TSM: Self Determination

Peace!

I have been so busy at home, in my cipher at work. A lot has fallen by the wayside. But those are just excuses and not reasons. So.... to do my due diligence.... I'm a play catch up. I'm going into 2013 at least with a clean blog slate. And something happened to my November actual fact build that I have been unable to figure out. So now, I tend to cross reference my blog. I learn something new every day and I wouldn't have that opportunity it I didn't put myself out there.....

The coordinating Supreme Mathematics attached to the principals of Kwanzaa are always the same. Kwanzaa is a dated observance like Christmas and the 4th of July. So once the build comes forth.., it's there. The second principal of Kwanzaa is Self Determination. That coupled with Wisdom God abbt Born gives me my perspective.
A person's actions brings forth their ideas.

What a person (God) does, or chooses to do (Wisdom) will always bring forth (Born) their future. That works no matter who you are. If you want to be a doctor, first the decision must be made by the person doing it. They know their own mind and their abilities. Then one must take the steps to make that happen. Then once everything has played out, the life they live or have is a direct result of the previous decision + activities.

So? What are you going to bring forth in 2013? What am I? Am I going to keep doing the same old things? Yes and no. Yes to the things that work and aid me in my goals (like running) and no to the things that enrage me (like expecting people to adhere to my concept of 'righteousness'). Plus I'm going to add some new things to my personal cipher.



Peace

Habari Gani Y’all?

Peace. It’s the 1st day of Kwanzaa and I am tickled. And not necessarily in a good way…

Kwanzaa is an observance that Dr. Karenga, and Original man, came up with for BLACK American people to have for themselves. I came to Kwanzaa late. My Dad gave me a kinara because he bought it with the intent of celebrating it himself and got lost. I don’t blame him. After getting it, I had no idea what to do with it either. It was the 90’s and the internet had not been released yet. I asked my mother, a librarian, if she could get me some info on the holiday, but she decided it was not of-Jesus and lied to me about being able to find information. Once I got access the world wide web, I found some information and a conscious book store hipped me to a few books and my personal Kwanzaa observance was born.

I don't see it as a gift holiday like xmas, or a religious one like Hanukkah. It is not an African holiday/observance so there is no need to don a dashiki unless you dress like that anyway. It is time for me to reflect on me, my life, and the status of Original people. And there is a new build each day. Day one is Unity. I tend not to think so much the Swahili words. I speak American English and live in a country where that is the language. I don't speak any other Swahili words... though I do have the Rosetta Stone... I get it's part of the tradition and I leave them there, But when I build on the day... It's the English word. I wake contemplating the attribute, at some point with regard to Supreme Mathematics, and in the evening, I light my candles and build with the 7 over a meal. Then I extinguish them candles quick. 1 set is supposed to last a week. And Kwanzaa candles are expensive when you buy them in the conscious stores. One store I went to wanted $12 for 7 candles. That is highway robbery! But I am funny about the the colors of my candles. I only like a certain green and a certain red. On New Years Day, I prepare a traditional Black people meal complete with black eyed peas and collard greens and do the damn thing. Them candles can burn how they want to on the Faith day... I usually like to have friends drop in and out and share the food. But they gotta bring something. Negroes will eat up ALL your food if you let them. And sharing of a meal is more in tune with my cee on the celebration.

What makes me nervous... is that our lack of support of said holiday will open the doors for the devil to claim it. This is how they do. They steal from Original people, bastardize it and sell it back to us at a profit. Just like they did to Jazz, blues and rap music. Look at this shit....

I really feel like it’s a damn shame. Black folks desire their own specific, authentic culture, yet when faced with the desires, they side eye it. Kwanzaa came out in the 60’s people. That was nearly 60 years ago. There are lots of people who weren’t born in the 60’s yet they learned how to celebrate their own birthdays. So the bull shit excuse of not knowing what to do is shit. Especially coupled with rampant internet access. Get you a kinara, a mat, some candles, fruit and cowrie shells. With the exception of the kinara (and not necessarily) you can find everything you need at a beauty supply store…. Celebrate being Black people! Nobody does it like we do it.

OK… With that being said I can move on to my Umoja/Unity build…..

Today’s Supreme Mathematics is Wisdom Equality abbt Build/Destroy. My cee on unity coincides with social... men coming together for a common cause. That is an action. And one's actions must yield a balance otherwise your destroying. But when the reverse is true, you build. So we can be Build as a group or Destroy as a group. Either way, we are unified.

I was watching Roots this weekend. BET was showing it and I realized that where as I saw Roots when it 1st aired on TV, there is a whole generation of young adults… with their own children…. Who have never seen Roots before. WOW! That movie is 35+ years old! Young people have seen Blaxploitation movies but not roots? I was looking at the responses from young folk on Twitter, FB and Tumblr and realized that for a lot of them, this is their 1st vision of slavery and it slapped them in the face how devils did and do. I blame my generation for letting the lamps go out. My mother was good, really good, about telling my brother and I about the realities of what her life was like in the Jim Crow south and not letting us forget that the devil is alive and well. I had it better than my ancestors but I have not shared their and my own testimonies with the babies. Yes white folks are still racist (as our president’s election has brought to the surface) but there was a time when we weren’t even allowed to bitch about it otherwise, we’d get dead, sold away from our families, or our feet cut off. We have to do better. Slavery was not that long ago. My great, great grandmother was a slave.

So my unifying action will be focused on letting the younger people know ***singing*** how we got over……. And hopefully that will build stronger communities.

Peace!

Apocalypse 2012

Peace,

The Apocalypse is upon us. It should hit exactly 4:12 am mountain standard time. So if you go to sleep and wake up…. You have made it through. I have been making big jokes about this all week and I have been watching end of the world shows. It has been fun. In case you weren’t ware of why the apocalypse is scheduled for tomorrow morning I will drop that bit of science. For the Mayans and a lot of other Native/Original cultures, they marked time using solstices and equinoxes. But let’s look exactly at the solstice and what is currently going on, on this planet…..

I grew up celebrating the solstice. My peeps were different than other peeps. The winter solstice is an astrologic observance not so much a religious holiday. I see no problem with righteous people observing it. It is supposed to be the longest night of the year. After the summer solstice the daylight gets progressively shorter. And now daylight will get progressively longer. If you do a search of how other cultures mark this passing, it’s all about rebirth. The Sun is being reborn to human eyes on this planet. I get that. I can see how folks get a spooky impression. But strip all of that down….

When people are dependant on the land for their lives, they need to mark consistent repeatable events that occur from season to season to tell them when the time is right to plant, to shear their animals, to travel and so forth. Solstices and equinoxes are perfect for that. 4 events mark the 4 seasons. The Sun doesn’t change. And as long as the Earth maintains it’s tilt and it’s 93 million mile distance from the Sun, these events can be scheduled each season. Each season brings its own challenges. But if you know they are coming, you can prepare for them. So there you have the real reason for the season demystified.

Keeping in that vein, let me give you my thoughts on what I have witnessed with my own eyes…. When I was younger, I remember it being dark near Xmas at 5pm. So much in fact, that I had to be in the house before 5pm when He-Man came on. More recently, I remember going to work in the dark and leaving the building in the dark at 5pm. And it was real darkness not the foolishness I saw yesterday. Yesterday at 5:05 pm it was bright outside, real bright. I had time to leave work, drive home, change my clothes and go for a run. I’m thinking it’s not going to get darker between now and this evening. Another thing, over the summer, about a month before the summer solstice, the 7 and I wear traveling and at 5:30 am the sun was up and shining. Not slightly coming up but really up. Now I’m grown enough to know that even with dst the sun should not be shining that brightly at 5:30 am. And I remember the sun setting not after 9 pm. But now the Sun is setting latter than 9 pm in the summer. Almost near 10 pm. To blame that on DST, DST would have to be off 2 hours rather than the hour it is.

Another physical thing I have noticed was that the outdoor trees and plants have become more lush these days. I have finally cultivated a green thumb and I be getting my plant on. So I am good about noticing the differences between indoor/outdoor plants. And these outdoor plants are just going crazy. Trees are getting bigger, leaf size has increased and I’m thinking all this extras sunlight is affecting foliage. Now this is something I have not observed with my own eyes, but I have read news articles that report that trees and plants are growing at higher elevations than they did before. Let me tell you why I find significant….

Global warming is a fact. But it’s also a fact I’m not losing sleep over. Our planet is a big girl who has been spinning on her own axis for 4.5 billion years (despite what republicans say). She can take care of herself. That’s the nature of Nature. Nature is neither wasteful nor cheap. It makes adjustments to exist optimally. Bigger, fuller foliage will manage the ozone problem but providing a bigger filter. Humans want to cut down the Amazon? Forests will pop up in other locations. That’s how life/nature works. Eventually it will become an us against her type scenario. Folks who can’t abide on the planet naturally and peacefully will be expelled in some way. So I’m not super worried about what the future hold for me and mine because we know how to live in harmony with nature. And how to farm and keep animals in a cruelty free environment. We good.

If y’all have been paying attention, we have been having a LOT of significant Earthquakes. These earthquakes are large enough to knock the Earth off her axis. The axis or tilt of the Earth is responsible for the seasons as we know them. So maybe the solstice is not happening when generally scheduled. But we won’t know that unless we are in one of those monuments that mark the event.

So many righteous people shun holidays. I couldn’t be happy without them. It gives me something pleasant to look forward to and it break my year up. Also… and maybe this is because I’m a woman… I like the orderliness, tradition and ritual of having to prepare a celebration for my family. So on this apocalyptic evening, I’m going to enjoy it with the man I love while enjoying some tasty vegan eats. I’m thinking red beans and rice, hoe cakes, fruitcake, egg nog and wine. And we are going to light some candles and get ready for the Sun to grow back.



Peace Family! Enjoy the Holiday!

It's Mine Damnit!

Peace Y’all,

I have been feeling some kind of way about this particular issue for some time. I wanted to build on it before the holiday. Because we are going to watch Roots and I always get emotional when I watch Roots and I won’t be able to get back to this topic until sometime in 2013. But American Black people need to be mindful… We aren’t African.

Yes some of us are melanated and appear to match appearances to people on that continent, but we match appearances to people on many continents, including India (the darkest person I have ever seen in my life was an East Indian man wearing a light blue shirt), Australia, South America and some of the Polynesian islands. So why are American Black people so intent on claiming Africa?

I know most of us are descended from African slaves… a fact deal with it… so that means that more than likely our mitochondrial DNA can be matched to West Africa. But West Africa is a big area and we DON’T know exactly where. Most Black families didn’t keep a Kunta Kintae record of their family tree. So there is no way to know where in Africa we specifically descend and that is super important. Because Africans don’t call themselves “African”. They call themselves by the name of their countries and/or tribes. Calling ourselves “African-Americans” is just wrong and more importantly stupid.

Also… the dastardly thing that we seem to forget is many of the ancestors of the Africans that currently live on that continent were complicit in our ancestors being caught by slavers. So…. Technically it is partly their fault that we are citizens of this wilderness. Yet we strive to claim them as long lost cousins? Really? I have legitimate cousins I don’t speak to because they owe me money. I’m supposed to claim these people? I don’t.

I get why we do it. We don’t appear to have a culture outside the devil’s culture. That is 85% true. We have been fully indoctrinated. We celebrate his holidays, his rites of passages; we have adopted his ways and actions and most unfortunately his values. We would be hard pressed to find the delineation line between us. But one does exist. We don’t do things exactly the way the devil does them. We don’t exactly look at the world the same as he does either. There are some differences; and if we could highlight them and truly celebrate them, we could have the distinct culture that our race hungers for.

Culture is defined as the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group. (It’s not lost on me that I used the devil’s dictionary to get this definition) That includes shared customs, language, food and a location. There is a lot that Original Black people on this continent can claim as our own. The problem is we have been led to believe that what we do and create for ourselves is somehow inferior to what the devil does for himself. And have actually been made to feel ashamed for wanting to proclaim the components of a separate, independent culture.

We have soul food… Developed because the white man fed us scraps like animals. I’m surprised he didn’t throw it on the ground. But we took it and made it so tasty the devil wants to eat it. But of course he takes credit for it. Do the knowledge, during antebellum times, wealthy landowners... you know the ones who could afford to own slaves… ate European food. That’s their culture. Why would they develop soul food? It’s not logical. But he could smell it coming from the quarters and when he was done raping Sallie Sue, he was probably hungry and sent her to get him some local vittles. That sounds about right. But we have been led to believe that it is unhealthy. And I don’t disagree with that, but European food isn’t any healthier. Think about this… Turducken, Yorkshire pudding and all them French sauces? Come on son. In this age, soul food can be made healthier and I don’t know any Black person, and I know lots of Black people… southern black people at that… who don’t consume soul food daily. So soul food shaming just needs t stop.

Ebonics is hugely been put on blast. So stupid. Most Black folks I know, know that there is a time and place for everything. We don’t speak Ebonically to devils because we know they won’t understand. If we need work, or interact with them we will speak their language. We know how to turn it off and on. We have been living here for 500+ years. We aren’t stupid. Why can’t we have our own language to use when we are in relax mode? Just like Latinos will speak Spanish in the presence of people they think don’t understand for privacy, I like it that we have that Ebonic option. But of course…. The devil tells us there is something shameful and uncivilized about speaking anything other than the ‘King’s English.” Eff em. I love that my beloved Nation has given me the option of “Nation Speak” in addition to Ebonics. Where I can speak to the God or any righteous person in the vicinity and the 85, 10 or devil won’t know what the hell I am saying.

When I got legally married, I included a broom jumping ceremony in with the other festivities. A she-devil and I were building about the ceremony and, of course, she didn’t know what that was. I explained it to her. She caught a pained look on her face. I thought she was passing a kidney stone. And she asked me, “Why would you want to reenact something so painful for your people?” Really? These people reenact civil war battles all the damn time but this expression of love is too painful for my people? That’s them poo pooing on something that specifically and only belongs to us. Something they cannot take part in; therefore we shouldn’t either. Just like use of the N-Word.

I love Hip Hop. Nothing other than the commercialization of the genre would turn me away from it. But I have old school Hip Hop to soothe my soul. I like old jazz, old blues, certain gospel and reggae. You see where I’m going with this? I like the Original music from people on this continent. But… as always. The devil has interloped in the genre and bastardized its expression to a more savage one befitting THEIR perception on what our culture is. But we are still making good music and we have memories of a time when it was pure. Devils can’t have that so they try to sample and/or erase it from memory.

My point is … WE HAVE A VALID CULTURE. We do not need to hearken to a continent of people who don’t claim us or want anything from us except money. Embrace and celebrate that culture that we do have and you will find it most satisfactory. The 7 and I don’t celebrate Xmas, but because everyone else does we have to make adjustments. We spend the day indoors, watching long movies. In 2010 we watched all 6 Star Wars movies. Last year we watched all 4 of the LTRs. This year …. Roots! This is how you build your own authentic culture.


Peace!

B5793

Peace Y’all,

Like so many people, I have unblogged projects in my closet. When I realize that I have not blogged a project I labor to get it out there. There is, however, a reason why this particular project was unblogged. Technically it’s unfinished. But I’m wearing it without the least bit of shame so I might as well blog it. Shall we?

This little jacket was beyond easy. Seriously. I got the pattern on sale (and I’m not gonna keep saying that because I ONLY buy patterns on sale), it intrigued me. And for $0.99 you just can’t pass on it. Start to finish, my version took 30 minutes. There are 3 pieces. The most difficult part was finishing it off, which I admit; I could have done better… But I Didn’t!

B5793

Pattern Description: Misses'/Women's Shawl and Kimono Jacket

Pattern Sizing: XS-XL (I cut XL)


Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow?
I didn’t really need them. There were 3 (really 4) pieces. I could figure it out

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
This pattern intrigued me. It’s not like I was looking for a kimono jacket. But I thought it was interesting and it was on sale so I bought it. A jacket with ¾ sleeves? Who is that good for? And how does that work?

Fabric Used:
Acetate as per the store. I scored this fabric at a local mom&pop store and I had to take the cutters word for it. It was all of $2/yd. I could play…..

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
There was a piece I omitted from sheer laziness. It would have given the edge a nice finish. I decided to just fold and sew. And it works. I didn’t even do the sleeves, and I have gotten massive compliments on the jacket

Would you sew it again? I think so. I’ll do it right the next time. This might be good for a summer sweater? Or maybe in denim?

Would you recommend it to others? Definitely

Conclusion: Definitely give it try.

I rock this with a belt normally. I have worn it few times. I’ve worn it with a denim skirt and a turtle neck. Not for warmth but for style. Normally I secure it (because it isn’t meant to have buttons) with a belt. But I’m gassy today (I know TMI) and I didn’t feel like a belt across my gut. It’s good for vending too, because you can get this turned around quick.


Peace!


PS: I think this catches me up!