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    • Apr

    28

    Another Catholic Being Awesome

    Filed Under ao resources, current affairs, media, people, politics, race | 7 Comments

    I’ve heard the questions the reporter poses - in some form or another, just change out some of the names if you want - my whole adult life (and longer). Father Phleger - who was dubbed a “black a** kisser” at one website I visited - has responses that I can only characterize as “real.”  I love how his last words apparently stun the reporter into quickly ending the conversation. I guess the reporter just didn’t want to go there.

    Everything Father Phleger has said, I’ve heard black people say growing up. Everything. It’s still incredible to me that there are millions of people out there who aren’t even familiar - they don’t have to agree - with these views. 


     

    Popularity: 62% [?]

    Apr

    27

    “Blindness” to be a Movie

    Filed Under books, movies, people, quotes | Leave a Comment

    I’m not quite sure what to think yet. One of my favorite novels, Blindness, is being adapted to the big screen. The cast list has me scratching my chin - it includes Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Sandra Oh, Danny Glover, and Gael Garcia Bernal. The inclusion of North Americans puzzles me a little as the writer, José Saramago, is Portuguese, and his stories tend to be set in nameless Iberian countries. 

    But … it could be good. The premise - in case you’re wondering by this time - is this: a man on his way home from work or wherever is sitting in his car at a light, when all of the sudden he goes blind. Of course, he cannot drive so he is assisted to his home by another man. The man who went blind visits the doctor, who isn’t sure what’s going on. But very soon after, the doctor goes blind. The blind man’s wife goes blind. Pretty soon many people have inexplicably gone blind, and the government starts housing them all in an unused asylum.  And then we see what happens to people in these situations, and what becomes of society as more and more people lose their sight.  

    Back to the film: The director, Fernando Meirelles - also Portuguese - is responsible for City of God and The Constant Gardener. Oh my god - two films that can grind even a stone heart into sand for an hourglass. I’ve only a little exposure to the screenwriter Don McKellar. He is a Canadian, who seems to travel (at least some of the time) within this circle of excellent and interesting Canadian actors and directors like Egoyan, Cronenberg, Sarah Polley, and Oh. He made the indie film, Last Night, which I thought was … okay. In general, I find Canadian films made by this group of people to feel slightly frozen. I like them, but the characters always seem to be in the midst of thawing. 

    Maybe something truly remarkable will be the result when these two Portuguese and Canadian sensibilities are mixed. The novel itself gives the experience of being rent from a long distance. Saramago is magical that way.

    This afternoon I skimmed through some of the book, rereading underlined passages. It’s a challenge to quote Saramago because his “sentences” are the length of paragraphs, while his paragraphs are the length of chapters; his humor is difficult to take out of context, and the dialogue is not separated from the narrative.  But here are a couple of excerpts that I like:

    …The good and the evil resulting from our words and deeds go on apportioning themselves, one assumes in a reasonably uniform and balanced way, throughout all the days to follow, including those endless days, when we shall not be here to find out, to congratulate ourselves or ask for pardon, indeed there are those who claim that this is the much-talked-of immortality ….

    … She did not waste time asking herself where such a thought had come from, she was only surprised at its slowness, at how the first word had been so slow in appearing, the slowness of those to follow, and how she found that the thought was already there before, somewhere or other, and only the words were missing, like a body searching in the bed for the hollow that had been prepared for it by the mere idea of lying down. 

     

    … animals are like people, they get used to everything in the end.

    That last one reminded me of something Dostoevsky wrote in another of my favorite pieces of fiction, House of the Dead, - “Man is a creature who can get used to anything, and I believe that is the very best way of defining him.” 

    There are many days when I think this is true. In Blindness, Saramago offers a great parable. 

    Popularity: 45% [?]

    Apr

    18

    Billy Joel Keeps It Real

    Filed Under current affairs, music, nostalgia, people | 4 Comments

    I can offer no explanation of my fondness for John Mellencamp’s music … years ago when I was a 15 year old I didn’t even know any adults who listened to him, but for whatever reason, there was a connection to this prickly Midwesterner’s songs. Well, John was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last month, and he was introduced by another great American singer songwriter, Billy Joel.

    Of course, being a native New Yorker, I couldn’t help but know about Joel, and oh … the days when you could actually hear him on the Top 40 radio station. Back when it was okay for a “pop star” to be in their 30s, or chubby, or balding, or singing things that would never play in a night club. But now I’m starting to sound like an old grump muttering about the “good ole days.” 

    Here’s an excerpt from Joel’s introduction; another reason why he and Mellencamp are all right in my book. 

    Don’t let this club membership change you, John. Stay ornery, stay mean. We need you to be pissed off, and restless, because no matter what they tell us - we know, this country is going to hell in a handcart. This country’s been hijacked. You know it and I know it. People are worried. People are scared, and people are angry. People need to hear a voice like yours that’s out there to echo the discontent that’s out there in the heartland. They need to hear stories about it. [Audience applauds] They need to hear stories about frustration, alienation and desperation. They need to know that somewhere out there somebody feels the way that they do, in the small towns and in the big cities. They need to hear it. And it doesn’t matter if they hear it on a jukebox, in the local gin mill, or in a goddamn truck commercial, because they ain’t gonna hear it on the radio anymore. They don’t care how they hear it, as long as they hear it good and loud and clear the way you’ve always been saying it all along. You’re right, John, this is still our country.

    (transcription courtesy of Wikipedia.org; video available here - this excerpt is from the last 2 minutes of the clip)

     

    Popularity: 42% [?]

    Apr

    15

    Reports from the Home Front

    Filed Under being creative, lil things, love, new things, people, plans, pregnancy | 11 Comments

    Stuff #1: Well, not only did he not know who Cyndi Lauper was, or recognize the blind, black man with braids as Stevie Wonder, but today I discovered that my husband doesn’t know who Sean Penn, W.E.B. Dubois, or Langston Hughes are. Or Bette Davis. 

    But in all truthfulness, I’d never heard of Richard Feynman, Alan Turing, Gauss, Heisenberg, Von Neumann or the Bernoullis before I met him… so we both have our weak areas. His is popular culture and Black History; mine is physics, mathematics, and computer science. You can decide which is worse. 

    In any case, we are learning from each other. Hopefully, our child(ren) will learn from us both. 

    ***

    Stuff #2: I’m learning to swim! After 3 lessons, and 3 additional sessions (on my own), I can “kick” and “fin” on both my stomach and my back, without any assistance. So if I fall into a small body of water I shouldn’t drown.  Although this has never been a real danger for me, knowing this feels really great.  I love going to the pool. I finally got over my swimsuit fears (well, mostly; my suit is a short skirt and midriff-concealing top), and don’t care what people think of my body. So I guess that’s modesty without the self-consciousness, which is all I ask.

    Yesterday, the midwife told me it was okay to get in the hot tub so long as I didn’t let myself cook; that made my DAY. I love a jetted hot tub. Learning to swim has been an empowering experience; every day I see progress, and become more bold. Plus, I’m doing my part to defy the stereotype that black people can’t swim. (Click here for an interesting article on that annoyingly persistent myth - most of my family believes it, and they all swim!)

    ***

    Stuff #3: Picked up Murakami’s Elephant Stories (at reader Hotei’s suggestion), as well as several Saramago novels I’ve not yet read, including his latest, Seeing. I’ve decided to write a few short children’s books for my own kid(s) based on people in my and Michael’s families. Getting the illustrations done will be the biggest challenge, but my brother-in-law is an artist, and one of my brothers is very good, too. I’m teaching myself to draw,  but it will be a while before I can do anything substantial.

    I learned more about my predecessors … my granddad (an aspiring writer, who wrote numerous novels that were never published) wrote a letter to W.E.B. Dubois, who wrote back to him. The letters are published in a book of Dubois’ correspondence. This granddad’s mom, Rebecca, was a labor organizer in Panama, and met Paul Robeson (another person Michael’s never heard of). And her mom, Mary Jane - the Jamaican woman who married the Scotsman - wasn’t of African descent, as I’d assumed; she was Arawak. Rebecca was a pretty incredible woman. Discovering things about my recent ancestors has been such a gift. I feel more grounded, richer … as though I have something to give to my children apart from myself.

    I also learned that Michael’s paternal ancestors from Spain were Sephardic (Jews). When I told him this, his response was the typical wisecracking: “So there’s still a chance I’ll be rich!” Oh lord. He doesn’t care a whit about ancestry or family history. In some things, we couldn’t be more different.

    So many stories …. If you’re looking for stories, start at home.

     

    Popularity: 55% [?]

    Apr

    12

    24 hours in Nebraska

    Filed Under events, uu culture, uuism, workshops | 2 Comments

    I flew into Omaha yesterday to co-lead three anti-racism workshops at Prairie Star District’s Annual Meeting. People here have been extraordinarily nice. Sherry Warren, the district’s Youth and Young Adult Specialist, was a wonderful hostess. After picking us up from the airport, she took me and my Groundwork co-trainer, Braeden, to a steakhouse, where we all ate delicious Omaha Ribeyes with Wisconsin (?) cheddar mashed potatoes. Oh, gosh, that was so good. I hadn’t eaten a bona fide steak in a while. Sherry was excited that we were meat-eaters. Braeden ate every bite of his steak. They were big.

    Okay, enough food chatter. Approximately 55-60 people went through our workshops, and the best word I can use to describe our reception is gracious. I’ve heard that Southerners are known for the hospitality, but I’ve found Midwesterners to be tops, so far. Just so earnest, and friendly. The people in our workshops thanked us profusely for being there, and were so engaged and - gasp - they filled out their evaluation forms! Amazing. 

    Last year, the Prairie Star District commissioned a team (now called GRACE: Growing Racial And Cultural Equity) to look at implementing specifically anti-racist policies and practices within the district. GRACE is the group that sponsored the workshops I co-led. I met Cheryll Wallace and Nathan Woodruff, who are on the GRACE team. I really enjoyed meeting and talking with them. Cheryll’s son and daughter-in-law attended one of the workshops along with her, and were active participants. The Saturday morning speaker, Rev. Meg Riley, weaved issues of race and racial history into her sermon/lecture about faith, family, and knowledge of self. What a great environment to come into!

    After four plus years of doing Groundwork programming, this is my favorite yet. Even though it’s cold, dreary, and snowing here, my impression of Omaha, Nebraska, and the Midwest is very bright. 

    Popularity: 60% [?]

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