Black Love Rocks!

So yall know Im obsessed w/ the Sunday Times Marriage Section.

I was looking through that sh*t a coupla weeks ago and
came across and an old school homies' wedding announcement.

I BE HELLA JUICED when I see negroes up in that sh*t.

Salud. Fam!

======
======

Congress is going at Gene Upshaw regarding the
I stand by the notion that what happens to the players
matters to All of us.

Whether Congress will ultimately consider action, or whether the hearing served merely as its public relations warning to the league and union to improve a disability system that the panel depicted as drawn-out and draconian, remained unclear one day after the hearing. But three members of the committee reasserted in telephone interviews yesterday that they would consider legislation should they not see improvements to the treatment of retired players, of whom 317 received disability payments of about $63,000 apiece last year.

Health care is a human right that YOU WILL HAVE TO FIGHT
for.

Football is a violent, brutal sport. It's even more violent and more brutal when played by the biggest and best players.

The retired players should have understood that when they joined the league. They didn't. Because when you're 25 you think you're indestructible, and the future seems a long way away.

That future is now for some 10,000 former players, and it's more painful than they ever imagined. Just 317 are receiving disability payments, and most of the others believe they should be getting far more in pension pay than they do.

Its f*cking expensive and necessary.

Freedom ain't free.

I love the fact that current players don't really give a f*ck about the OG's.

Upshaw knows where his loyalties lie, even though he falls in the same group of retired players the union is so wary of giving money to. He's employed by current players, who have made it clear they are more concerned with keeping money in the fund for their future than paying it out for those who went ahead of them.

The thing about it is, the current players may one day in the future be pickled and crushed in the cranium. And who are they gonna ask for help then? The same retired
players union that they thought was irrelvent when they were active
in the league?

==========
==========

Haiti.

AND

Hip Hop.

This effect is augmented by the soundtrack, much of it by the Haitian-American hip-hop star Wyclef Jean (who appears in the film and takes an executive producer credit), and also by Mr. Leth’s slick, speedy editing.

Bily and 2Pac, who aspires to be a rapper as well as a warlord, live a gangster lifestyle that exceeds the wildest fantasies of an American hip-hop video. Their mixture of nihilism and sentimentality — the way they combine loyalty to home turf with a ruthless appetite for violence — is undoubtedly authentic. Whether they deserve to be treated as outlaw pop-culture heroes is a question Mr. Leth declines to explore.

I could think of only few other BETTER ways to spend
a Friday night.

========
========

Oh and speaking of sports.

The NBA draft is upon us and the one and done "high schooler's must sit out a year rule"
gets analyzed by

One and done” is a dramatic change from the system put in place in 1976, when the “Oscar Robertson rule” — a court settlement between the N.B.A. and its players association — removed all restrictions from the N.B.A. draft. I believe that policy should still be the case. If an 18-year-old can fight and die in the military, why can’t he pursue an N.B.A. career if he’s good enough and someone is willing to offer him a contract?

-------------Raises hand. MEME ME ME MEMEMEMEE. I have an answer. Because, a dead n*gga in Iraq is much less of a threat than a rich young n*gga in the NBA.

American sports are crazy paternal to young black men.

Think about it.

What other sports have an age pre req before one is eligble to turn pro?


Football?
Hockey?
Tennis?
Wrestling

Here is a nice tidbit that I really trip off of all at the same time,

There are hundreds of other teenage athletes who have been mistakenly led to believe they’re ready for the N.B.A. Once they enter the draft and find out they’re wrong, it’s too late: they’re not allowed to attend or return to college on an athletic scholarship.

In no other line of work is someone penalized for leaving or delaying school and returning later. Besides, college coaches — who can make millions of dollars — negotiate with other colleges, or with N.B.A. teams, all the time. They don’t forfeit their employment if they decide to stay put.

Penalized if you leave, eh?
Damned if you do. Damed if you do.

=======
=======

Given how big hip hop is around the world,
shouldn't their be more documentaries?

How many wedding invitations you got for this summer?

Is the NFL players union scandless, or just keepin' it real?

Should young bucks be able to leave high school and go to the Lakers?

========
========

Are N*ggas Really That Homophobic?

I was reading the Village Voice interview with DJ Khaled and he shouted his brothers b-day saying,

"Man, I'm feeling good," Khaled says as he goes live on Orlando's 102 Jamz. "I'm on my way to Orlando 'cause it's my brother's birthday. Mayne: Happy birthday. I love you. No homo.

I noted to myself, that was interesting. This dudes notion of masculinity
is so thin, that saying he loves his brother potentially constitutes being gay.

Hmmp.

Don't get me wrong.
I get it.

Alledging a mans homosexuality- a man who is NOT gay-
is emasculating, and IT IS a cornerstone of hip hop and American culture.

I get that being soft is a surefire ticket to beatdown city in the hood.
Soft being gay, soft being feminine. Gay being feminine.

^^^^I think I covered enough cultural/sexual landminds?!?!?!?!!?

So I went to Dallas Pens house tonight and I came across
an analysis of whether Jay Z was gay and realized, there is
something amiss here.

Why is being gay such a threat?

Now here is what I know.
Black people have been exposed to gay folks.

Black people got gay folks in they family.

Yet, there are men walking around typing/saying
no homo this or that AND GOT gay folks in they family.

I mean, we are talking the gay uncle, auntie or cousin, brother or sister.
So its not like we haven't been exposed it and that we don't know no
better.

In addition, Black men get locked up. And consequently,
there are men who identify as being hetrosexual and they
have sex with men while they are in prison.

Where do these men fit into the spectrum?

========
========

My question is why the fear?
And why the lack of discussion about it?
Why, for Black men, and men in general, the fear
of gayness?

========
========

Laffy Taffy, Tiggolo Pain and the End of Hip Hop.

The dope thing about spending long swatches of time
by yourself is that you can a.) get hella work done
b.) you feel like a freed slave once you get to go outside and play.

Ladies, gentlemen, and trannies.

Fri, Sat, Sun. I saw the sun come up.


Even tho' I been in NYC for a minute.

There is been something so, regal, delish and serenity
inspiring about BK sun rises in June.

In fact, from 2-6am, it never really gets pitch black dark.

I imagine its because these are the longest days of the year.

So.

My big sister T took me out on Saturday in her new fancy car.

I had no idea that sports cars draw n*ggas like flies t to sh*t.

Driving down Atlantic, three different sets a cats in cars tried to pop.

Its was surreal for me.
I was riding shot gun. SAWED OFF SHOT GUN HAND ON THE PUMP.

[[[[[[[[[Uh. Wiley. Lemme hold your um, Cypress Hill. That sh*t knock]]]]]]].

We finally landed at a party in Flatbush.

I heard every laffy taffy esque song.

1.LAFFY TAFFY
2. BALLIN.
3. BUY YOU A DRANK, which actually has an interesting arrangement.
4. LEAN WIT IT.
5. O THEY LIKE MY SWAG.
6. POP LOCK AND DROP IT.

Only on missing was A BAY BAY!

You know what I realized? Seeing erry body all dressed
up and beautiful and dancing.

These songs are constitute a POP RAP DANCE music.
They give black people, young and old, an opportunity to kick
it in they back yard function, or at a club and dance some
worries away. I ain't mad at that.

It is rap music. It is a certain category.
But IT IS rap music.

I mean that bass line in Pop Lock and Drop It is kidney
shaking.

I like the video too.

5 Reason's Why The Vid is Fresh.
1.] IT actually has a Concept and errie death like Line.
2.] The WOMEN ARE NOT AIRBRUSHED. They look like gurls on the
train. THEY ARE the gurls from the train. LOL.
3.] It is VIXEN free.
4.] The Free "Shonta, Monte...." T-Shirts. LOVE HIP HOP SUBVERSIVENESS.
5. @ 3:26secs. I haven't seen such delish Zombie coordination since Thriller.

It reminds me of Juveniles, Huh? jawn.


[[[[[[[ I needs to put that jawn on my run easy mixxxx]]]]]

Dope thing about the mid west, and the south, is the landscape, housing and architecture itself becomes a character in the video.

All those wide shots panning houses, streets and alleys.

I went from Extra P to Tiggalo P.

All in the same day.

NICE!!


=========
=========

From Sean P to Tiggalo Pain.
Sounds like a Bad VH1 IDEA for a Hip Hop show.

=========
=========

The Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival is B-Girl Heaven.

When I went to sleep on Saturday morning,
at 7:13am, I did not have a ticket to the
Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival.

By 12:30 pm. I did. THANK YOU JASE.

You ever go to a function and the energy just crackles.


Like YOU KNOW you are about to have the time of your life.

Thats how it went down.

I gets there.

Firmly plants my @ss up front.

I wanna be so close to the speaker
that when they play the Bridge is Over,
I feel my kidneys jiggle.


Couple people I ran into were like, you here by yourself?

I was like, Yessir.

A few weeks ago, Your boy the liberterian introduced
me to classmates parent and described me as someone
who has , " a 5 foot party periphery around her at all times."
At first I thought he was being funny. Then I realized that sh*t was true.

Dolo ain't a problem.
I mean its a HH festival in BK. I ain't alone!



Without further adieu, I present to you, my BK HH Festival Rundown.

THE CROWD
The crowd was like democracy on crack.
White Folks. Babies. Old school Bronx b-boys.
Young bucks w/ tribe t.shirts.
Fly ladies.
Frat Boys.
Mexicano's.
Filipinos.
Negros.

Just straight LOVE.

In fact in observing the crowd, I began to wonder if
is the unifying nature of Hip Hop why Pac is dead.

I can't think of any other thing could bring
this mixture of people together.

THE ARTISTS.
TANYA MORGAN
These cats were on stage when I arrived.

They are some charismatic, Hip Hop loving dudes.

I MEAN.

EMCEES, who are HAPPY to be rapping.

They have an exciting stage presence.

The BEATS KNOCK. HOOOOOOOWWWWRD.

Peep SITTIN AT THE BAR. It go <------as the hyphy kids say it. SH*T is life affirming.

In fact. Their energy reminds me of Pharcyde.

EMILY KING
This jawn has some pipes.

Her voice is like teena marie's lil
b-girl sister.

Fly style. Check.

Plays guitar. Check.

Crazy B-girl swag. Double check.

Emily is a winner.

Buy her music.

EXTRA P.
So old boy is in my lane. I have an affinity for
the horn rimmed, malcom X glass wearing cats.



His set was short. Yet perfect.

The Bug out, is that he had salt and pepper in his beard.
Awwwwish.

Grown Man Emcee!

And I think his daughter was on stage. Posted up, taking
pictures. Awishhh. Hip hop. A family affair.

THE EL-MICHAELS AFFAIR
These cats BLEW MY MIND.
Their music is like Fela meets Tower of Power.
I.
Kid.
You.
Not.

My favorite part of their set was "Guess the Wu Tang beat".

They played WU instrumentals, LIVE.

DUDE.

The moments after they played the tune,
you could see almost feel hip hop brain waves
rippling through the crowd
trying to figure out, WHAT BEAT IS THIS?

After the first 10 or 20 seconds, we would figure out
and folks would shout out OOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH's.
That sh*t was like church.

SKILLS
Skills is a rappers rapper.
A performers performer.

I been new about him.

BUT.

To witness him is another experience.

You know what it is?


HE IS AN ENTERTAINER.

And smart as sh*t.
I mean. It has been so long that \
an emcees rhymes were so fly that
I just wanted to be their friend.

"i feel that hip hop if it isnt careful will
maybe go the same route that jazz music went..after a while the people
wont care...they wont support it or come see it... Same shit...different music"

Artist do that. You know?

He engages with the crowd.

He's comical.

Works the stage.

Asks for and expects crowd participation.

I would actually PAY to go see him.

Like somma that outta pocket 2007 Hip Hop show
in Manhattan ticket prices.

Feel me?

JERU
Ol' boy stopped by and did the water song.

He wasn't even on the line up. Just popped by.

MAN. LISSEN.

Can you imagine. Sunny day.
Brezzy.

74 degrees. Perfect periwinkle blue sky.

And hearing the little,

Bloomp, Bloomp, Bloomp, Bloomp... You wanna buck whhhhat?

Buck Shot popped by and did "I gotchu opin."

He wasn't scheduled either.

Dres did a Fever for the Flavor,
and some new songs.

By this time it was 5 something.

Ghost was scheduled for 7.

I had been standing up for about 3.5 hours and wanted
to go get some carbs and a nap and come back.

My boy Jase was like,

"Ghost isn't coming on till 9."

I was like word.

I thought about it.

DRES was on stage performing his new sh*t.

I was like. Ummm. Laters on these.

M.Dot was ty-yerd.

So I bounced.

So im sitting in the middle of lemonade refill,
a twenty minute walk away from the festival
and I get a text from Jase,

"Ghost is performing".

Dude. It was 7:41. I was piiiiissssssed.

But.

I kept it moving.

I went home.

Got dressed and got scooped by my
gurl, and went to ,Jamaica Flatbush
and then to a party in Fort Greene where I danced
so hard my feet were 'bout to declare mutiny.

So.

In hindsight.

I missed Ghost.

But I got Extra P.

So Im happy.

========
========

Did you go to the festival?

If you could choose the line up,
who would you add?

=========
=========

New York Times Speculates on Surge of Oakland Murders

You and I both know.

It get hot.

Somebody dying in Oakland this weekend.

Thats how it is. Thats how it's allways gonna be.

The Times devoted 2 pages to assessing why so many cats
are getting murked in the 'Town.

I almost was going to type the headline:
"Hip Hop Responsible for
Increase in Oakland Murders".

Then I decided not to.

Ironically, while I am reading the article and simultanously preparing this post,
I get to this on the second page.

Respect for traditional social norms was on the decline, Mr. Patterson said, in the face of a growing hip-hop culture that puts an emphasis on street credibility for respect.

The COMEDY is that it took the author, 17 short paragraphs, and
the 2nd of two pages to get to THE quote that blames Hip
Hop.

The shootings are part of a cresting wave of violence in Oakland, which recorded 148 homicides in 2006, a 57 percent increase over 2005 and the highest number in 11 years. As of last week, 43 people had been killed in 2007, fewer than the 60 killed over the same period last year, but still far short of a turnaround.

My first question is how many n*ggas gotta day for the government to realize that
this is a statewide emergency.

You know whats gonna have to happen. Will a series of white
Oaklander's have to die in order for the politicans, police
and the government to grasp the seriousness of the
situation?

Murders have an materially adverse affect on city life.

1. Investigating murders take diverts police from investigating other crimes.
2. Murders impact the quality of life of the neighborhoods, of the working folks,
of the victims families.
3. Young bucks coming up seeing so many people they love die young, get desensitized to murder at a young age.
3. It affects business owners perception of Oakland as a place to avoid investing in.

Here is a voice that I would like to hear from. Dr. Javid Sadjadi, of Highland Hospital:

Dr. Javid Sadjadi, an emergency room doctor at Highland Hospital, Oakland’s main public trauma center, said doctors there treated 425 shooting victims last year, some of them several times.

“We’re starting to see the same people getting shot several times in several different incidents,” Dr. Sadjadi said, recounting a 14-year-old shooting victim who died recently after being admitted to the hospital, his third admission for having been shot.

Dr. Sadjadi recalled one day last summer when the hospital treated more than 10 victims of shootings.

Peep.

The Good old prison explanation,

Possible explanations include large numbers of violent parolees returning from prison, increasing gang violence, the availability of guns, a growing methamphetamine trade and police recruitment shortfalls. But some of those factors also exist in San Francisco and San Jose, which has a comparable number of parolees and, arguably, a larger and longer-standing gang problem than Oakland.

The town has something both cultural and voilatile.

There is a wild wild west, F*ck the Police, I am going to handle it my way
attitude in 'The Town.

And UNTIL the Police, Policy makers and Educators
UNDER STAND THAT GRISTLE these murders ARE only gonna get worse.

The variable and somewhat mysterious homicide rates in the Bay Area mirror a national pattern in crime data for 2006 released earlier this month by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The data show killings increased significantly in some cities, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington, and decreased in others, including Dallas, Los Angeles and Miami, with no definitive explanation for the difference

Reading articles like this give me survivors guilt like a mug.

Here I am tripping off working strategizing to work for
a Judge, the SEC or Target, NEXT SUMMER and being
angry at myself for not better planning THIS SUMMER
(cake is wobbely 'yall) and in the mean time, my people are dying.

God really knows how to put sh*t in perspective for you.

===========
===========

Why do you think so many cats are getting murked inna 'Town?

==========
==========

Hip Hop Don't Luv the Kids.

This is the kinda song, I would wanna watch and enjoy,
but it should be for black eyes only on
BET:The Ignorant Hour.

There is something about the video that I find entertaining,
but at the same time I don't want the world to see. Like
that family reunion video you break out on Thanksgiving night
after all the long distant relatives have went to sleep or home.

Sometimes I wanna keep the
guilty pleasures/ negro dirty laundry tiiuuuuyt.

Its not the kinda song I would want my boss to catch
me bumping in my office. But then most the sh*t
I rep I can't bump around peers or a boss.

See Beware over at Gotty's house posted on A, Bay Bay,
and how THE VIDEO makes people like it and I agree.

I like it too.

I don't get all high brow, like f*ck laffy taffy and what not.

My issue is with the baby at the begining.

You think its harmless right?

I say no.

It reminds me of how many of us got lil, cousins,
nieces and nephews, bro's and sisters,
and they know ALL the lyrics to every f-cking 106 and
Park video but cannot write a legible, coherent paragraph.

Smell me?

Seeing as "Ah Bay Bay" is something you say in the
club, I was reminded of this girls organization that has teenage
girls going around Brooklyn this summer to raise awareness
around women getting harassed in the street. Chloe Hilliard has
an article in this weeks Voice about the organization, she reports:

The girls say that besides words, the men sometimes throw whatever they can get their hands on: cans, glass bottles, garbage cans. In Latosha's case, it was a brick. "I was walking with some friends and this guy tired to talk to us," said Belton, 17. "We didn't respond and just when we got a few feet away, a brick comes flying over our heads."

All of them agree that they get the worst treatment on Brooklyn's busiest streets, like Fulton Street, where their offices are located.

Joanne Smith is the founder of the volunteer-run youth development organization, Girls for Gender Equity. Their main goal is to provide young girls and women with skills and self-esteem to succeed. "The reality of street harassment has to be a conversation," Smith says. "I'm Haitian and where we are based there is a large West Indian community. In this culture there are no words to explain what sexual harassment is and why it's wrong."

Walking down the street.

'Specially in the summer time you can get anything from:

1. "Excuse me Miss."

2. "Hey Princess." Pronounced Pa-Ren-Cess.

3. Or my favorite. "Slim, Slim, Slim."<<---Like n*ggas
is cheering me in a race.

4. Hey Gorgeous.
I was in Bedstuy walkin' to Dekka's last week to Watch ALL THE SOPRANO's in
in ONE sitting<<<---A beast.

And a jawn was like, "Ma, your beautiful" and there was a level
of sincerity and reverence in his voice that was flattering.

But. Those instances are far and few inbetween.

They be more like:

"Psst. Pssst. Psssst."

"God Bless you Ma."

"Can I have some of that?" <<<----If I happen to be enjoying a coldstone.

Today is the furst day of summer and the solstice.

THE LONGEST DAY OF THE YEAR.

ENJOY
=========
=========
I need to call this week, "In the Gristle" because between
that Chicken and Steak post, Pac piece,
the Feminist Vixen piece<<<---thats kinda hot lol,
this post, I BEEN in the Gristle on mine.

Smell me?

========
========

Mets vs. A's

MY METS PLAYING MY A's this weekend. Why come nobody rents
a big ass-d screen so we can watch the game at a park?

Prolly violates MLB broadcasting laws.

Maybe I should just try and get TIX.

LOL.

Are there any Met's Season
ticket holders who wanna be nice to m.dot? :)

hummingbyrd89@aol.com

========
========

A's baseball is de.licious.

=========
=========

Strippers, Video Vixens and Black Feminists

Jeff "Im saving and egg for him" Chang has a blog post up
about Women and Hip Hop.

The posts cites an article by Matt Birkhold on the 2005
Feminism and Hip Hop Conference. Matt notes that:

Melyssa Ford argued that there wasn't a problem with
her portrayal in videos because she was in control of
her image. Terrero stressed that women were portrayed
in videos in a manner that guaranteed profit for both the
director and the label.

Melyssa's argument is dangerous:
1.) Because it does not take into consideration who Melyssa
represents, and whether or not the people that she represents
HAVE POWER.

2.) If she, in fact, has so much control OVER how her image is
used, could she CHOOSE to appear in rap videos Fully Clothed?

NEGATORY!

Her value lies in displaying the skin and the curves. And the
moment she decides that she won't show it someone else
hungrier will come along and do it, for less CAKE to boot.

Some time the crack game remind me of the rap game.

Now M.dot is no prude. <<she greasy. We know that sex sells,
especially in a culture that has a schiozphrenic attitude
towards female sexuality.

However, just how I watch the D' Boy's turned
rappers try and explain away their accountability.
Im peeping the Vixens too and analyzing
how they deal with being asked, "What do you think
of your image?"

Smell me?

Terrero's "sex sells" position was interrogated during the question-and-answer period, when Tricia Rose asked
panel participants, "If having the Klan come through your
video and lynch black folks is going to make you money,
are you going to do it?" Terrero responded "No."
Rose followed up by saying, "We have drawn a line with race.
When will we draw a line in regards to gender?" Terrero
responded evasively (and elicited applause) by saying
that if education were better, viewers would be equipped
to make informed viewing choices and women dancing in
videos would peruse other options.

Jeff goes on to argue that:

Terrero's response is problematic because it indicates
an unwillingness to take responsibility for the sexist
images he creates which are then
televised around the country to a
market that awaits subhuman,
hypersexual images of black women.

This is why Jeff is that Dude. As with his Imus/50 analysis,
Jeff argues that you cannot analyze Black Male VIOLENCE
in rap music/pop culture, and I add for that matter, Black female
SEXUALITY in Rap music/pop culture without mentioning:

a.) The sterotypes that are being perpetuated.
b.) Whose interests, moral and/or financial, are being served
by said stereotypes.
c.) Whose pockets are caked up as a result the
SELLING & CONSUMPTION of said VIOLENCE and SEXUALITY.

==========
==========

In other stripper news, Mark Kriegel over at Fox Sports
gets The Two-Fer in with the headline:

"On the Mark: The Strip Club Epidemic"
First it was cocaine. Then it was steroids. Now it's
clear that America's ballplayers have fallen victim to
another insidious epidemic. Contrary to the theory that
athletes don't like playing on artificial surfaces,
strippers have become the drug of choice for the sporting set.

This sh*t is so goddamn racist I don't know where to begin.
Let me just start by making a list of inferences. Based on the
title there are two inferences the reader is suppose to make.

Inference #1= That women who strip are an insidious epidemic.
a. insidious =
[1.] Intended to entrap or beguile: an insidious plan.
[2.] Stealthily treacherous or deceitful: an insiduous enemy.
[3.] Operating or proceeding in an inconspicious or seeminly
harmless way but actually with grave effect: an insidious disease.

b. epidemic
[1] Affecting many persons at the same time, and spreading
from person to person in a locality where the disease is not permanently prevalent.

Inference #2= That strippers are SO F*cking seducitve and
powerful, that the men can't use ANY of their faculties to
resist them. The poor helpless things. Awwwish.

Honestly. Mark sounds like a hater who ain't had that good good
since Michael had a hit.

Feel me?

Which brings me to Strippers, Video Vixens and Power. In
looking for a clever way to close this post, I found this article,
by a mother who read AND ANALYZED Confessions of a VV.

Hearing about this woman and her legacy I could not
help but be captivated. Not in the Ugly Bettysense, but
in the way that we women secretly "envy these type" of women.
We don't necessarily want to be them, we just want to
learn their secrets of manipulation and control over
men....especifically the powerful men to get what they
want. We secretly crave their POWER while trying to
balance that good girl role.

"We secretly crave their power while trying to balance the
good girl role." I would take it step further and say, that we
want the power, but down want to be seen as a slut as we
try and get it. <<<<Im going for the gristle this week.

AND.
Women Vixen-esque women are resented by both MEN
and WOMAN for the impact that their sexuality has ON MEN.

The author goes on to state,

"as mother of a 'tween daughter and young son,
I find myself constantly in a battle with the Video
Vixen. In my daily battle against peer pressure,
media images and societal rules, I am constantly
searching for ways to make sure that my daughter
and son do not define themselves by the seeming
"success" and over sexualized message created
by the Video Vixen."

I started looking for vixen footage for this post.

I sucked into you tube.

I found this.

--AND.--

--I.--

--WAS.--

***DEAD.*** eyes. rolled in the back
of my head.

Yall it's like simulated sex as a spectator sport.
Maybe there is more to this vixen sh*t than WE ALL KNEW.

I am going to give THIS VIDEO its OWN POST tomorrow.

========
========

What would hip hop do w/o Strippers and Vixens?

=======
=======

The Realest Sh*t I Ever Wrote

Dear Pac,

I miss you.



Its not just you per se.

But just a dude, who like me, speaks straight from the hip.

A cat who has a spine, conviction and that "oooo we" language game.

A public cat w/ this kind of persona.

You would have been 36 last Saturday.

Its like, as I get older, I realize how much of a privilage it is
to a.) be around people who are shoot from the hip and speak from their
hearts b.) actually be AROUND PEOPLE that you can trust.

Speaking of trusting you.
I have always had trouble w/your rape case stance.
I know that prosecutors/lawyers go for the deepest pockets and the
biggest names.
However, you rationale that you couldn't say sh-t about your boys
assualting her, other wise n*ggas would thought that you were
treating her Like your gurl.
Thats THE easy out and you know it. You got sisters and a momma.
So I KNOW you KNOW BETTER.
Im a feminist Pac. I had to speak on it.

Can you believe that:
1. Nas and J are on the same team?
2. People believed the Bin Laden Iraq connection?
3. The Bay still ain't blew yet?
4. "They" still don't know who murked you?
5. Snoop gets so much Mainstream Middle America/Corporate Love?
Mr. Gin and Juice. Eh?
6. That Black people ain't rioting over Katrina?
7. That N*ggas are STILL CAKIN' off your death.

I could only imagine what you would have accomplished
had you survived.

More movies?
Hip Hop Theater?
More gun cases?
Married and procreated little beautiful youngins w/ Kidada?

Who knows?

What I do know is that your eyes and conviction are a lethal combination.

I look for those eyes and conviction in other people.

I look into my own eyes, and I actively cultivate my conviction.

At the end of the day.

What more can we ask for?

In serenity,

~m.dot.

One Mans Chicken is Another Mans Steak *EDIT*

God is gettin in my @ss yall.

Thursday. BL e-mailed me about my post.

AND.

Yesterday I RAN into The Graduate.[<-----Got deaded in this post]

I was like what the F-ck? IS TL 'gon pop his CAMUS
pronouncing foune @ss up. [HE got deaded in THIS post].

Prolly not, because HE SHOULD be in bar study :)

On top of that, a new jawn, is creepin' on the creep up come up.

BLOGS ARE WORDS TOO.
You see, BL never read my blog when we were together,
who KNEW that he read it now?

However, The e-mail he sent was, er, reasonable.

But there was one line that had me like this N*GGUH? HUNH?

Secondly, I sent you that email about the Hip Hop thing in an effort to perhaps initiate some contact again without it being a large production you know?

I immediatly thought, oh, so contacting a b*tch gotta be a large production? Can't just send a email saying,

"what up m, its been a hot minute. Just checkin' for you. Have no mal intent. We bound to run into each other, just trynna see how your summer poppin' off."

Easy.

As y'all know. I am one direct @ss black gurl.
In fact, in my dream last night, I was at a training at the SEC, in a small group session, and I was trying to get a word in, and this white dude kept interrupting me and the team leader let him do it. I turned into east oakland black gurl, and EVENTUALLY got my point across. Its was like, DAMMM, I gotta DO all 'LIS, to participate!

But. I digress.

So. I began thinking about how he could perceive recconecting w/ me as being a large production.

And, hey, everyone is entitled to their perceptions. NO?

And I thought about another situation earlier this week.

ITS HARD TO ASK FOR HELP
See, I was in a pinch, and I needed some help so I called the pet detective.

Now ol boy, man, I been trying bag for a hot minute. He's that DUDE. So he's doing his own thing. Not really pressed.
But.
He allways takes my calls, even if its to say "lemme hit you back in 15".
And. He knows I hate asking for help. So, in the midst of asking, he was like, hole' up, lemme you send you this text which read,

"If I accept you as you are, I will make you worse; however if I treat you as though you are what you are capable of becoming, I help you become that"

Thats that trill. Like damn. Ol' boy is a f*cking rydah.

So just thinking about the contrast between reconnection consitituting a"whole production" vs the "let me treat you as though you are what you are capable of becoming". The distinction is not lost on me.

Which brings me to The Graduate.

THE GRADUATE REAPPEARS
Yesterday Im minding my own business. Doing ME.
At Barnes and Noble. Waiting for my date.

Im in mid convo w/ this random cat, breaking down John McWorter, and out the side of my eye, I peep, brown skin and broad shoulders and swag, b*tches, swag.

And I look up and, INSTANTLY SMILE, Hi [Insert Nickname here].

So I finish my McWhorter convo, kept it moving and The Grad comes back.

He has a book in his hands. Says it was a gift.
It is a book that he is clearly buying for a woman.
The kind of book that you buy for a woman that you adore.

Thank GAWD I was cayute yesterday.
Jeans wuz tiiiyuuut. <<<--Keeps it tiiiyut. Blouse was billowey, pink and transparent<<<<--NICE! We caught up a lil bit. PEEP THIS. I stood tall. DID not give 'em the new number! So. It went okay. Was my furst time experiencing something like that in a hot minute. Dude. Did I mention that he had the nerve to be bumping
Tribe in the pod? God he fly!

All in all, I think I made it through that
interaction w/ my dignity intact.

Speaking of acting w/ dignity, lemme speak on your
boy SJ.

ONE MANS CHICKEN IS ANOTHER MANS STEAK
So. You ever be cool with somebody. Y'all talk on the phone?

There is a subcurrent of sexy tension there, but you don't pay it no mind.

Then they say something to you that clearly indicates that they are interested, like,

"Well, I didn't mean it like that, if it means that it would push you away from me"?

***Cues Bonita Appleum in my head ****.

I looked at the phone, like, I think this n*gga like me?
Here WE go.

Here is the rub. Old boy is heavy into jesus. I mean, my nick name
for 'em is Sweet Jesus, *wink nod wink*.

He KNOW im greasy. In fact one of my jokes is that if I walk
into a church, the altar would catch on fire.

However, several of my core principals, according to him,
are very Christian-like. I personally think they
are Buddhist, but tomatoTO-MAH-toe.

And I have allways had love for Jesus on the strength.
So we shall see how me and SJ turns out.

As for SJ, he's a stand up dude, he love Black
people, which is one of my biggest pre-reqs
along w/ being a b-boy and/or b-girl friendly.

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Thats a lot of personal business in one post.
But sh*t.
Yall been here for the last 6 months of M.dot's trials and tribs,
can't start skimpin' now. LOL.

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I Analyze Where I Rest My Eye's.

Toni Morrison told me whenever I write, think of my audience.

Well she ain't never said it to me directly. But she said it.

I thought of these words when I read Bill Maxwell's account of teaching at Stillman college, an HBCU. My muse, texas truth, sent this article to me.

And I have felt a few ways about it. You know. A Black teacher talking about
Black students, is bound to trigger some emotions. Smell me?

I think of this when I read John McWorter and friends.
More about John later.

I present to you The Good, The Bad and The Scandless.

The Good
He believes in HBCU's.
He found the tenacity of the students inspiring.

The Bad
Some of the students look kinda trill.

I became apprehensive when I noticed about a dozen male students wearing baggy pants, oversized white T-shirts, expensive sneakers and assorted bling standing around shooting the breeze. At least two had "jailhouse tats" on their arms, crude tattoos suggesting that these young men had spent time behind bars. They carried no books or anything else to indicate they were on a college campus.

Before the 1964 Civil Rights Act, these schools were the ticket to the good life for blacks. But integration gradually siphoned off many of their best kids, and HBCUs now enroll just 12 percent of all black college students.

Students REFUSED to buy the books.

Unlike the majority of my students at Stillman, though, I was an avid reader. Even at age 13, I knew that I wanted be a writer. I was determined to learn my first day at Wiley, which I attended from 1963 to 1965

The Scandless.

The room was noisy, and two who had been in front of King Hall were horsing around. I put my books on the table and raised an arm for silence. When only a few students paid attention I raised my arm again, and this time I yelled.

"All right, knock it off! Take your seats and be quiet!"

I could not believe that I had to yell for college students to behave in a classroom. This is not going to be a good experience, I thought, unfolding the roster and preparing to call the roll. When I could not pronounce the second name on the list, I knew for sure I was in big trouble. As I fumbled with the strange combinations of alphabets and apostrophes, the class roared.

Cats got jealous of his cake.

By the beginning of my second year, I would find myself alienated from most of the senior administrators and most of the longtime staff members who were responsible for the day-to-day operations of the institution.

My alienation, a colleague told me, was the result of a disease found at most HBCUs: professional jealousy. The college president hired me as the "scholar in residence" on a 10-month contract for a modest salary. Some professors resented the arrangement because they had been there for several years and were earning the same or less.

The Disheartening

At 20 minutes past the hour, a white colleague peeked in and saw me in the otherwise empty room.

"You must've had a serious assignment due?" he said.

We had a big laugh. But it was a painful laugh.

"It's the Stillman way, " he said. "A lot of these kids won't attend class, and, when they do, they walk in late. They're on CPT (Colored People's Time)."

Although I laughed with my colleague, I was ashamed that a white person so easily joked about CPT.

"They don't have intellectual curiosity, " I said. "We weren't like that at Wiley or Bethune-Cookman."

Intellectual curiosity is cultivated from ages 0 months to 5 years.

By the time you get to the kids at 17,18, 19 years old, they are who they are by then.

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It is one thing to be pretty. Its whole nother thang to catch a jawn cuz he think you smart. It is ONE OF THE most affirming feelings ever.

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Just Ask M.dot.

I know 'lil bit about a few different topics.

So.

Ask me. And I will answer. Topics Including:

Hip Hop.

Black Women.

Women in general.

How to muster up courage in the face of insurmountable odds.

Billion Dollar Mergers.

Running.

Oakland.

Feminists.

You can aim me too. humminbyrd89.

You may even have something on your mind.

Let it out.

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This is a new experiement.

Hope its a gooden.

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Viagra vs. Abortion

So let me get this straight.

Erectile dysfunction. OK. Viagra AND Cialis. OK.

Birth Control. OK. The Patch.OK.

But no abortion.

Thats a crazy @ssed double standard.

Last week, I posted a fews times about on Knocked Up. One of the things that Jonzeey and I noticed was how clumsily Apatow treated abortion.

The NY times noticed also.

Though conservatives regularly accuse Hollywood of being overly liberal on social issues, abortion rarely comes up in film. Real-life women struggling with unwanted pregnancies might consider an abortion, have intense discussions with partners and friends about it and, in most cases, go through with it. But historically and to this day in television and film — historians, writers and those in the movie industry say — a character in such straits usually conveniently miscarries or decides to keep the baby.

“The industry as a whole is getting to be more public-friendly,” said Brian Dyak, president and chief executive of the Entertainment Industries Council, an organization formed by leaders in the industry to try to ensure the accurate portrayal of health and social issues on screen. “That’s driven by the cost of the movies and the international release. Abortion is not big box office material.”

But an executive with a Hollywood film production company who spoke on condition of anonymity, unauthorized to speak for the company, noted that the film industry has other tough questions to worry about aside from commercial considerations.

“At a time when women’s reproductive freedom is under attack in the courts, why wouldn’t it come up as part of the conversation?” the executive said. “Are you making a statement by assiduously avoiding the discussion?”

Some on the anti-abortion side seem to think so. Many conservative bloggers have claimed “Knocked Up” as an anti-choice movie, in part because the movie never presents abortion as a serious option.

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In other controversial News. Lets go see this play, titled, " Nigga, Wetback,Chink" I kid you not.

"So why create a play guaranteed to offend all along the racial spectrum? “It’s not the words that are painful, it’s the racism behind them,” said Mr. Axibal, a 25-year-old of Philippine origin,.........."

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Nigga Wetback Chink.

Godblessameruurca.

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