Spare Change

I could begin this blog by stating the historical significance of this day but that would be stating the obvious. There are of course theories abound on the long term effects it will have on the masses. No matter what the effects are, they all will amount to one thing; change. As I reflect on recent days before this one I can see a time when Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls were the role models of the time. Many looked to these individuals to set the standard on black masculinity. But today my purpose is not to judge these men but only to make observances in hindsight of the power that they possessed. Whether they chose it or not they were given the mantle of the role model. This meant that no matter what choices they made good or bad they were under the watchful eyes of the masses. All of their deeds were used to gauge the climate of the black male in society. In their own ways they were agents of change in America. Their actions in the media in many cases translated to the actions of all black males in this country.

Today we have a new agent of change and his name is Barack Obama. He has been given the almost impossible task to lead this nation out of darkness. This means that all of his assets and short comings will be under a very powerful microscope. In light of this it is important that everyone who supports him be concious that he cannot do the job alone. The change that he so eloquently speaks of in all his speeches should be practiced in the every day lives of each and every American. For example, I just recently learned in a small but profound way how I can be a part of the critical mass that evokes change in this country. This past weekend in all of my celebration of president Obama's inaugaration, I went way over my weekly spending budget. Although I am happy for this man and what he means for this country i didn't get the true message until I was forced to use my credit card for cup of coffee. I was so intoxicated by the reality that he would be our next president that I used poor financial judgement in the midst of an economic crisis as if he would personally bail me out. I realized then that it would do him a huge disservice if I relied on and blamed him for all of my triumphs and tragedies in the next four years.

There is much that we can do to make Barack Obama the greatest president in the history of this country. His true strength is in mobilizing us to make sure this comes to pass. But he cannot do it alone. We help him by helping ourselves. I for one will be aware of this with each sip of my morning coffee from now until payday and beyond.

The flow according to Kobe

When asked how he thought the game was going at the half Kobie said: "well we tend to push the tempo a bit at home and lay back when we're away so I'm just adjusting to the flow". I took a minute to see why that quote lay still in my head. It struck me but i didn't really know why. Then it slowly began to materialized that this is one of the things that separates Kobe from the rest. What struck me was that up until that point I hadn't really heard another player since Bird or Jordan give a first half analysis in such a way. I mean most players will give you their pedestrian analysis of the game sans all of the nuances that the true lover of the game would express. But then there comes that special player who proves it in both their play and their lifestyle. Kobe understands that the game is rythmic and that it has an ebb and flow . Only true lovers of the game would describe it this way. What makes him unique is that he has been blessed with an ability which is matched with love. Most of us are not blessed in this way on the court or anywhere else for that matter. And if we are blessed we are usually not aware that we are. I guess it this awareness that makes professional athletes so special. While the rest of us in the herd are still trying to figure it all out, these men perform amazing feats which are fueled by concrete proof that some deity exists that has given them gifts that help them to excel in an arena where pure rapture exists. I have a deeper understanding now why these individuals are the closest thing to gods that we have ever seen. When we think about how many movies we have seen and stories we have read about angels, super heroes, and extraterrestrials, none of us has ever seen a man fly until we met Mr. Erving, Mr. Jordan and Mr. Bryant. I wonder after the next great war will the rewritten books of the Bible, Illiad and Oddessy, include these men.

Then...Something unexpected happened in the second half. As I was watching the game wondering what philosophical analysis Kobe might make at the end (after of course scoring the game winning shot). The "flow" that Kobe was talking about changed. The Lakers lost to the Magic 103-108. The person who actually got the post game interview was none other than Dwight Howard who is ironically nicknamed "superman". The first thing he said when asked about his analysis of the game was "before I do that I would like to thank God for the win". 'nuff said.
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yours truly (The Hater)

January 10, 2009

Dear whoever wants to read this,

Recently I have been doing some soul searching. See, there was a time when I once fancied myself a writer, artist, romantic and all around lover of all things that exemplified life in its purest form. Something happened along the way. I got older. Things became more simplified. Essentials such as work, family and rent conveniently took the place of the daydreaming and journaling and musing that I did ten years prior. Fears replaced ambitions. And I began to find myself surrounded by similar individuals with similar fears which surrounded us all like little boxes. Every once in while I find out what happens when I attempt to leave my box. The results are often amusing. Other times they are not amusing at all. Lately for me it has been the latter. Maybe I have finally hit a midlife crisis of sorts. My new found interest in snowboarding has convinced my father that this is the case, and who knows? Maybe he is right, but that is another topic for another time. Whether he is right or not I am certain that the world is changing on me and lately I’ve been having some trouble adjusting. Although this discovery has been and is continuously made every day as I am bombarded with cable T.V., text messaging and facebook, today it profoundly reared its ugly yet again in a seemingly harmless conversation about reality television. It came to me in the form of two phrases: 1. “It’s really not that deep” and 2. “You are a hater”.

Now although I am quite aware that if put into the context of every day language these two phrases really are not that deep and I according to modern definitions really am a hater. But the thing that I hate (and the older definition applies here) is the marginalization and dismissal that is inflicted on the individual who has views about art, culture, politics and life in general that are different from the mainstream. Let me explain. In a conversation that I was having with some of my coworkers someone mentioned that they recently started watching the new season of “The Real World”. Since I really don’t fancy reality television all that much, I just listened as these individuals went on and on about the transsexual on the show and another character who is a guitar player. Since I too am a guitar player one individual who noticed that I was silent assured me that I would love this person because she has seen me on occasion carrying my guitar. I must confess that because of other situations in which this type of association was made I was slightly annoyed; a fact which I made politely clear after this person made the observation. In fact I even went as far to say that usually when people tell me that I would love something based on loose associations made between me and others (ie: Bob Marley, Wyclef and even India Irie!) it makes me unfairly critical of their suggestions. She then replied “well it’s really not that deep maybe you’re just a hater” (I’m paraphrasing). Another co-worker then chimed in and cosigned on her comment. It was then of course made official that I according to my coworkers am officially a hater. And before I knew it I was conveniently rendered mute and dismissed from the conversation which of course went on without me.

Now don’t get me wrong I realize that this whole dialog may seem like some hyper sensitive tirade from two phrases that the average individual may deem as harmless. But I still feel compelled to explain myself when I feel that I am being oversimplified. It is because we live in an age of oversimplification that I am sensitive. It is because many of us are too over stimulated for the beauty of details that I am sensitive. It is because the age of poets seems to be fleeting that I am sensitive. We are living in an age where the packaging on a product is what matters most and not its contents. I do not wish to be a product. Perhaps this is why I’m not a famous guitar player. Perhaps now that I have taken my own time to think about this artist on “The Real World” I might now give him the chance he deserves to inspire me. Perhaps his world is different from mine and I might learn something from it. But I live in a world too. I am just doing my best to make sure it stays real.

Yours truly “the hater”