my wife used the van. it was bugged. there was a time where i would just use the bus everywhere. i enjoyed it. i met new people and shared ideas. i saw the most funny and the most tragic things. I had alot of writing material then. this time was real fun.
i got on the bus around 7am, i had missed the first one. so i was mad. i had to sit out in the cold for another 15 minutes. i struggled to read the current book i was reading. the bus arrived and i headed to the back in true
anti civil rights fashion. There is this older lady who was just looking at me smiling. of course i say "hi, how you doing" and take my seat all the way in the back. I was wondering "where do i know her from?" as i was going through the rolodex in my head i noticed she said hi to everyone on the bus. Which is aight. most older folks come from a time when they said hi to everyone on the street. heck, i say hi to everyone i run into. SO i did not think nothing of it. next thing i know she turns completely around and starts staring at me with this big kool aid smile. I was trying to read my book but i could feel the weight of her eyes on me. i was like "do i know her?" and i could not place the face. Everyone just looked at me and chuckled. I figured that she was just a crazy lady who cozied up to whomever said something to her. and i was her victim. luckily for me, my stop was next. of course, she said 'bye' about a million times. i ignored her, hoping that she would forget my face for the next time.
I got off at downtown Norfolk, in front of the MArriott. it was brick out there! but i kept reading. i stood next to this Aggressive chick who i could not tell was a guy or a dude until she laughed cause then her breasts would jump up and down. but i still had to wonder. There was this dude sitting on the bench with this young lady who was very attractive . anyway, this dude was TRYING to spit game: (very abbreviated convo, actually the last few minutes)
Dude: "so what up you got a man?"
Shorty: "no."
Dude: "oh word? aight aight. aight. i hear that. where you going now?"
SHorty: "to work"
Dude: "Aight aight, aight. Can i go with you?"
Shorty: "Uh, no."
Dude: "well i want to konw that you made it work on time"
Shorty: "that's okay."
Dude: "a nigga trying to look out for you and you acting like this."
Shorty: "well i am grown, i don't need a babysitter."
Dude: "see, you missin' what i'm sayin'. i just want to make sure you aight. you act like i want to marry you. but i see right through you. I am ridin' the bus like you so you frontin'. if i rolled up in a lexus you would act different."
Shorty: "no its not like that."
Dude: "yes it is... all you pretty girls think you all that... with your pretty potpourri asses. forget ya'll! think you can tell a nigga to bounce. i see through all of you. you gold digging hoes."
Everyone thought that dude was going to wig out and start bussing shots. so everyone was moving away from him. Me, being the black super hero that i am kept saying to myself "i can take him, i can take him" I notice that the chick from the island of LEsbos was standing there too , watching. The sister who was being chastised was looking real small at that point. i felt bad for her. she was being dogged out cause she turned dude down real easy. i mean, she did try to do it easy.
Dude: "i am tired of you broads messing everything up. I am sayin'. i swear. watch, man. for dissin' me, its gonna come back."
luckily for all of us , his bus came by and he was still talking junk. when he got on everyone started laughing. The aggressive chick that was next to me was bugging the most. when everyone that needed to get on the next bus got on, the girl was still on the bench. everyone let out a sigh of relief and some of us laughed at dude. Suddenly the chick from the island of lesbos slid next to her and started kicking game:
Aggressive: "i saw how that guy was disrespecting you and all. that was so foul"
Shorty: (hesitantly) "yeah, i can't believe that, i was trying to be easy on him."
Aggressive: "men are so disrespectful. i swear. I been there, girl."
Shorty: "i hear you."
Aggressive: "what bus you waiting on?"
Shorty: "the 20"
Aggressive: "me too...! so you going to work?"
SHorty: "yeah."
Aggressive: "we all gotta eat. i hear that. But dude was so wrong. I was wondering, if you would give me the opportunity to look out for you. i know how it is. guys are so disrespectful and sometimes abusive..."
i was shocked. i never seen any lesbian kick game to a girl. i seen girls get turned out. i mean, i never SEEN them get turned out but i know i seen them be straight one day and then gay the next day. but i was not the only one with my mouth open. everyone else was too.
Aggressive: "... but i got you, girl. you ain't gotta worry about that no more. I got what you looking for. I know how it is. its tough. but i can fix it for you."
(shorty was just quiet. i could not tell if she got down like that or she was just like "let me keep my mouth shut before something crazy happens again." i really felt bad for her.) Soon their bus arrived and they got on. just when i thought something crazy was not going to happen since there was less people at the stop. who were relieved again. Just when we thought it was safe:
Some white dude: "What the eff you looking at? What you want!"
i could not see who he was yelling at but it was somebody across the street.
Some white dude: "ain't none of your effin' business what i'm going to do, b---h!"
i kept looking across the street but i checked to see if he was looking at me. but he wasn't he was looking across the street. (thought so)
Some white dude: "B---h! you betta not come over here."
suddenly i saw some lady walking across the street. she was short but wide and round. she carried a bag in one hand and her other hand was balled up into a fist. people dispersed to let her through. it was on then. i put my book away. she walked right up to him.
SOme white dude: "i told your ass to leave me alone. i told you where i was going."
The lady: "you don't have to talk to me like that. i ain't never do anything for you to talk to me like that."
Some white dude: "well. i had told you to leave me alone. you always bugging me."
The Lady: "whatever, you don't talk to me like that."
And that was that. i was like man, dude talked mad junk when the lady was like two miles away. then shut up when she got there. man, i wish i was
an official ass whipper with a state license to kick peoples asses and not get in trouble. . i would have kicked two asses that day.
"People without knowledge of their culture, drift about like corks on the ocean."
--
Timothy Callender
Big up to my man Prof Baruti for the daily quotes. he sends them all the time... that's dope. i dig that. this one is dope too
"When soldier ants scatter they are not lost."
Akan (Afrikan) Proverb
-----------------------------
Yo, someone passed me this joint that Dick Gregory said about Michael Jackson. real ill.
check it out:
Dick Gregory's Comments On Michael Jackson
http://www.globalblacknews.com/MichaelJackson.html
(here is a blurb)
Dick Gregory, activist, health guru, ex-comedian as well as advisor
to many influential people is a man who has been a mainstay in
American culture for decades. As a friend of Michael Jackson for
many years he recently offered insight to the current situation
involving Mr. Jackson and provided a perspective that has not been
evident in many media outlets.
On a radio show entitled, Make it Plain, hosted by WOL's Mark
Thompson in Washington, D.C., Dick Gregory stated in response to the
mad media frenzy and tilt toward guilt coverage, that those who
believe in Michael Jackson's guilt or innocence should first ask for
truth to be exposed. Whether it is damaging for Michael Jackson or
not, he insisted that truth is the most important aspect of this
issue.
However, Mr. Gregory does not believe that Mr. Jackson is guilty of
the charges and raised many questions concerning the events leading
up to the actions of law enforcement and consequent media coverage.
He asked why was it necessary for 40 police officers and 20 FBI
agents to raid Michael Jackson's property? More specifically, why
were FBI agents present, especially since the allegations against
Mr. Jackson are not a federal offense? He also questioned the
legitimacy of the claim of law enforcement that they did not know of
Mr. Jackson's whereabouts and the timing of the raid.
--------------------
interesting huh?
well this past weekend i got a chance to hang out with fam. it was dope. We all went to a book fair. i know its thanksgiving weekend. but fortunately for my family and i , we don't celebrate that genocidal holy day. so we went to this book expo. It was dope. i wish more people came to it though. we ran into some old friends. I got to meat this one brother who got out of jail a few years back and wrote a book. It will get published next month. it is called
Scuffler's Anonymous. It will be published by Iuniverse. I will cop it. He will be approaching the local paper to write a story on him . he said if they can write a negative story on him, they should be able to write a positive one. Ase to that brother! we got your back.
it was an inspiring event. i will start writing or continue to write my fiction. so stay tuned. i know i have been holding out.
BUt i do wish more people came. It would have been dope. it was at the marriot downtown in Norfolk.
-----------------------
Man, my son is a straight warrior. he is living up to his name. only 7 weeks old and moving around like he is ready to tackle someone. i am loving it ! He is a funny guy man. like his sister who is hilarious. I miss X-man for real. for real...
watch out for all of them...
I also miss NYC. not for the weather but for the events. in the winter things get locked down in Hampton Roads. heads don't want to do anything. But somehow through it all , we manage to stay busy.
------------------
This is too funny:
Bullet Wounds KKK Initiation Participant
Participant at Ku Klux Klan Initiation Ceremony Is Wounded After Shots
Are Fired Into Sky
The Associated Press
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. Nov. 24 — A bullet fired in the air during a Ku Klux
Klan initiation ceremony came down and struck a participant in the head,
critically injuring him, authorities said.
Gregory Allen Freeman, 45, was charged with aggravated assault and
reckless endangerment in the Saturday night incident that wounded
Jeffery S. Murr, 24.
About 10 people, including two children, had gathered for the ceremony.
The man who was being initiated was blindfolded, tied with a noose to a
tree and shot with paintball guns as Freeman fired a pistol in the air
to provide the sound of real gunfire, Sheriff Fred Phillips said.
---------------------------------------
