A MAN’S MEDITATIONS #1: ESCAPE

A MAN’S MEDITATIONS #1: ESCAPE

PROLOUGE: The poetry series titled “A MAN’S MEDITATIONS” focuses on the musings and focused exercises of a mature man purposed to transport himself into a place of peaceful meditation that deliberately does not exist. It is nothing more than a fantasy realm, a refuge or “hythe” from the world he desires to escape. Meditation is an essential spiritual exercise. We are at a distinct disadvantage being located inside ourselves because in order to understand who we are it is necessary to observer ourselves from the outside-in. Meditation is therefore a useful tool for introspection from the parallax of an outsider. When we meditate it is important to take detailed mental notes on what we have experienced especially how we behaved during the process…

This poem begins after the meditation has already begun. I have fashioned a grassy, sunny forest clearing through which runs a small river. In the meditation the day approaches its ending I note changes in the environment as twilight approaches. I gradually move from the forests eaves into the open field as the sun becomes less intense and when shadow begins to set in I go down to the river to drink. Returning home I realize I must refocus because I have lost reckoning of my path. Of course this does not really matter in a meditation because home is always evident but the transition from meditation to home is important so that we are able to make a smoothe transition… please enjoy the poem…

BIGDADDY BLUES

ESCAPE: MEDITATION ONE

T’was a place where the evensun shone through,

The hair of round-shouldered, hillsides I ventured through,

who’s gilded verdure leant to me a hythe,

promising a refreshing rendezvous...

I kept to the eaves where the even-breeze was soft,

where he woodland leaves patterned a twi-lit cloth,

night-time creatures roused in their nests,

waiting for an evening-chime to send them off…

a lapis firmament was deepening its tinct,

vulpeculan and aquilan spectra began to wink,

o’er a chanting rivulet riven through the field,

so i chose to rest there and took its drink…

I sought-out home whilst woodland paths were clear,

having wandered beyond reckoning of what lay near,

the journey had been so much worth its time,

having got my troubled bluesings and musings cleared…

FIN

By BIGDADDY BLUES

11 THINGS A GENTLEMAN DOES TO ADD HIS PERSONAL STYLE TO JEANS

ON THE ART OF WEARING JEANS

BIGDADDY BLUES WEARING JEANS WITH BRACES AND FRENCH CUFFED SHIRT

Like so many things in this modern world jeans or denim are a mass-produced product manufactured at a cost of a few pennies in in quantities of many thousands per hour halfway across the world.  By the time they show up in American markets to meet the staggering demand they may cost anywhere from $18 to $400 and up depending on the label and stitching that has been added as an afterthought. Most people who buy and wear jeans could care less about the details of their provenance, they just want the look, feel and style.  The average guy never gives a thought to how to wear them, jeans are supposed to be somehow "Exempt" from style but a gentleman knows this tragic and unfortunate misconception cannot be farther from the truth. The way that a man wears and styles his jeans tells me a great deal about his aesthetic and personality or it tells me that he hasn't a care for either... Either way he is justified to pursue or ignore style but our focus is on men who are devoted to a high sophistication of gentlemanly style especially when wearing jeans or denim.

I never really liked wearing jeans as a kid probably because for me it was always a pair of "Husky's" with heavy patches on the knee, (inside and outside) and on the seat.  My mother quickly learned that nothing sold in any store was indestructible once I had got my hands on it.  They were no where near being an even match for a rusty-butt boy like me, I imagine I went through dozens of them every year, they were made with typical boys like me in mind.  

When I became a teenager of 15 in 1977 it was the height of the designer jean craze and I had every brand of jeans imaginable.  In the 70's men wore their jeans tight, heavily starched with a boldly ironed crease  down the front.  I always wore a stylish dress shirt and tie with my jeans and a vintage sharkskin or silk, smoking jacket or tweed blazer from the 1940's or 50's.  

I always want to dress jeans up if possible I dislike wearing them with sneakers and a T-shirt if possible but have conceded to the obvious comfort of that care-free look on many happy occasions.  I love to see a gentleman who understands how to wear jeans with a distinctive and stylish flair and this is what I suggest as a foundation:

ADDING FUN THEMED SILK BRACES AND A BEAVER FEDORA

11 CRITICAL ELEMENTS THAT ALWAYS COMPLEMENT JEANS:

1. Jeans; pick a nice cut and weight that will fall nicely at a height that will show off your shoes.

2. Shoes; pick a handsomely stylish shoe from formal to casual the dressier the better.

3. Shirt;, pick a dress shirt preferably with a chunky collar and generous french cuffs.

4. Cufflinks; this is a place where a gentleman can show off his sense of manly style.

5. Socks; socks should be carefully selected to complement the transition from trouser to shoe.

6. Tie; choose a fun tie or bow tie or ascot and it need not be knotted at all.

7. Jacket; softer more casual jackets are best stay away from heavily tailored coats.

8. Hat; Fedora, Homburg, Bowler, Ascot, Trillby or Boater etc., but never a baseball cap.

9. Pocket Square and Handkerchief; a gentleman should always coordinate these features in his jacket or shirt pocket

10. Boutonniere; what can I say, a gentleman should wear one with his jeans and a live one.

11. Braces; jeans, like trousers should hang from a mans shoulders but a handsomely buckled belt is Okay.

When a gentleman wears jeans out for dining, or to any social event even a bar or cigar lounge he should always check his mirror against this checklist before walking out the door.  Wearing jeans is a a true art form because denim is so unlike any other kind of trouser. The key to looking handsome in jeans is to understand how to articulate an informal look so that it retains the hallmarks of a formally well-dressed man.  the buy-in of course begins when a man starts to collect of all the necessary accouterments to stylishly express a gentlemanly look.  Jeans do not have to be those shapeless and sagging things we see falling off the derrieres of vulgarians, they can be smart!

Looks like I've come a long way from the Husky's I wore at age 11.  But i'm doing different things in my denim now than climbing trees and catching  crayfish in the creek. Okay, I still climb trees and catch crayfish but when I go out socially in denim I want to look and feel like a gentleman who understands the history of this patently American apparel. I want to enjoy the casual comfort of denim whist enjoying a personal expression of a sense of manly style cultivated over the 45 years since I first wore denim as a rusty-butt boy....

FIN

WRITTEN BY BIGDADDY BLUES

HOW NOT TO SPEND MONEY ON A DATE

BOURBON INFUSED NOTES & CONNECTICUT WRAPPED MUSINGS

ON A MONEY-LESS DATE…

Gentlemen, this article should be read with neat and very well-aged bourbon in hand.  I say this only because after you have marveled at its entirety you shall feel as if you should have filled a heavy old fashioned glass whilst lighting up a favorite evening cigar…

Therefore I will at this point digress sufficiently to afford you time to gather those essential gentlemanly accoutrements…

“PAUSE HERE GENTLEMEN AND GATHER YOUR SMOKES AND SPIRITS”!

Let me recommend that you not resume until you have had at least one sip and draw… and yes, anon, very good, now we can move forth….

Two gentlemen having nothing better to do than fantasize about a date the likes of which they had never experienced happened upon a discussion regarding the awful expense invested in the uncertainty of blind, or nearly blind acquaintance.   Between them they estimated over the past year alone they had squandered nearly thousands of dollars on dates.  Neither gentleman could recall exactly what had ever become of any of the dates, as we shall call them, they had simply evanished into that heavily misted moor where all forgotten would-be acquaintances dwell… Now whether these gentlemen were remiss in their responsibility to follow-up on their past beau’s status is an arguable point which certainly will require another pour of bourbon…. So then let us pour anon…

They decided that the fragrant plume their cigars should blow in the direction of the verdict… left or backwards would definitively indicate they justly moved on to more handsome entries in their black books leaving the past safely behind them.  Plume blowing right or frontwards would argue that they perhaps should have called upon that past beau’s at least once to see if they were good for a free coffee…  But a far nobler superego interposed offering that  good coffee and bad conversation are poor a theme for redemption.  Second dates are often inspired by good conversation and/or sex or the promise of good sex and or conversation based on the first date but they should certainly be avoided on account of instant and/or Columbian coffee and well… defibrillated intimacy…

“LET US POUR”!

So the confused men embarked upon a date with themselves vowing they could have a cost-less date or to be clearer, a date that cost them no money.  This was absolutely an experiment, there was no latent lust, no undeclared love… they were merely two curious gentlemen embarking upon a quest to discover the inconceivable… knowing their success would mean the discovery of a true manly marvel, a free date a date that had no cost, no financial loss whatever.  Of course they set out as if mining for “unobtainium” however as they began to decipher the riddle it began to unfold for them, but let me reveal that each revelation had come only after a discernably keen sip of whatever libation filled (or quickly unfilled) their respective flasks, and nothing could have been more respectable than their flasks… 

Transportation was their first category to defeat.  How they thought could they manage to pick-up their date, arrive at their destination, do whatever they would at the destination and return to their respective domiciles without spending any money?  Had they not been so intent not to displace their well-positioned chapeau there certainly should have been such scratching of scalps.  But as one gentleman leant upon his elegant walking stick he got it!  “I’ve got it” he said….

To keep the details to a minimum the gentleman decided to meet at a point equidistant to each other and walk to their destination which happened to be a lovely key-park.  Other than the tossing of a few old farthings into the riotously frolicking water folly and trying to predict its trajectory there was as yet no expense incurred in this excursion of love.  They sat conversantly now walking now sitting now drinking from a nearby fountain that proved marvelously free… as if both had the same mind they reached for their pocket watches and politely announced their imminent departure.  Since they came alone there was no cause for pretense so they both departed alone.  Other than the tossed farthings, one gentleman remarked at tea the next morning, and a slight tear of my trousers by a rough plank of the park bench there was no expense incurred on that date. 

Well before I conclude this colorful saga allow me to toast these industrious gentlemen who braved the occasion of walking and perhaps spending some money on account that they would pioneer a truly expenseless date! 

“TO DATES, TO SUNLIT GARDENS… MOONLIT PONDS, TO FOUNTAINS AND THE LIKE, TO QUIET WALKS BENEATH THE ELMS, PICNICS ON EMERALD LAWNS, TO HAPPINESSES ENJOYED IN VIRGIN WOODS, BUT COMING HOME WITH HEAVY POCKETS, NOTHING IS SO GOOD”! CHEERS!

So our two gentlemen friends did prove a date could be had with no expense save time itself… I heard them tell it on the green… and had I not harmlessly eavesdropped then I should not have been able to share this delightful story with you gentlemen… nor share a fine glass of bourbon and cigar with you as well.  Well done my good friends and Cheers!

FIN

Written by Bigdaddy Blues

THE PRESIDENTIAL WILD - CARD OUR REPUBLICAN BROTHERS MIGHT HAVE MISSED

SO I SOUGHT THE SKILLS A PSYCHIC ADVISOR TO DETERMINE IF I SHOULD ALLOW MY TURTLE, MUSE TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT ON THE REPUBLICAN TICKET!

HER FORECAST WAS INDETERMINATE DUE TO THE OCCASION THAT MUSE WAS HUNGRY AND FOR THE ENTIRE HOUR ONLY CRICKETS AND MEAL-WORMS WOULD APPEAR IN HER CRYSTAL BALL...

ON THE RETURN TRIP I WAS KEEN TO FEED MY TURTLE A COULD OF HOURS  EARLIER THING ING TO CALM HER TEMPERAMENT.  IT WAS A SUCCES!  MUSE WAS SO RELAXED THAT THE CRYSTAL BALL NOW SHONE IMAGES OF A COOL GREEN  POND REPLETE WITH MINNOWS, INSECTS AND A SHADY HIDING SPOT DEEP UNDER THE ROCKS AND MUD. 

YES!  I SIGHED, MY BELOVED MUSE IS ALREADY WELL SUITED TO BE A REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, WHY SHE'S ALREADY COMFORTABLE LURKING IN THE DIM, SLIMY RECESSES OF THE DEEP!

BIGDADDY BLUES

BALTIMORE REALNESS: HOW TO COUNTERACT THE CHALLENGE TO OUR RIGHT TO PRACTICE CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE

LONG LIVE OUR RIGHT TO CHOOSE CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE!

BALTIMORE SPRING 2015 A REMEDY FOR CULTURAL WAKEFULNESS!

I SUPPORT THOSE WHO DEFY THE CURFEW IN BALTIMORE AS LONG AS THEY ARE PEACEFUL IN THEIR DEFIANCE!  WE HAVE TO SEPARATE THE VIOLENT FROM THE PEACEFUL, THEY ARE NOT THE SAME EVEN THOUGH THEY MAY ALL BE OF THE SAME RACE.  THE MEDIA PRESENCE IN CHARM CITY IS A MIXED BLESSING.  THE MEDIA HAS ALWAYS IGNORED BALTIMORE ESPECIALLY WEST BALTIMORE BECAUSE IT IS JUST NOT PRETTY, AFFLUENT, TRENDY OR FASHIONABLE.  IN ORDER FOR WEST BALTIMORE TO CAPTURE THE ATTENTION OF THE MEDIA THEY HAD TO MANUFACTURE AN URBAN CONFLAGRATION SENDING SMOKE COLUMNS INTO THE HEAVENS... THE MEDIA IS ALIEN HERE, THEY ARE THE OUTSIDERS, THEY ARE SOCIAL PARASITES, CARRION AND THEIR UNWANTED, PERSONAL OPINIONS DO NOT REPRESENT EITHER THE MAJORITY OF THE CITIZENS OF BALTIMORE OR THE BEST INTEREST OF FREE TAXPAYING CITIZENS WHO LIVE IN THIS CITY AND HAVE A RIGHT TO PEACEFULLY PROTEST AND ASSEMBLE IN THE STREETS THEIR TAX DOLLARS PAY FOR!  IF THIS EVENT DID NOT MEAN RATINGS I SERIOUSLY DOUBT THAT THE MEDIA WOULD HAVE BOTHERED TO BE THERE AT ALL... ITS ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMIN'S WITH THE MASS MEDIA MAKE NO MISTAKE!  IF YOU LISTEN TO THEIR COMMENTARY IS SUPPORTS THE CONSERVATIVE VIEWS OF THEIR HIGH PRICED SPONSORS NOT THE POOR PEOPLE OF BALTIMORE.  AS A RESULT EVEN THE ODD AND UNCOMFORTABLE PRESENCE OF THE MASS MEDIA SEEMS TO BE YET ANOTHER FORM OF SOCIAL OPPRESSION BECAUSE THIS MEDIA IS NOT THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE IT OBSERVES LIKE A CRANKY VOYEUR IT IS THE VOICE OF A SPOILED, DISCONNECTED, ALMOST SUBURBAN COMMENTATOR THAT WILL UNDOUBTEDLY RETIRE TO THEIR PALATIAL CONDOMINIUM AS SOON AS THEIR AIR-TIME IS EXPENDED.  WHO ARE THESE ALIENS TO THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE THAT ARE SOMEHOW CHARGED WITH COMMENTATING THE EVOLUTION OF THE VERY HEART AND SOUL OF SOCIAL REALNESS?  THEY ARE CULTURAL ALIENS! THE LANGUAGE THEY SPEAK IS INCAPABLE OF CAPTURING THE STRUGGLE AND SOULFUL PATIENCE OF THESE REAL HUMAN BEINGS...

AT THIS POINT IT SHOULD BE CRYSTAL CLEAR TO EVERYONE INCLUDING THE MEDIA, WHOEVER THEY ARE, THAT THE CITIZENS OF BALTIMORE DO NOT TRUST THE POLICE AND WITH GOOD REASON TOO.  SO IT IS A DOUBLE SLAP IN THE FACE FOR PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATORS TO BE BULLIED INTO ABANDONING THEIR PROTEST BY THE VERY ENTITY THAT REPRESENTS THE NUMBERLESS MURDERS OF BLACK MEN IN THEIR CONSCIOUSNESS... THIS IS THE REASON WHY EVERY BLACK AMERICAN SHOULD REFUSE TO EXPOSE THEMSELVES TO OR SUPPORT MASS MEDIA THAT DOES NOT SUPPORT THEIR INTERESTS.

WHAT I SEE ARE BOY SCOUT REPORTERS COMPLETELY OUT OF THEIR ELEMENT MAKING BANKRUPT JUDGMENTS THEY DO NOT HAVE THE DEVELOPMENTAL, EXPERIENTIAL MATURITY TO TAKE BACK AND APOLOGIZE FOR.  ARROGANCE LIKE IGNORANCE HAS NEVER BEEN KNOWN FOR ITS CAPACITY FOR REMORSE.  BALTIMORE IN THE SPRING OF 2015 IS NOT A BOY SCOUT JAMBOREE IT IS A ONE TIME CHANCE FOR DISENFRANCHISED PEOPLE WHO WOULD OTHERWISE BE LOCKED OUT OF THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE MEDIA,  A MEDIA THAT ANY OTHER TIME IS MORE OBSESSED WITH A FIVE OR TEN SECOND INTERSTICE DURING  WHICH  A POP STARS BOOB FALLS OUT OF HER BRA THAN THE MURDER OF NAMELESS POOR BLACK MEN ON OUR INNER CITY STREETS.  THE SACRED MEDIA SCALES OF JUSTICE BALANCE A BOOB ON ONE SIDE AND A DEAD BLACK MAN ON THE OTHER SUSPENDING THE CORPSE IN A DEAD PENDULUM SWING.

THE FACT THAT THE MEDIA WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT THE  FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN A DEMOCRATIC NATION WOULD ACTUALLY SUPPORT A CURFEW THAT VIOLATES THOSE RIGHTS  PROFOUNDLY TROUBLES ME!  HAS ANYONE QUESTIONED THIS? HAVE YOU QUESTIONED THIS?

IT CAN BE ARGUED WHETHER OR NOT THE DEMONSTRATION IN BALTIMORE IS PEACEFUL OR NOT.  YES, IT IS TRULY A MIXED BAG SO WE HAVE TO DECIDE WHICH IS MOST IMPORTANT THE RIGHT TO PEACEFULLY DEMONSTRATE OR THE BLANKET SUPPRESSION OF ALL DEMONSTRATION BECAUSE SOME PROTESTERS HAVE EXCEEDED THE LIMITATIONS OF PEACEFUL CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE.  CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE IS ALWAYS AN UNBALANCED EQUATION BECAUSE ONE GROUP OF PEOPLE IS FORCED TO SUPPRESS THEIR AGGRESSION BY RE-CHANNELING IT WHILE OTHERS ARE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE THEIR PATH OF AGGRESSION UNTIL  THEY ARE SUBDUED BY THE SHEER TENACITY OF THE PEACEFUL AND VIOLATED FACTION.

SO LET US SEGREGATE THE TWO GENRES OF DEMONSTRATORS BETWEEN THE VIOLENT AND NONVIOLENT.  BUT LET US NOT FORGET THE REASON WHY WE ARE FORCED TO MAKE THIS DISTINCTION IN THE FIRST PLACE.  VIOLENCE IS ALMOST NEVER JUSTIFIED BUT IT IS THE REASON WHY WE ARE ALL IN THIS PLACE TO BEGIN WITH AND LET US REMEMBER AND QUALIFY FROM WHENCE THE VIOLENCE CAME.  THE VIOLENT MURDER COMMITTED BY THE POLICE WAS THE CATALYST OF THIS PROTEST, PEACEFUL AND VIOLENT AND THAT IS NEVER GOING TO CHANGE! IT IS WHY WE ARE ALL HERE TODAY LOOKING AT THIS HERETOFORE INVISIBLE COMMUNITY IN BALTIMORE IN THE SPRING OF 2015.

I THINK THAT IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS PLAYING OUT IN BALTIMORE YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND OPPRESSION.  I THINK THAT IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS PLAYING OUT IN THE STREETS OF BALTIMORE YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND ANGER, IGNORANCE, DEPRIVATION, HUNGER, POVERTY, FRUSTRATION, HOPELESSNESS, INSECURITY...

IN ORDER FOR HUMAN BEINGS WHO HAVE OTHERWISE SO TOTALLY ACCEPTED IMPOVERISHMENT, IGNORANCE AND INVISIBILITY TO OPENLY THROW BOULDERS AT OFFICERS HOLDING FIREARMS SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARILY EVIL MUST ROUSE THEM, THEY HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE BUT AN UNFULFILLED LIFE AND SUDDENLY THEY FIND MEANING, PURPOSE, VIBRANCY IN A CAUSE HOWEVER MISGUIDED... IT IS AN IMPORTANT PHENOMENON THAT WE HAD ALL BETTER TAKE SERIOUSLY BECAUSE WHETHER OR NOT IT MEASURES UP TO OUR NEAT, PROTECTED, MIDDLE CLASS VALUES REALLY DOES NOT MATTER AT ALL.  THERE ARE MORE OF THEM THAN THERE ARE OF US, WE ARE OUTNUMBERED BY THE POOR.  RATHER THAN MAKING BOURGEOIS JUDGMENTS OF THEIR MISDIRECTED ANGER WE HAD BETTER TRY TO RELATE AND UNDERSTAND IT!  WE HAD BETTER TRY TO INCORPORATE ITS INTENSITY AND TENACITY INTO OUR OWN VERSION OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE...

AMERICANS PLEASE WAKE UP!  WAKE UP!

WRITTEN BY BIGDADDY BLUES

IF THERE IS AN ART TO MOVING IT IS LINKED TO HAVING A SOFT SENSE OF ORGANIZATION

ON THE ART OF MOVING:  CONQUERING A NECESSARY EVIL

Is there really an art to moving? Can a man ever truly be prepared to uproot himself with the expectation he will effortlessly re-establish himself on alien soil?  Well, I imagine that the outcome of any move can only be evaluated against its purpose.  Moving to follow a dream can amount to a mixed-bag of satisfaction depending on close one actually settles to his dream.  A combination of possibilities balanced by the variable factor of preparedness, and the unpredictable variable of fate poses the immediate power to transform a  move.  No matter how prepared a gentleman thinks he is moving ultimately rears its hideous head as a necessary evil.

Being uprooted is by its nature unsettling and that is why nobody really wants to move.  The only exception is when a move represents a change to escape circumstances which have already caused considerable, unwanted unsettling.  But in this global culture even a major geographical displacement may not be enough to truly escape the circumstances of one’s life-footprint.  A life-footprint is a combination of economic, social and physical elements that have come to define a man’s existence.  It may include his occupation, income, associations, friendships and intimacies, degree of economic wealth and/or indebtedness and of course the physical boundaries such as his residence, neighborhood geographic and political jurisdiction.  Moving will always have the potential to redefine all of these variables in ways we can really never predict.

Moving to a place of our dreams is a blessing.  Being able to trade-out unwanted factors for more desirable ones refreshes out outlook on life it improves out life-footprint.  It is the unexpected variables in between the old and the refreshed that can steal away some of the brilliance of moving on a dream.  But we cannot let that discourage us, especially because the end is so much more desirable than the means.

Being forced to execute an undesired move due to negative factors out of our control frames the worst case scenario of moving.  Typically an undesired move is accompanied by untimely financial, physical and social circumstances that overburden our ability to adapt to inevitable change.  In such a move we may actually lose more than we ultimately gain by relocating and because this loss is precipitated by uncontrollable factors it only adds to the general sense of malaise. 

Even the best-planned move may ultimately become a nightmare… Likewise the most dreaded move may actually turn out to be a move into a more palatable life-footprint.  It really all depend on how you look at it!  So what can a man do in order to properly brace himself when entering the unknown realm of moving?  How can he fortify himself against the unexpected, the unwanted? What singular object can he hold on to in order to keep grounded during such a period of upheaval?  At the end of the day there is nothing more a gentleman can do outside of risk-managing a move right down to the last detail so that he has plans “A” through “G” fully outlined and ready for implementation.  One can romanticize that we might not ever have those dramatic moving stories that keep our friends at the edge of their seats each time we tell them were it not for the “Murphy’s Law” variable… we all have to admit that we love sharing how we overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles in our moving saga, it’s something that unites us to the common human experience.

So I no longer complain about a move whether it I desired or not.  I no longer obsess or melt-down during a move’s unexpected twists and turns.  I plan as best I can, accept the degree to which I have invested in preparation for a move and then coach it as it moves along so as to redirect it towards its desired outcome and of course the outcome is always just to get moved! To get it over with the least financial, emotional, physical and spiritual loss.  Moving is an art that perfectionists can least perfect!  Moving is and art that may never be understood by those who lack problem solving and negotiation skills.  The best movers may be those men who combine critical planning for key phases of a move with a healthy dose of flexibility to work around the unexpected elements that will inevitably challenge a move.  Moving may require a meditative state of mind as an overlay to the hectic, time-sensitive, physically and mentally fatigued realities that will always be present.  Yes, moving is almost always a necessary evil to get to where we want, need or have to be in our lives and if there is any real art to moving it is probably best exemplified through our ability to work-through the unexpected maintaining our cool and thereby modelling a general sense of calm and togetherness.  We have to be able to see through to the end of the move and effectively communicate that vision to all the players, the mover’s role is to make it seem easy, it is truly an act of faith…

FIN

BY BIGDADDY BLUES

SHOULD BLACK AMERICANS HOLD MASS MEDIA ACCOUNTABLE FOR CULTURALLY POSITIVITY?

BEYOND EMPIRE AND SCANDAL:  HOW IMPORTANT IS  THE CULTURAL  ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE MEDIA TO THE BLACK COMMUNITY

I have never watched a single episode of Empire or Scandal so I do not have any personal opinion of either.  I have no soliloquy to deliver regarding the quality of either production. However, I do understand the power of media to shape the opinions of the masses, (which is why it is commonly called “Mass Media” in the first place), and I understand it is a powerful tool, perhaps the most powerful tool in the world today.  Therefore any programming with such mass appeal must be carefully scrutinized especially when it informs a population whose image has been so violently perverted as has the black American community. So I offer an objective litmus test for this and any other mass media production that might purport to represent my community as is my right.  I challenge you to subject any programming to these simple tests of cultural media worthiness:

1. Does the programming promote healthy images of family and community offering solutions to today’s social challenges?

2. Does the programming promote respectable and realistic images of black men and women that will support question #1 by providing positive role models for all viewers?

3. Does the programming promote positive ethical and moral values? Does it reflect the inclusionary vision of America in the 21st century?

4. Is the programming well written, well-acted, well produced and aside from its popularity is it a truly fine and groundbreaking production the quality of which will be celebrated years in the future?

We, meaning the black American community and the general community of conscientious human beings of all races, do have a right to question and challenge the images set before us for our consumption because they do shape public opinion in huge ways and we should question everything. We not only have a right to demand quality and accountability but we also have the right to boycott any mass media production if it fails any or all of the 4 tests I have listed above. We should not support any production that does not pass each of the four tests with at least an 85% - 95% grade. I say this because the black American community has suffered hundreds of years of abuse and can suffer no more! It does suffer still and is disintegrating beneath the crush of virulent media poised against us.  This is the time to right all wrongs! I could care less how popular a program is, my only concern is that it is well produced with the best interest of the black American community at the front of its mind!  American businesses have profited from black Americans for hundreds of years so whether any production is particularly lucrative or not is not of my concern.  Does it pass or fail all four tests? If it fails even one then it is a malevolent force to the recovery of the black American community and other communities regardless of race should hold it accountable... thus do I opine...

FIN

BIGDADDY BLUES