George's blog

Kwanzaa '06: Kuumba

(cross-posted at ALLABOUTGEORGE.com)

Creativity. It's like Butterfly FX says:

Take time to be creative whether in the kitchen, with a music score, the brush, the clippers, the microphone, the computer, with your happy feet, your hands, your vocal chords or guitar chords. We have a creativity that can teach and heal.

That'll work. As will Sassy Redbone:

This day is one of my favorites because it challenge us to do something that we as black folks have done all too well. Make something out of nothing... No I am not talking drama... I am talking the energy it takes to retrieve scraps from master and make a meal. The energy that inspired Grandma to take torn material and make it into a quilt. The energy that it takes to turn pain into poetry. The Energy that is takes to turn a blank canvas into a masterpiece...

CRE-A-TIVITY!

It is a beautiful thing. It is what keeps us going from day to day - it is what stretches out a paycheck to the next pay period. We are all creative in our own ways. Kwanzaa asks us to use our creative energy. They ask us to use our creativity to help our community - but I want to ask you to use your creativity to help your self... We all have our 9 - 5 jobs that we work every day. These are cool they keep the bills paid and life comfortable for most. But is that all we want??? I want to challenge you to extend yourself... Think about the lady that put puppets in front of a camera and played Bach and Mozart in the background, she initially made it for her own children. Baby Bach is now a multi-million dollar corporation. We all have that little fire inside of us that can be made into Kuumba... It might not be our place in the universe to make over a million dollars however what we create today may help others in the future...

That applies over all formats. Check out J.R. Richard's Mandrake Society Radio podcast with special guest Melanie Morgan for more. I had the pleasure of meeting J.R. at SXSW Interactive and Melanie at BlogHer.

Kwanzaa '06: Nia

(cross-posted at ALLABOUTGEORGE.com)

Purpose. It ain't all about a great Blackalicious album, neither. ;-)

Nia (+ Bonus Tracks)

Blackalicious

Jasmyne Cannick's got the definition and Black My Story and Deep Brown Girl at Just Sista Things (1, 2) weigh in briefly, but Linda takes a more personal and reflective tack on it. That makes me think about personal purpose vs. a community-focused purpose. Sometimes I think I have more community than I know what to do with. Sometimes I wonder what good I can do as well as what resolve the doable good will require.

Kwanzaa '06: Ujamaa

(cross-posted from ALLABOUTGEORGE.com)

Cooperative economics, right? Soulsearching's got the definition and DarkStar takes it on further. My thought? What does that mean in an attention economy where some small amount of, well, somebody's dollars can hinge on whether you click on this-here link to take you to that-there Web site or blog?

If attention is money, I'm'a always put a dollar in Planet Grenada's cap. (Go visit and wish proprietor Abdul-Halim a  Happy Eid.) He points to Garvey's Ghost's "Thoughts on Kwanzaa 2006," wherein Sondjata asks:

So if people can go through Kwanzaa and learn nothing of Pan-Africanism or of African culture of the continent or the Diaspora, then really, what is the point?

All I can say is that we who celebrate it or are aware of it and think it has meaning or utility have to do the heavy lifting. There are lots of Christians out there, and even they have a tough time cracking a Bible and getting to church on the regular. It's hard out there for a believer.

Kwanzaa '06: Ujima

Collective work and responsibility means looking out for each other. We don't do that, what's the point?

What it means to Eric V. Copage:

[...] It means listening to one another. It means being part of the brainstorming for a solution. If a black friend is looking for a job, it means going through our Rolodex for business contacts. If a black friend has a health problem, it means recommending a trusted doctor, or a book that might offer a remedy, without being asked. We are only droplets in the ocean of life, only vapor in the sky, but through our collective actions our community will be renewed. On this third day of Kwanzaa, Ujima, I pledge to give the gifts of nourishment and support by suggesting a solution--without being asked--when I notice someone in our community who has a problem. [...]

And to Africa Adoption Blog:

[...] I saw this principle in action in Rwanda this past June. Once every 4 weeks, the entire nation takes a Saturday to do community good. This could be cleaning the sidewalks, picking up trash, fixing a communal building, painting or something that benefits the entire community. We asked what happened if a family only wanted to clean in front of their own home, for example, and were told that while no one would physically force them to participate, it would definitely be frowned upon. What a remarkable concept! Can you imagine the force for good we would have here in the United States if every family participated in a community-building project every single month? Wow. I love it! [...]

And I liked finding Graphictruth today:

[...] Any time any group of people wants to get together and collectively improve themselves, to earn respect from others and (often much harder) improve their own self-respect, I'm all for people "gettin' above themselves." It's generally not all that hard, either, considering the sort of folks that set that bar. [...]

American aquarium drinkin'

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Vox Hunt: A Favorite Song from '06

Audio:  Share one of your favorite songs from 2006.

01 Something Isn't Right

Herbert

Pitchfork: There was a track written about on Pitchfork recently, "Something Isn't Right", the first track on Scale, and the writer, Mark Pytlik, said that you could tell in a few moments it was a Herbert track. And I think that's true; despite how different your records sound from each other, there is something there, a thread through them. I know that at various times you've talked about music as a way of getting away from ego, but I do feel like there is something you can't get away from. I'm not sure exactly what it is; to me it seems like a rhythmic sensibility that informs your work, a swing that sound like Herbert. Are you aware that a part of yourself is in there, regardless of the materials you're working with?

MH: I'm not. I'm really not. I know I have patterns and I've always tried hard to avoid them. There are definitely certain things in my music, if I'm looking back, "Well, that was a period where I was experimenting with a certain kind of chord structure or a certain kind of sound." I've tried really hard, but I'd be hard pressed to tell you what that sound, what that tangible sound of "me" is. I think rhythm is, when you talk about rhythmic sensibility, quite perceptive in that I like to have at least one thing that is at least common or familiar to the audience. Other than rhythm, the only thing I could say is that I take a great deal of pride in every single sound I use. I'm always making sure that I'm not using a pre-set or something that everyone else has done. I try to be original in every piece of music I do, and of course I probably fail every time.

Pitchfork: Let me ask you-- that moment in "Something Isn't Right" where he sings, "Do you re-mem-ber?" First time I heard that it reminded me of "September" by Earth Wind & Fire. I was sitting with my wife and I asked her, Do you think that's a direct reference to that song, or is it just a few notes that sound similar?

MH: There is a very slight reference there. It's a reference to the 11th of September because that's what the Earth Wind & Fire tune was called. I almost had it "Do you remember? The 11th of September?" But there was no way I could possibly put that in.

Pitchfork: So that's the kind of reference you're talking about, where you embed those kinds of things in the music.

MH: Exactly. And the record's full of them in different places. It's kind of like, trying to use every weapon in your arsenal to point people in a certain direction.

Kwanzaa '06: Kujichagulia

Self-determination is more than just a notion, according to Sassy Redbone:

Take a moment today to think on the labels that have been flung at you. Are you reinforcing them? Are you doing it because you want to or are you scared to move outside of the box??? It is uncomfortable and it is scary to move forward.

If you are reading this please take a moment to determine yourself...

Over at Something Good, o-my-goddess weighs in:

Because so much of Kwanzaa involves cooperation and unity, self determination should be looked at as making decisions that are not only good for ourselves but good for our family and the greater community. Doesn’t this sound a lot like what we try to do here at Something Good when we focus on ways that we can minimize our waste and use less resources?

Today’s suggestion is to take a few minutes to think about how you can make sure that your own behavior reflects your care and respect for the things and people around you. Perhaps you could use this opportunity to consider quitting smoking, as it has a harmful effect on both one’s own body and the physical and emotional well-being of family and friends. Maybe you want to experiment with switching from chemical to natural cleaners in order to make a healthier home for your children and a less polluted planet for all of us. By determining your own behavior, you can have a significant impact on those who rely upon you. What a wonderful way to do Something Good.

Blogging's a useful, balanced part of my own self-determination, how I get beyond things you (may think you) know about me just by looking at me toward things neither you nor I know (until we find out together).

Kwanzaa '06: Umoja

(Crossposted from ALLBOUTGEORGE.com)

About half a dozen blogs fall into a category I'd call "practical magic": Lifehacker-like advice for right speech, thought and action. I'll list them at some point, but the one that comes to mind most readily today is the indispensable So what can I do?, who last year just so happened to have kicked off the holiday with tips. Oh, and Oxford University Press has a little somethin'-somethin' for you too. And if you ain't been by Cobb in a minute, do so. Read the poem, dig the wayback-wordage and watch the Google Video.

[...] This is something I say I officially learned this year but has been a lesson a long time coming. One should always pay attention to the quality of one's enemies, which is to say one should never be so lazy as to allow those opposed to you believe lies when the truth is at your disposal. It is in this spirit that I defend Kwanzaa. It is in this spirit that I represent as a black man. I never say that what I know is something you can't understand, because it always implies that I'm either incapable or unwilling to explain. [...]

It's the eye of the [tig]er

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... it's the thrill of the hand-gesture.

Eddie Murphy's early James (hold the thunder)

Eddie Murphy - Delirious - Singers No.2

James Brown's Celebrity Hot Tub!