Trying to Understand Shamrock Socks in February 2012

I have no love for Valentine’s day. In this case, I mean I do not have any guy I’m going to be snuggling up to come February 14th. I am okay with that reality. At peace with the world. Tra, lah, trah, lah.

Okay, not not really.

It is Black History Month aka African American History and Heritage Month. The flag waving permissible issms are at a all time high and show no sign of dipping below the legal legal of sanity. The only grace I can take hold of is the the debates for the Republican contenders for the White House are taking the month off.

For the record, I am not associating the GOP contenders with Target.  The fact that the GOP contenders have tried to make people that look like me targets for their bile is beside the point.

And I do have one.

I was in Target. Target has black hair care products that I generally have to ride a bus three hours to get to a store that has the same stuff at a huge mark-up. I can get it $15 cheaper at Target.

Target has food, mostly processed food but the one near me has some fresh items. Target has clothes that fit potions of my body in a price range I can afford.

They have Valentine’s day stuff that is just about to go to half price. They have St. Patrick socks. Well, socks that have shamrocks on them.

I know what they don’t have. A decent affordable stand alone .mp3 player. A topic for another time. They also don’t have anything about celebrating African American History or Heritage Month. 

There are no banners. No placards. No streamers.  Not a balloon. Not fond of balloons anyway so that could be a plus.

I’m looking at those St. Patrick influenced socks and I am trying to figure out why are they putting the shamrock stuff out in February? I’m standing there internally scratching my head. 

Then it comes to me. Beer. 

On St. Patrick’s day everybody wears the green. Folks having no genealogical peeps from the island will be fixing corned beef and cabbage or at least reading about a heart healthy version in a magazine or newspaper.

There will be big parades that will be inclusive and exclusive. At least here in California. There will be beer drinking and some will even drink beer that is colored green.  Oh, and there will be green peppermint McFlurries and shamrocks on cookies.

You can sell St. Patrick’s day. 

You can’t exactly sell Black History Month. It is problematic.

If this was the 1970s you could move red, green and black socks.  It is not the 1970s anymore.  How about some “Remember the Dream” socks?  Well, perhaps not.

You could have posters in the stores with photos of historical ancestors but I’d be kinda worried which ancestor’s poster would wind up hanging in the toilet paper section.

Then you would have those folks that would complain. There is always somebody to complain but these particular people would complain that "there isn’t a White History Month so why should anybody recognize Black History Month?"

These same folks will be also be complaining through Women’s History Month, Latino/Hispano/Chicano/Mexicano Heritage Month and Asian and Pan Pacific Heritage Month. Some of those whiners will be debating again in March.

Really Not Picking on Target

We are told that everybody wants to wear the green for a day. Watch your local papers and advertising  circulars. A stereotypical green having nothing to do with living people to be sure but it is celebrated and sold with enthusiasm.

It involves food and beer and, well, that is about I know about the day.

Authentic Irish and Irish American history is fascinating, complex and is woven into the building of this nation. That isn’t what the commercial St. Patrick’s day is about but we do a strange form of let’s pretend.

Authentic African American history is fascinating, complex and is intractably woven into the building of the nation. It seems that folks would rather let the days go by.

Mikki Taylor Talks About Taking Risks

Just wanted to share this video with you. It is an interview with Mikki Taylor about how do you leave a 30 year gig and start again.



Yep. feel that 30 seconds of fear and then let it go. Trying to embed that in my brain.

There are two other videos of Mikki on Mediabistro TV's YouTube channel.

A Moment Inside of Old Navy

Old Navy has been good to me. It is one of the few stores that accommodates the back of my front. Once every other month I traps in and purchase from the clearance section. It is the least that I can do.

One day I was trying to decide between an electric green blouse or some stretchy pants when this young lady walked up to me and asked if I would take her Old Navy Gift card.

The woman was a 20 something. She was immaculately dressed. Hair, make up and contemporary cool clothing that did not come from Old Navy. I imagined this is a person that wakes up two hours early just to look arrange her equipment so that she can begin the process of being so crafted.

I said, "I'm a customer, not an employee."

She was a little pissed but kept the smile going.

"I know that, I got the card as a gift. I don't...I don't shop here." Here was pronounced as if she was trying to find a sweater in a cesspool.

I could tell, this woman read Vogue or something I flip through once every three years. She was in the devil's lair and she didn't like it.

"I don't understand what you..."

"Could you buy my card? It has $26 on it. We can go to the counter and verify that there is money on it."

I said, "No"

The immaculate one stomped away in a huff.

I will never be that artistically and fashion sculpted. I understand, A friend gave me a gift card for a tech store a few weeks ago and I had to work really hard to find something I could use.

Never occurred to me to asked some stranger in the store to buy my card.

I found out yesterday that in California if you have less than $10 on a card the store will give you the cash.

But you can't buy class.

Or fake it.

Layoffs and Musings on the Stoop

There are life events that are keeping me away from blogging. I don't like that because blogging has been good to me. Helps me stay on this side of sane. So many people are having troubles.

I know that other people's troubles can look worse than your own. In a way, that makes you feel better.

But there is a toxicity to sucking up too much bad stuff. Any bad stuff. What I can tell you is that a lot of my friends and acquaintances are losing their jobs.

My j.o.b. at the Salt mine is not looking that secure. It never was but there have been some rattlings that have me saying affirmations and gratitudes for what I have this day for I may not have it the next..

I'm not unemployed. I'm fine. No worries. Well yeah, but not that one as yet. 

I remember the last time I was long term unemployed. It was painful and dangerous. Nobody wants to live like a refuge in her own country but there is a point where you start to feel like you are not connected any more to normal life. Never in my life do I want to experience that again.

Never, ever, ever.

I remember that having fat assed politicians calling folks spoiled and lazy. Nothing has changed. You have people constantly questioning are you trying enough? Doing enough.

Some days that is a legitimate question because the last thing you want to do is face another day of not bringing home the prize. You have to find your way to your answer. At the same time trying to be open to good ideas and tuning out the less than helpful bromides that will be forced down your throat.

There are people who believe that you are on your own and you should just suck it up baby. No promises, guarantees or assistance.

To those people I say fuck you and I do not mean it in a pleasant, loving way either. You can have money in the bank and discretionary income one day and a fire, flood, windstorm or illness can take it all away. You are indeed sucking life up.

Yet some man or woman will stand on their faith or party line and tell the world you are a hippie, shiftless and not worth the time of day. I can hear their little minds going; "If only they could be like me so they would know how miserable they are."

If you are truly a so-called superior person you do not need to kick a person when they are down on his or her luck. You have the choice to help or not to help. There are times when you shouldn't provide assistance. 

But to kick and demean people on hard times? Nasty. And yes, your soul will rot in hell and I don't necessarily mean some distant place but in the core of your being where you know you are wrong.

I mention no names. Just saying. Let's stop making hate the unemployed a national sport.

Last night I was watching Liz Henry's tweets and retweets about Oakland and San Francisco Occupy protests that ended badly.

I couldn't watch people get beat again.

So for this Sunday what I have to offer is the one step, one breath at time thing.

Move forward a bit, breath.
Move forward a bit and look around that snatch another breath.
Repeat.

That is where I am. There are bigger things to worry about but the things that are close to home that call your name. That and Google Chrome keeps locking up on me.

Go On and Catch Some Tail for Yoda's Daddy

The man put up 93 million dollars of his own money to make an all black action movie? Or an action movie with a black cast? You can say this has my attention. In a few days, the movie Red Tails will open at the box office. A gentleman by the name of Mr. George Lucas has produced a movie that is inspired by the Tuskegee Airmen of World War 2.

As a rule, I do not like war movies, shoot em up bangs bangs or glorified murder. I do like a good story. I am 110% down with encoding our history into the collective but often forgetful memory of this nation.

This is a trailer of the movie: 



Mr. Lucus is a little concerned that if folks don't turn out for the flick than will put the kibosh on future multi-million dollar movies staring black folks with white actors in minor supporting roles.

This is a clip from the daily show where he talks about how studios told him they didn't know how to market the movie or that it would not do well internationally because other countries would not want to view "limited appeal" movie.



Dear Mr. Lucas, do not fret about blowing $93 million dollars. I think it is safe to say you are going to recoup that investment in about a 10 hours of the movie's release. Not to mention that as soon as a couple dozen grandmas get wind of the movie a couple thousand junebug grandsons are going to be dragged into the theaters.

But that isn't what the movie studios where talking about, is it? They said they didn't know how to market the movie so that white folks would want to go see it. 

Understandable myopia coming from that crowd.  Need new blood in Hollywood. Those vampire and zombie movies they keep making have drained what little sense they have about modern audiences. 

People will turn out for a good movie, period.

I got my calculator out on this one:

• Living WW2 war vets of any ethnicity $$$
• Living vets of any war who appreciate military history $$$
• Every living Tuskegee graduate $$$$$
• Military historians $$$$
• People who want to see their history on the screen $$$$$$
• Loyal Fanboys and Fangirls who want to get in on the ground floor of a possible new gaming world $ x infinity.

If it is good movie and some white folks can mentally cross that bridge then yeah, whoopie and good on ya. You have a hit.

But if it isn't then it will be okay too. The world will still turn. There are black movies being made and that will happen inside and outside of the current film industry. Looks like it will be outside because even if this is a block buster they will attribute it to Lucas skills as a filmmaker and promoter and not the film or subject matter.

The stories will be told with old tech or new tech. The days of traditional film making filters is coming to an end anyway.

So take a load off G. From the looks of it I don't think it will be flop. I stopped looking toward Hollywood for quality movies a long time ago. I might make an exception for this film but have no expectation of finding a good film to pay $12 for a long time.

Now in your next film if you could do a little something that celibates the slightly older but wiser women with some curves it would be greatly appreciated. If she happened to be driving a space ship that would be very cool too.

Broke Folks Eye Candy or Hold On A Little Longer

It is like having poison ivy on the back of you knee. I know that I have wailed about buying cheap stuff (Don't do it!) but there are exceptions.

Very limited exceptions. Before I prattle on check out this video from tech site, TheVerge.com, about another Android tablet from China.



When I was a teen I wanted with all of my heart a Nikon camera. I felt that I should have one because it was top of the line and my photos would be sooo much better if I had one. It would have meant that I was not as poor or broke as my reality dictated at the time.

I had to find a way to be connected to a community that I wanted to belong. One of the things that kept me going was reading photography magazines, the torn cover 25 cents versions that I could buy four for a dollar back in the day,

Photographers seem to do things like travel the world, eat strange food and do stuff. I was all for the doing of stuff.

I saved and earned money that eventually I bought a Yashica twin lens reflex that had a 35mm attachment so I could take 35mm snaps. I still have it.

I know my 21st century counterpart wants an iPad or a Galaxy Tab or something. He or she needs it for school, for work or creativity purposes.

This morning I found an Android draw/paint program called Sketchbook Mobile from Autodesk

If I had a craving for an tablet application like that and couldn't by a tablet that would make me obsessively crazy. Like I was about that Nikon.

Anyway, tablets from China and parts unknown are about to come in a bum rush for folks wallets.

Like the video said, the build quality isn't that good, the camera is wonky but sometimes broke folks that do their research before buying and understand that this is a training wheel  to the good stuff should consider buying something like this.

Because you don't want the itching to go away. I'm not saying buy just for the sake of wanting. That is not good and it waste money.

But the itching to know and explore, at any age should not be denied.

So I guess I'm saying if you have no money you can save up for the pride and joy hi-tone version. This would be preferred path

But if you truly can't afford to wait and you sniff out the best of the schlocky tablets then go for it. Get the best of the not so good and learn as much as you can.

Re-invention and Change - The White Hut

I needed down time. I have gotten up at 4 a.m. to write or cobble together items of interest for my blogs and others. I want to create and do things but I was force to realize that I need x amount of sleep and nutrition.

When one or both get out of balance I am not a happy camper.There is other stuff happening that I can't discuss but that life balance thing is kicking me into submission.  I got to find writing time that does not involve the pre-dawn hours.

This is a project I've been wanting to finish for chunk of time. I want to mix essays with video. This will not look that different from my other work but my goal today was to post a video.

The Whit Hut was a mom and pop restaurant in the Pasadena area. It closed in September 2011 and word has it that a new organic coffee house will be built. I'm sure that the new joint will not be serving up fat laced Pastrami on Rye. 


Part Two

I have to step back and think about what do I want to do. I want to re-claim a bit of my creative writing. I want to really get better working with video. I need a new career but I think what I want to do hasn't been invented yet so I have to pave my own path.

Not a bad idea but it can make a person nervous. Can you re-invent yourself again and again and again?

Yes. You can. It is not easy but I'd rather give it a go than to be among the walking dead.

That is not a zombie reference.

There are people that do the same thing day in and day out because it is safe. No deviation. No curiosity about what went before or what is to come. No hobbies. No vices.  No challenges. No goals.

Nothing. They live. The eat. They work. They sleep. It is enough for them.

Now if you are in any form of recovery and you aspire to this type of life go for it. I'm not talking about you. You have already lived a bit and you need routine and stability. Carry on and work your program.

For me, I want more. I want to access the untapped parts of my potential. I can't mess around, I'm coming up on another birthday in a few months and I want something to show for it.

I thought that 2011 was going to be a quiet year and that sucker did everything in its power to prove me wrong.  I might need a combat helmet for 2012.

Right now, it is a beautiful day and I have time for a nap, if I want one.