February 28, 2011
“I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.” - Denzel Washington
Happy Monday!
Sometime, in
2011 I’ll essay about why “African-American Black” History month has no need
for in the school systems.
Personally, I
don’t believe in one month of celebrating diversity but a yearlong
responsibility.
Happy
“African-American Black” History Month and rest of the year.
Happy Chinese
New Year!
Gabriela
February 25, 2011
“I've worked in a factory. I was a garbage man. I worked in a post
office. It's not that long ago. I like to think that I'm just a regular guy.”
- Denzel Washington
Happy
Friday!
Happy
“African-American Black” History Month and rest of the year.
Happy Chinese
New Year!
Trying to
take Friday’s off from work and just sit and relax with the “hubby” on the
couch.
Gabriela
February 24, 2011
“I'm not a film buff. I don't watch a lot of movies.” -
Denzel Washington
Happy
Thursday!
Happy
“African-American Black” History Month and rest of the year.
Happy Chinese
New Year!
Gabriela
February 23, 2011
“Black or white good parts are hard to come by. A good actor with
a good opportunity has a shot; without the opportunity it doesn't matter how
good you are.” - Denzel Washington
Happy
Wednesday!
We’ll discuss
“African-American Black” History month some other time and what it represents
to some “Blacks” in America.
Happy
“African-American Black” History Month and rest of the year.
Happy Chinese
New Year!
Gabriela
February 22, 2011
“It is vitally important that we can continue to say, with absolute conviction, that organic farming delivers the highest quality, best-tasting food, produced without artificial chemicals or genetic modification, and with respect for animal welfare and the environment, while helping to maintain the landscape and rural communities.” - Prince Charles
Happy
Tuesday!
Happy
“African-American Black” History Month and rest of the year.
Happy Chinese
New Year!
Happy George
Washington’s Birthday - First President of the United States of America!
Let me jump right into a bright blue sky of a Tuesday
afternoon in cold February. The days are moving quickly and beautifully. For
those Brothers and Sisters in New Zealand – our prayers have been going out to
you. For our Chinese Brothers and Sisters the “word” on the street is that a
great-great drought has taken over some parts of China. Our prayers are also
with you. May the world prosper from a strong and great wheat harvest this
season because the world will need it from many discussions I've held in the
last month with people far smarter than myself about agriculture.
{Random Thought #1: As
for spitting: Yes, the word is “spit”. I’ve only heard the expression “I was so
mad I could spit!” from the Greatest Generation – from many socio-economical
positions in life, regions and prominently Caucasian women. I’ve never actually
seen such beauties spit – nor have I spit or much less thrown anything while
I’ve been in the presence and directly in conversation towards another or
afterwards. I’ve written that I have spit in anger, because - spiritually,
emotionally and intellectually I have. Every aspect of my body rejects
miscommunication especially while women of the world are calm, lovely and
gracious enough to consider another.
Considering the
thought about spitting is not an action of spitting but it most certainly has
become “…the thought that counts” as many people use this mode of expression.
So, I’m drawing a clear distinction that I did a great writing disservice about
the subject matter of “spitting” rather than expressing a sentiment (not
nostalgia) in the thought about thinking about wanting to spit. Are you with me
so far? Moving on…
I look forward to
spitting some day in my life if and when the spirit calls me to it, but I
haven’t yet because I haven’t gotten that mad and I would not look forward to
the anger rather to the great American freedom that I could spit if I chose to
without being fined or arrested. I have spit from choking and pneumonia before
- having to self-administer the Heimlich
maneuver in my mid-twenties all I could do afterwards was to sit on my kitchen
floor, throw my throat back and laugh-hard because I had-had enough presence of
mind to think about administering the Heimlich
maneuver while in the midst of choking; only due to my past experiences in
First Aid classes and such.}
Knowledge is what differentiates translation
in terms de un idioma a otro.
{Random thought #2: I
think in Spanish, first – and – then, must undertake the tedious task to
translate as quickly and as fluently as possible into English yet many words
and more often than not context gets lost in translation. Spanish is a far more
an exaggerated language with gestures, accents and meaning than English seems
so monotone in tone, accent and a stoic perspective in gestures - I greatly
enjoyed an animation my Husband just recently showed me about three years ago;
“Family Guy” I’ve only watched about ten episodes so far and I’ve never laughed
so hard before I had to sit up straight as no sound left my body. This “Family
Guy” show – as well as the “Simpson’s” and “South Park” for animation episodes
are quite extraordinary with social commentary and keen observations made that
could not be done elsewhere otherwise. I had to look into this animation and I
don’t know any of the people who work on this production nor do I pretend to…
yet it was the young and lovely actress as voiceover of the character “Meg”
that I enjoyed her other work as a live-action actress. People are so talented
all over the world – it’s incredible. I enjoy pop art. I do. How can I not? Pop
art to me is as close as people get to reflecting the views and challenges of
modern society. Animation can make points, examples and exaggerations far more
freely than any documentary film ever could. Tremendous contributions are made
by our animators of this modern age.}
------------ ---------- -----------
Writing Exercise: Try to compare and
contrast a former model of system vs. a modern model of system.
With that said, “African-American Black” or not let us
consider a question that I have been mulling around in my small brain as a
thinker and writer. Are wristbands - an archaic institution, that mimic those
oppressive structures of slavery and bondage as in chains? (A creative thinking
exercise to challenge anyone to hypothetically apply intelligence of any type
to a basic structure in mode of operation and consumerism.)
One, why are citizens who frequent nightclubs in certain
regions enforced to wear wristbands and be stamped like cattle and (well,
frankly let me get to the direct point at hand) “shackled” yes, as in slavery shackled
or for a lack of another English word “bondage” - (not as in sex bondage –
literally as in kept in chains bondage – another blog for another day.) Why is
that? I understand the security process and to keep underage patrons from
breaking the law. Is there another way to construct a system where humans are
not made to be wear wristbands? Silly, isn’t it to consider such a thought.
However, why not consider the thought, anyway.
When I consider anything in thought I wonder the following:
What, Where, When, How, Why and Who.
I come to the table and offer consideration and thought:
What is a wristband? Where are wristbands being applied not as on the body but
as in the environment – (What’s your twenty – What’s your location)? When are
wristbands being applied? How are wristbands being applied? Why are wristbands
being applied? Who’s applying the wristband?
Moving on: Can we even begin to compare and contrast
slavery of any type through the modes and methods in which people are kept
slaves? Yes, it is possible and tedious to do so I will refrain myself from
writing a twenty page paper. Nevertheless, a mode of slavery has been thought
of as a “marking”, “chaining” and “ownership” tool to suggest a time and place
where people find each other either by circumstance, chance meeting or destiny
(whatever that may mean to you) playing different roles of either the oppressor
or the oppressed.
Branding.
Why do some wristbands of nightclubs in certain regions
have advertisement on them? Do patrons of some nightclubs then become slaves to
the walking talking advertisement of their experience? Is this a bit far
stretched in argument? Well, sure. Why not? But this thesis, question, debate
can always have a rebuttal and with that further continued debate about contemporary
economic slavery and hopefully the debate can take place amongst all people
because if it can be thought of then it can be discussed.
Immediately, I thought of freedom from slavery when I had a
wristband applied to my right wrist (considering it’s “African-American Black”
History Month in America) and then two other wristbands for a third nightclub
entrance and into a VIP section “bar hopping” throughout a mostly
urban-metropolitan pedestrian downtown section of a city (making much commercial-economical progress and hopefully within a
downtown community of civilians and neighbors already established in
surrounding areas for over twenty some years, farmer’s markets, parades and
world tourism throughout the year, alongside a diverse work force that is
creative, intelligent and mindful of all citizens. Progress is always on a
spectrum from greater more or less than not from one continuum to another. I
hope that translated.)
One Experience in Example: I don’t frequent nightclubs
often but when I do I consider their structure and function.
[We went through
several roped off areas, a set of curved stairwells meeting away from each
other at a top landing where a man dressed in a black suit with feet
shoulder-wide apart, open-arms with hands comfortably resting on a railing and
we veered left to another roped off area and yet eventually through the last
roped off tier and up a short set of steps and into the smallest area of a
nightclub. ‘Whew,’ I thought ‘That’s - what I could imagine would be just like
climbing a pastel cake’ as the story unfolded with dime size stiletto heels’
dug into the canvas-plastic of beautiful red-orange furniture (another blog for
another day – taxes, is all I have to say). (I don’t judge it, personally I
don’t partake in the darker aspects of life and I try not to contribute to it
because I believe as geeky as it may seem in light instead of darkness.) It is
what it is. Everybody knows right and wrong in their hearts. I was taught that
we were born knowing even the toughest of answers.
As grown adults we
all understand the implications in life and we live and let live. I will try to
uphold my “old-fashion” principals to the best of my human ability to my life –
but by no means tell another how to be unless directly asked otherwise it’s not
my business, (and if someone makes anything personally about me then be
prepared to be shunned if the idea has been made in suggestion about me and
towards me to contribute to the darkness) – but that night it was truly an
honor to be in a chill room amongst adults who were chill-axing, enjoying
musica and peacefully unwinding after a long week of work without exotic
dancers or prostitutes in the VIP section that night. It was a sight to be
seen. Respectful. Confident and clear headed civilians. What is there not to be
attracted to qualities in hard working people like that who are logical,
functional and peaceful in any room in the world?
‘Wonderful a
little bit of a maze.’ I understood about the structure of the nightclub as I
sat there and took in heavy house beats into my soul and how it was set up and
more importantly why. Truly, I did. I could only imagine that some late 1980’s
and early 1990’s MTV Generational designer decided that climbing to the top of
a cake layout and getting a “lap dance” at the top where the dancers are
supposed to perform, after hours then how that occurred to them as funny –
someone gave that much thought to the layout in consideration. Guess what? That
much consideration was funny to me, too. I had to let out-loud laughter escape
my body while on a public dance floor amongst hard working young adult
students, professionals and people out in general on a Thursday night. Time
slowed down for me while on that dance floor and I went a little tribal,
spiritually. For me time slows down to musica and I find a heartbeat. I don’t
always dance fast but try to find a balance amongst sweaty-hard-working
citizens respectfully holding a beat above their heads and contributing to a
high level of rhythm in tempo. I was grateful to be alive in that moment. I
was. I had been a guest and upheld a high level of respect even though I’d
rather be at home reading a book and sitting with the “Hubby”.]
Furthermore, I had to consider; Are devices implemented to keep people in or to keep people
out? It depends. Where are you standing?
A friend and I spoke about Earthquakes yesterday and she
said to me with full laugher and sentiment in imagination: “Could you imagine
being the person who falls into infinity of an Earthquake never to be seen
again?” She asked. We stared at each other. “I can’t imagine falling and dying
like that.” I said to her. ‘Although economical modern slavery – seems to be
much the same’ - the thought did occur to me. We face economical challenges
each and every day as grown adults whether you have all of the money in the
world or none. Decisions must be considered and made when we think about how to
use any currency and when.
My most present thought about the wristbands is this – why
not make wristbands from organic re-useable, recyclable resources?
The recyclable and re-usable bamboo-hemp wristbands would
make more of a statement than any commercial, slogan or campaign ever would –
since wristbands are going to be bought and used and have been bought and used
for twenty years why not look to alternative resources in materials – it might
not even cost all that much more, who knows – we could “in-source” handmade,
organic cloth made materials for the betterment of the future and recognize
that making a commitment to recyclable materials is hip and is here to stay
because the world’s resources are being exhausted to its utmost capacity.
Will wristbands made from friendlier materials release the
act of placing an object around the wrist of another?
No. Well, I wouldn’t worry about it much – not too many
people consider such thoughts unless they wash their hands and get the darn
wristbands wet (which is not an excuse for not washing your hands), then begins
a nightlong struggle to want to rip the wristbands off. That simple – the human
body, the skin, the mind knows what to reject, like rejecting another’s organ
only because it’s an obtrusive object.
Will humans evolve to a thinking species which can and will
eliminate any slavery, oppression and prejudice of any form?
Can economical and mental slavery be abolished?
Has it been accomplished in the history of humankind?
Of course, it has. Please look it up.
Small thoughts can sometimes introduce smarter concepts,
further research and consideration and hopefully discussion.
Imagine, every nightclub across the world with not a single
advertisement, slogan or campaign on wristbands rather a wristband that stands
alone and represents what it is – a fabulous piece of material.
Random thought: Ask any woman who’s ever worn a dress made
from well made bamboo-hemp fabrics what she thinks of her dress and she will
give you a most satisfied look in the world because - truly, she is in her own
skin in that moment in that dress and what human can’t get behind feeling-like,
they’re in their own skin? I’ve watched men walk across rooms in any well made
garment full of confidence because the materials they wore did not scratch,
pinch or pull at their skin. I enjoy the thought that something as simple as
fashion is changing the world because so is the industry of fabrics, “mom and
pop” tents, shops and studios where people make one of a kind pieces of
clothing. It’s quite an art.
No wonder, slavery doesn’t last? Slavery exists but it
doesn't last – women make progress through fashion, intelligence and when women
make smart choices then they have an effect in changing the world. Smart women
put their mouths where their money is in supporting values for the greater good
of all (another blog for another day).
People do not like to be summoned nor restrained.
Cheers.
I have many other responsibilities for today.
Ciao.
Gabriela
P.S. My dada once
said to me, “What will you do if you get a pebble stuck in your shoe?”
I looked up at him
with my thirteen year old eyes and stared at my Father for a while. I wondered,
‘Is this a trick question?’ I mustered all the courage inside my heart and
answered, “I will remove the pebble from my shoe.”
“Of course you
will take the time to stop, take off your shoe and remove the pebble from your
shoe and then place your shoe back on. Why? Because, otherwise, you will suffer
and the suffering will get worst throughout the day until that small pebble
will cost you-your interactions, clarity of mind and communication. If you can
refrain yourself from creating pain, then do it – it will help you enjoy life
and watch out for those who can’t seem to take the pebble from society’s shoe,
they just don’t know that it’s that simple to enjoy and be comfortable amongst
others.” My Father stared at me with respect, love and admiration from a
doorway as I wrote down what he had said to me.
My father has
always changed my life since the first time I ever saw him in any airport in
the world in San Jose, Costa Rica at the tender age of ten when we first met as
Father and Daughter. Never did I think that this man for a Father would enhance
my learning and teaching of the world as he has. My Father made me an
intelligent Woman of the World and I thank him for that every day of my life.
Source from
Wikipedia
Abdominal thrusts, also known as the Heimlich Maneuver (after Henry Heimlich, who first described the procedure in a June 1974 informal article entitled "Pop Goes the Cafe Coronary", published in the journal Emergency Medicine).
Edward A. Patrick, MD, PhD, an associate of Heimlich, has claimed to be the uncredited co-developer of the procedure. Heimlich has objected to the name "abdominal thrusts" on the grounds that the vagueness of the term "abdomen" could cause the rescuer to exert force at the wrong site.
Performing abdominal thrusts involves a rescuer standing behind a patient and using their hands to exert pressure on the bottom of the diaphragm. This compresses the lungs and exerts pressure on any object lodged in the trachea, hopefully expelling it. This amounts to an artificial cough. Due to the forceful nature of the procedure, even when done correctly it can injure the person on whom it is performed. Bruising to the abdomen is highly likely and more serious injuries can occur, including fracture of the xiphoid process or ribs. In some areas, such as Australia, authorities believe that there is not enough scientific evidence to support the use of Abdominal thrusts and their use is not recommended in first aid.
February 21, 2011
“A good compromise, a good piece of legislation, is like a good
sentence; or a good piece of music. Everybody can recognize it. They say, 'Huh.
It works. It makes sense.'” - Barack Obama
“A people free to choose will always choose peace.” -
Ronald Reagan
“America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in
competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles of justice and
progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.” -
Barack Obama
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.
We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for,
protected, and handed on for them to do the same.” -
Ronald Reagan
“Americans... still believe in an America where anything's
possible – they just don't think their leaders do.” -
Barack Obama
“Each generation goes further than the generation preceding it
because it stands on the shoulders of that generation. You will have
opportunities beyond anything we've ever known.” -
Ronald Reagan
“And so our goal on health care is, if we can get, instead of health care costs going up 6 percent a year, it's going up at the level of inflation, maybe just slightly above inflation, we've made huge progress. And by the way, that is the single most important thing we could do in terms of reducing our deficit. That's why we did it.” - Barack Obama
“Entrepreneurs and their small enterprises are responsible for almost all the economic growth in the United States.” - Ronald Reagan
“But what we can do, as flawed as we are, is still see God in
other people, and do our best to help them find their own grace. That's what
strive to do, that's what I pray to do every day.” -
Barack Obama
Happy
Monday!
Happy
“African-American Black” History Month and rest of the year.
Happy Chinese
New Year!
Happy
Presidents’ Day of the United States of America! The third Monday of February
2011.
For those of
you who have the day-off from work as a National Holiday – May we keep in
remembrance all of the political leaders of all Nations. (May Peace, endurance, perseverance, understanding, learning, growth,
intelligence, education, health care, cultural exchange and common ground -
most of all an open mind and forgiveness – prosper in the lands of the world as
humans evolve. It appears that in this informational age - humans could
smoothly transition as humanly as possible into a melting pot of world in
economics, exchange and understanding and responsibility to do well by others
especially of those in time of need while in communication to anyone – as we
prosper it is possible for every human alive to have decent food everyday of
their lives because that is the responsibility of all governments of the land to
provide their people with food as well as a lifetime-supply-of hopefully,
National free education and heal care because leaders care about their citizens
under each Nation – no different than a Costa Rican model of politics in
services except that Costa Rica doesn’t have an army to fund so all of their
funding goes into free National health care and education. I know-I know… like
a broken record. Right? Right.)
Good night.
Buena Noche.
Peace.
Ciao.
Gabriela
P.S. Could not
find a very good on-line source for “Presidents’ Day” in my search. Many sites
led me
to the First
President of the United States of America – “George Washington” information. It
must be my search style…
February 18, 2011
“I cannot swallow whole the view of Lincoln as the Great
Emancipator.” - Barack Obama
No blog.
Peace and
Ciao.
Gabriela
February 17, 2011
"We first crush people
to the earth, and then claim the right of trampling on them forever, because
they are prostrate.” - Lydia Maria Child
"Much of what is today called
"social criticism" consists of members of the upper classes
denouncing the tastes of the lower classes (bawdy entertainment, fast food,
plentiful consumer goods) while considering themselves egalitarians." - Steven Pinker
Happy Thursday.
The week is
flying by.
Good morning.
It’s a
beautiful and cloudy morning with the birds singing outside.
Happy
“African-American Black” History Month and rest of the year.
Happy Chinese
New Year!
(I have the clock set for one-hour of writing.
I will do my best not to go beyond that one-hour because I’m starting to go
though laptops like it was my job – oh wait it is my job to write. I told a
friend yesterday that I can’t wait for a better machine than laptops to come to
the market. It’s got to be just around the corner. The fan and the cooling
technologies on laptops are not great so if you have a lot of work to do for
long periods of time eventually, laptops don’t seem to handle the heat, the
ruggedness and the human endurance. I’m looking for hardware that can breathe
in all environments especially when I’m a lady who’s tough on any hardware from
cameras to anything electronic. I’m feeling quite (sentimental: Correction:
Nostalgic – I heard a man use the word “nostalgic” while sharing a cab ride
through downtown) about the days of heavy metal cameras that could hold up
through any rugged task while my laptop gets hot and hotter by the minute.
Anyway, I better get to it. I’m mentally preparing to write
a Haiku after the month of February is over. Maybe, that’s why I’m writing more
than usual. My subconscious mind knows that a great mental challenge is coming
up. It takes me forever to write because I’m editing while I’m writing. Once, I
“push” a major idea through I get exhausted and don’t want to thematically in
subject matter deal with its content again. It gets exhausting to write while
editing so I’m as meticulous as I can about writing but when I’m done the last
thing I want to do is re-read something I wrote and rewrote while writing and
reading it.)
Anyway, ten
minutes in and I mean to get to the topic of conversation at hand.
Sometimes, I
write fast and sometimes I don’t. It depends on my thinking.
I know I’m not
blabbering to myself out here in the world of on-line cyber space –
I’m too smart
for that to pretend, otherwise.
Racism. I’m
being mindful and thoughtful-enough to bring myself to write about racism in
the month of “African-American Black” History month while in remembrance of
“Black” Sister’s and Brother’s struggle to become equals in America. (Yes, I
wrote it - another blog for another day.)
Racism, like
any other prejudice - classism, age-ism, gender bias and what-have-you is at
the root of environmental upbringing and developed as a practice into adulthood
as a signifier that the individual doesn’t understand nor is thoughtful enough
to consider a different train-of-thought. To hate another for the differences
in them is not good enough. To stand by and have anyone person think, “I hate
you because you are like ___________” (feel in the blank) is to justify the
deepest self-made loathing and fears in subconscious ways and not to rationally
or logically walk through mental fears of WHY and WHAT makes us afraid in the
first place.
In other words
to have major prejudices in a melting pot of a world today is not only to be
emotionally and spiritually crippled but also stunted.
Could you
imagine getting to a place of no more growth in your life? Or to think that the
only reason for growth is because you look to others to hustle from them their
inner worth and to have them create that growth in you rather than doing the
hard work, yourself – no different than anything that requires patience,
artistry and something worth of value – self respect.
I’m sure there
is a place in our deepest persons where we harbor all of our hatred, fears and
prejudices about
any other
person in life because humans cling to idealistic buoys for dear life. Yet,
someone else is probably
throwing them a
lifeline and that individual clinging on will not commit to that lifeline
because they have clawed
for survival
for so long by hanging onto that buoy that they’ve become comfortable with that
existence of clinging
to old ideals
about the world and how it should work. That’s “insanity”, in this day in age,
but not without the
reality of deep
seeded fears about racism and any other prejudice. I don’t mean to label anyone
or anything as literally “insane” nor am I any type of authority to do so –
simply, I believe in rationality and logic.
Logically and
rationally - racism, classism, age-ism and gender-biases are not by any stretch
of the imagination
clear headed
idealisms. These are archaic structures set up for failure in this day in age
and will keep the human race from evolving.
I’m fortunate
as a woman of color of this culture and day in age to have been well educated
and primed for an ideal
study to enter
a successful working world at any time and as much as I try to stay out of the
working world and will try to stay out of the rat-race in the next two years I
find it physically exhausting just to go into any shop and be sized-up as any
living breathing thinking animal and be sold objects according to the way I’ve
been sized up and yes, I’m talking high-end department stores.
I was recently
this week in a downtown Minneapolis department store when I stepped off the
escalators on some floor and turned to look at two young faces – one, was of a
Caucasian woman in her early twenties along with a young Indian-Middle Eastern
man’s face also in his early twenties. Immediately, before I ever asked them
anything they both noticed me but decided to ignore me yet while giving me
sideway glances like I was some piece-of trash off the sidewalk. I had to look
down at myself and wonder ‘Do I have dog-shit stuck to the bottom of my shoe?’
suddenly I woke up and jumped right into my senses and thought ‘Oh, no! That
mierda IS on you, not me. That’s your prejudice that I’m not dressed in a
designer ball gown in the middle of the afternoon. Nope, that’s definitely on
you.’ I thought.
I waited for
them to wind down their little chat about purses and how to line-them up while
they pretended not to see me. Their bodies would not completely turn to me and
both young people held a 90 degree angle from me. “Excuse me” finally I said to
both young people and looked both of them square in the eye “Do you work here?”
The young Indian-Middle Eastern looking man twirled keys in a 1980’s bracelet
of phone cord in his hand and gave me a look like I was larva and jerked his
chin upwards without a word, while the young woman slightly but frightened like
some deer in the head lights said, “Yes, we do.” We stood there and I could
sense their awkwardness. I stood there a bit longer without speaking as an
exercise in their communications demeanor staring at their shinny foreheads.
“May I get directions from either one of you?” I said.
The young man
jerked his chin upwards again to indicate for me to speak – like, I was one of
his buddies in a pub taking a seat next to him while eating fish and chips and
watching a game on the Tele. ‘What a queer little gesture’ I thought to give to
a grown woman in a department store in the purses section. ‘He must think I’m
his Futol buddy’. I decided not to laugh at these two gangly young people but
their lack of social graces left much to be desired on both of their faces and
I thought, ‘Never hire them for anything, remember, their faces.’
“I’ve heard
that you have a bakery in your establishment. I’m a little turned around –
could you, please tell me on what floor I could find it?” I spoke to both of
them clearly and concisely while they stared at my less than perfect hairdo, I
guess. I had just come from lunch with my husband and I didn’t think I looked like
a booger yet I was stared at – like, one. I had presented myself in a decent
and modest fashion that afternoon.
They giggled a
little like two little girls and gave me directions to get back on the
escalator and to go to the basement and there it would be. I thanked them
graciously and left. I could feel some menacing “I’m better than you” energy
from them and as soon as I was out of eye-shot they burst out laughing so loud
I thought ‘Gosh, something must’ve been so funny to those two little children.’
My Father has me study the psychology of intention. We, as humans don’t do
anything without a reason especially while in communication or lack thereof
with others. Everybody and I mean everybody unless you’re daft to your world
knows when you’re being made fun of and when you’re being laughed at. I
understood that-that one-unified-laugher was on me or so they thought. “The pen
is mightier than the sword.” I think I’m getting the last laugh while I go in
search of a moral tale.
Now, I’m not
being mean-spirited for the sake of it or at all, really.
Eventually, I
will draw a clear distinction. I’m describing these young people who assumed
the entire world about me because some business model told them how to size up
any person who can or can’t afford to buy large quantities of merchandise to
meet monthly quotas so these young people who aren’t smart enough to think for
themselves, probably consider the money they could make from customers and
start seeing other humans as quotas by sizing them up in dollar amounts and not
as humans, breathing and thinking machines but more so as a means to an end – a
meal ticket.
I was supposed
to feel dehumanized-powerless and I knew it the moment they blatantly ignored
me the first time
I approached them
because that is a system of interaction set up in any hierarchical society to
make a distinction
between wealth
and no wealth. In this day in age: you can’t tell who’s really got money and
who doesn’t so be very careful about the precious little models you learn in
business school: a word to the wise. I, too, took business classes and had
never laughed so hard in my entire life at such an archaic view of money
(another blog for another day).
Humans can no
longer afford to be “shallow”, “hasty” and “scummy” with others in the world
because
if you don’t
know this by now: People are watching as they always have been watching for
your humanity to come
through even
when you’re tired, angry, upset and mean-spirited, demanding and an emotional
bully towards the world and no, it doesn’t – behavior, like that doesn’t get
rewarded because your behavior dictates that you rather take away than to
contribute beyond your petty human emotions and selfish needs to fulfill only
yourself when it’s obvious to others that some humans are vastly empty with no
regard, humbleness and graciousness for human life.
I stepped off
the elevator and I saw beds. ‘No, no this isn’t a bakery. What were they
thinking?’ I thought. Until I got
the joke it’s
hard as hell to find the bakery in a warehouse basement in some ornate isles of
bedding and some such. The dehumanizing factor was not what they thought or
didn’t think about me but that they could not precisely and with a presence of
mind give me the information I needed to get to the next step in my quest.
Because of their “laziness” and lack of human interaction I lost my appetite
and just wanted to get the hell out of the department store and in business
that’s what they call a “loss”. I was ready for cupcakes and then I entered a
world of sheets and bedspreads. I saw the loveliest thirty-something young
Caucasian woman and asked her for precise directions to the bakery after
establishing that she worked there. She turned her entire body towards me and
gave me precise directions without any preconceived notions about who she
thought I was or was not to her – mirrored on her face.
Yes, people
reflect back the world onto us about what and how they feel about themselves in
relationship to others.
People’s faces
are mirrors.
I followed her
directions to the letter as I slowly walked through a fluffy world of bedding.
I got my
bearings, found two red velvet cupcakes and stood in line. The women at the
bakery were polite, direct
and courteous
and I loved their lovely grown female dispositions. Now, they were adults and
they knew
who they were
therefore they could communicate and treat others with respect. I was in heaven
in their presence
because they
all had a presence of mind and ran the bakery like a pristine and proud environment
to want to be in.
I had to
comment to them how beautifully kept their store front was and they bowed their
heads in reverence while
receiving a
compliment.
Ah, the
wonderful world of adulthood.
I left slowly
making my way through the entire department store and taking it all in.
I stopped in to
some cosmetic floor and a woman with white hair pushed a 40% discount card. I
told her I would sign up if only she could sell me one organic vegan cosmetic product.
She could not so I got out of having to plainly reject her offer on the up to
40% discount card special offer on that day.
I stepped into
a small-small store front with designer high end bags. The young Black and
White Racially mixed thin and lovely young woman stepped out and greeted me
with respect, experience with people and a relaxed attitude. I had the
loveliest time being real with her and she being real with me in speaking to me
about the merchandise she had in the store. I told her all about how I was
rough on hardware. She didn’t skip a beat and she understood my meaning. She
showed me many options except for the one I liked most which came with a price
tag of $3,500.00. I didn’t buy it because she didn’t actively show it to me.
I’m the daughter
of a Psychologist I don’t for one moment believe that people do things without
a reason whether
they are aware
or not that-that is their shortcoming. If she would’ve offered for me to look
at the bag then I would’ve strongly considered buying it but she didn’t – most
likely because she understood that I was window shopping and I made that very
blatant between us - yet who knows she didn’t pursue further interaction?
The moral of
this tale is not whether I can or cannot afford to buy a high end designer bag
– it’s about the things strangers assume and take for granted about others.
Money is the easiest literary tool that I can use to describe racism, not
because they are alike – one is about your race, your color nothing you can
change about yourself so it’s easier to deal with racism because it’s blatant
and obvious, while dealing with the prejudice of socioeconomics is a bit harder
but no different than racism.
Classism could
cripple the world far worse than racism because it dehumanizes people to their
core values of what they are willing and not willing - what they can and cannot
afford. It’s no longer a choice to afford a hundred or more dollar pair of high
heels, if anything it’s an expectation to keep up with some warped ideal of the
“Jones’s” who never existed in the first place anyway.
I don’t live
like that nor do I choose to.
I take people
at face value even a “bum” off the street. If someone is directly speaking to
me and they have the courage to turn and face me I will not become uncomfortable
and skittish just because they are different from me. I will address people
with honor, justice and integrity because that is my duty as a human being
especially as a thinking one: people may treat you like an idiot because that’s
the root in the psychology of interaction about how
they feel about
themselves.
That’s on them
and not on you and don’t take it on – that insecurity, if they treat you badly
is on them just like racism is. Understand. Entiende. Right? Right.
I’ll make it a
point to not shop at that department store for as long as I can help it. Why
would I shop there when
not even the
basic human element is implemented to treat people humanly. People work hard in
this country
for their
money. It’s their luxury to spend it where and how they wish and I wish and
choose not to shop in any
department
store where junior sales folk leave much to be desired because some day they’ll
become senior sales folk.
My writing hour
is up.
Ciao.
Gabriela
P.S. Yesterday’s
session was full of lessons and learning.
February 16, 2011
“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is
noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which
is the bitterest.” - Confucius
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path
and leave a trail.” - Ralph
Waldo Emerson
“A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.”
- Nelson Mandela
“It is great folly to wish to be wise all alone.” - Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Happy
Wednesday.
Happy
“African-American Black” History Month and rest of the year.
Happy Chinese
New Year!
Good morning.
(Side Note: I get so frustrated
with my grammatical imperfections and that’s the reason why I started this blog
in the first place so that I may hone my writing skills. Yes, I made it a
personal goal to become a better writer on-line.
We thought
about a - “blogging” - on-line space for four long years before we
conceptualized, designed, built and developed the structure of this blog and
that’s why I’ve committed to openly and in front of an on-line community to
fumble through literary editorial and grammatical mistakes. I don’t see
progress as failure. I never have and I never will.
This is not
the Associated Press. I have room for mistakes in the literary sense being that
it’s a blogging genre of writing – whatever that means to any writer.
The intent in
my creative-thinking process was not only to hone my writing skills –
publically, but also to hold myself accountable to making editorial
corrections, daily - not so much for my sake, alone as for the sake of those
reading what I meant to convey through the literary realm.
One of my
personal goals was to create and build a “little-bit-of-Earth” to stand-upon
without the bombardment of commercials, advertisements and PR. To block out the
world of “neon-signs” if only for a while-while on-line, if you will.
I used to
blog on other on-line social networking spaces but the commercials and
advertisement just got too old and bothersome. I could not turn to write
without seeing big “neon-lights” that pretty much said, “buy-into-this-caca”.
We set to work in-creating a space free of advertisement and commercials on
this blog space and to concentrate on writing. We went back to the basics and
went with the basics because it was simple and beautiful – like looking at a
fresh piece of paper on a brand new journal never written-on before. I love
that! The first page… Ah, all the possibilities to develop, learn and grow right
in front of you. Ah.
Here, is
“that” on-line space and as simple as it may seem to you – we accomplished what
we set out to do. You may come as you please and read at your own free will
while on this blog space we will not sell you - caca. How amazing to find such
a novelty in such a day in age – (even
with our Company’s Logo up at the top referring you to where you are on-line -
most everybody requires a point of reference to begin from – let’s not be daft
about such minute distinctions – you are where you are through specific intent
and purpose in mind.)
I don’t want
to look at advertisements, commercials and PR while I’m reading other writer’s
blogs so I will extend such a similar courtesy to those of you who come here to
read – for as long as I’m alive and writing this blog there will be no “neon”
here – otherwise the rest is homemade apple pie. Moving on…)
----------------- ------------------- -----------------
Writing
Exercise:
My one-hour
of writing time is almost over for today.
I’ve already
said morning prayers to my Gods.
I’ve prayed
for the safety of many journalists and reporters all throughout the world.
I was
recently asked: “As a producer of documentary films, would you have put a
filmmaker on the ground in Cairo?”
“Not in this
lifetime and especially not a female filmmaker.” I answered as honestly and
intelligently as I could.
My heart went
out to this female reporter by the name of Lara Logan working as a
correspondent for “CBSNEWS” the day that former Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak was demanded to step down from his presidency by the Egyptian people.
The on-line
photos of Ms. Lara Logan show a stunningly beautiful young woman, petite, blond
with blue eyes – someone, I expected to see more so amongst the pages of
“Sports Illustrated” than on the streets of Cairo reporting world changing
news. I didn’t have a “stereotype” about this beautiful woman as an “idiot”,
but I did wonder who made such a “call” as to have her on the ground reporting.
Either way I
saw the call as irresponsible, negligent of World Cultures and stupid.
Let me make
something very clear that all American men and women know all too well: NO man
or woman has the right to touch any stranger in public or privately in any
cultural setting without the permission of that individual. That’s a beautiful
thing and that’s an American right not a world right by SOME standards.
Hands off and
that’s human law, yet not worldly understood nor implemented and that’s no
excuse either.
The sexual assault
that occurred on the ground in Cairo to Lara Logan is uncalled for and
tasteless yet a great lesson to be learned by all. The rest of the world is NOT
America. In America, if anyone so much as takes the liberty to “feel-up” a
woman’s or a man’s private parts in public or privately for that matter then
culturally you have not evolved no matter how liberated, one, may feel about
world change.
Whether Ms.
Lara Logan’s strong sentiments were that she was up to the task of reporting
from the ground and did overlook many cultural and Middle Eastern male
distinctions about the portrayal of Caucasian “privileged” women that is her
business, truly - (my alarm just went off but I’ll continue with this writing
exercise for another half-hour because I did find it important-enough to write
about this subject otherwise I wouldn’t touch it with my hands on the
keyboard).
My husband
who’s had a long time twenty-year career in Television stated the following:
“It might not have been a producer, who, made that “call” but rather the
reporter, herself – thinking that she was as good as any other male reporter to
be doing her job.”
We discussed
the matter at hand privately amongst ourselves as Husband and Wife and as two
professionals in our distinct media fields of more than thirty years of
experience between us.
About a week
ago-or-so I had some news source on mute when I caught a glimpse of Katie
Couric’s uncomfortable face reporting from the ground in Cairo and I thought:
‘What does she think she is doing? What does her network think they are doing
with their anchor woman?’
Ultimately,
it came down to Katie Couric and her choices no body forced her on a plane. She
could’ve said “no” to her assignment and another more “suitable” reporter
could’ve gone in her place instead. Simple solutions to simple problems.
Saying, “No” is terribly far more powerful than forfeiting your safety.
I get it.
American
women are liberated.
Other women
in other parts of the world are not publically as liberated as American women
are today.
Therefore, to
NOT consider other women and their plights in Middle Eastern society is to be
daft to world perspectives, ideals and concepts of what women symbolize to
Middle Eastern men much less blond women with blue eyes who obviously don’t
even so much as take the time to veil themselves.
Do you know
what it means not to veil yourself throughout Muslim Middle Eastern Regions as
a woman? Disrespectful. “When in Rome do as the Romans.” It shows respect for
Heritage and Culture and I hate to put it in ink but also for other’s Religions
(which it may not be the most important thing to Americans, publically - but it
is to others throughout the World and it has been for thousands of human
years). It’s not enough to be beautiful, intelligent and gifted – it is wise to
know the language, culture and region of peoples Heritage and if you don’t
know, then I suggest as any wise woman of the world to learn quickly especially
while on the ground of any other country.
I’m not
laughing and I don’t think that what’s happened to Ms. Lara Logan and Katie
Couric is okay by any stretch of the imagination, but why in your present
“Caucasian-American” Female mind would you put yourself in such devastating
danger? Why? For the purpose of furthering some journalistic career? For the
intend to say “I was there and did that.” For the satisfaction to show our male
counterparts that women can and do-do the jobs of any men. That’s difficult for
me to understand.
Let us
consider this: Why prove anything when women still get paid seventy cents (.70
cents) to every dollar ($1.00) a man still makes in America I would not be so
rash and quick to volunteer myself or my services to any cultural abuse for the
sake of reporting anything abroad.
Why would I? Women
don’t even make the same wages in America as men do, so the farce in this is
that we have aspects of life to “report-on” here in America without making the
point of traveling half way across the world for some validation that women can
and should report in the Middle East as men do.
What a wakeup
call to our Caucasian Sisters!
Oh, wait-wait
what! Women don’t have the same rights as men do in other parts of the world?
What?
The “Black”
Sister, the “Asian” Sister, the “Latina” Sister, the “Middle Eastern” Sister,
the “Indiana” Sister, “Caucasian” Sisters in need and any other Color and
Heritage of the World which have been screaming about the injustices from the
mountaintops to our many “privileged” Caucasian Sisters, “The World is not
Equal. Please shed some light on that if you can.”
Journalists
can and do choose their news stories but they choose to shelf the stories of
the lives, conditions and difficulties of women in America as it is because
stories about women’s value are not worth much as news stories and that I’m
lead to hypothesize as something that needs to be radically changed.
Women’s
health, women’s education, women’s solidarity is overlooked in American until
one of our “Caucasian” “privileged” Sisters is sexually assaulted on the streets
of Cairo and then it makes headline news.
Amazing.
Women, in American cities and neighborhoods get raped everyday and that barely
gets any coverage. Why? Is it because it’s not a “privileged” “Caucasian”
Sister who is being violated? So we have to hear embarrassing and damaging news
of our “Caucasian” Female news reporter being felt-up and sexually assaulted
half way around the world – Imagine, Lara Logan set out to report news not to
become it and yet there she is on every on-line article you can find making
headlines.
It’s every
reporter’s nightmare to become news – or so I’ve been told by news reporters
themselves.
‘What did you
think was going to happen?’ I wondered.
I wasn’t
surprised one bit. I felt strongly for Lara Logan’s wellbeing. Yet, the events
and the decisions that lead to that unfortunate misfortune were not
strategically set-up for her and her best interest, safety and success or the
safety, best interest and the success of the entire crew.
So, no. Never
in my right – LOGICAL mind would I send-in a female filmmaker into Cairo to
film unless some serious provisions were made in the safety and for the success
of the filmmaker and the crew. Otherwise, forget it. I can contract a crew in
America and film about the injustices, racism and hardships of Americans and
still get us home in time to have dinner with our families and loved ones. No,
Sir! No way. No way. No way. Why? Why would I endanger any crew – especially
bring about emotional and spiritual harm to them beyond physical healing
wounds? That is any producer’s responsibility as well as the responsibility of
any intelligent person in the journalistic field.
Do not for one moment think that journalists - don’t
understand the broad scope of their field and the risks involved – especially
abroad.
And, if they
don’t then they must be “green” or unprofessional about their field in general.
I did not
become a journalist or reporter by trade nor do I much wish to become one, ever
- but I did make a study of it because documentary film work has some aspects
of journalism involved although I don’t have to put myself in dangerous
situations if I don’t want to - EVER. Why would I?
As I studied
the many aspects of journalism and reporting in school I learned the many responsibilities
of journalists and I decided that it was not a field for me. Many
responsibilities come with being a journalist (which I was not willing to take
on those responsibilities upon myself). In some ways journalists are considered
“property” of the “people” as (Doctor’s are considered property of hospitals
and pharmaceutical companies (its no secrete in this day in age) and
journalists ought to be closely read and scrutinized for “lazy” and misinformed
fact-checking or fraudulence.
If journalists and reporters don’t like to fact-check
or they don’t have “quotable”-sources then why should people take them at face
value? What makes a journalist an expert on anything? Nothing constitutes their
expertise on anything except reporting accurately and with facts.
If journalists and reporters don’t make it a point in
reporting facts then that doesn’t make a journalist a reporter but an
uninformed, possibly “lazy” and sentimentalist writer.
Journalism and reporting are about hard facts
otherwise, start a blog and write all about how you think, perceive and see the
world to be. That, too, can have an effective impact but without the journalist
“authoritative voice” that has been given to you by the crashing standards of
the journalistic and reporting field since it became a business and not a
public service to the people.
Journalists must understand the dangers involved that
come with their field otherwise if they’re surprised by world violence against
their field then choose another line of work – nobody’s putting a gun to their
head to saunter off into the night and crusade in the name of some journalistic
virtue.
If reporters
are daft to their field and they can’t or don’t understand and have no regard
for their wellbeing, then they probably have no business reporting from the
ground. Nothing is guaranteed in life and I feel for those who make their money
and bread from a trade in reporting devastating world news. What a business to
be in and yes, it is a business here in America – this is not governmental
news, we’re watching – this is not the BBC or any other government funded news
of any other Nation.
I believe in
the safety of all living organisms, yet I understand the reality abroad.
I believe,
that fluent-speaking Arabic reporters and other Middle Eastern Languages is a
must in reporting – especially knowing the customs, beliefs and values of those
of other Nations. Yes, it will have to be men of a certain background who may
win the hearts of the Middle Eastern people in so far as to trust American and
European reporters from Western news outlets to come unto their streets and
show the rest of the world a sincere plight of humanity. If I was a man with
these qualifications and I enjoyed writing in a journalistic style I would jump
at this opportunity.
Alas, that’s
not my destiny or designed schedule.
I wish you
peace and respect.
The birds are
singing right outside my window.
It’s time to
make my organic fair trade coffee:
(That I’m
told, “I have bought into” I have yet to research it.)
Okay, an hour
of blogging became 2.5 hours.
Ciao.
Gabriela
P.S. I
blogged early today because I have a photo-shoot lined up all this afternoon. I
haven’t taken the camera out to do a photo-shoot with a model since August. I’m
feeling rusty. I might just step outside and take stills of the birds as a warm
up exercise. I hope the model can understand that as I meet with her later on
today.
February 15, 2011
“If it hurts you,
then get away from it.” - William Long (My
Father – a retired Psychologist by trade.)
Happy
Tuesday.
Happy
“African-American Black” History Month and rest of the year.
Happy Chinese
New Year!
Let me jump
right into one-hour of writing: Question and Question Everything.
(That’s what
my private liberal arts academic institutional learning taught me early on in
life, into university and beyond.) I don’t write as a “Devil’s-Advocate”, with
a “mean-spirited” “writing-voice” or with self-prophecy fulfillment and simply
I don’t write as a smart-a--. No, I’m not a donkey’s a-- nor do I care to
become one. Nevertheless, I write because writing is thinking and in order to
hone the craft of writing it requires a great deal of discipline, time and
effort.
I’m not the
best writer or thinker in the world nor would I ever admit to such nonsense in
this lifetime.
I write,
because I choose to use the greatest mechanism available to humanity, the
thinking brain. What else it there? Truly.
I read a most
misinformed and self-loathing report on CNN this morning about ADHD. My heart
goes out to those parents struggling with their children’s ADD and ADHD. I
found a discrepancy, a loophole, a farce - if you will in the reporting about
ADHD this morning and could do nothing but throw my head back and laugh as a beautiful
and intelligent proud grown woman of thirty-three years of age. Ah, the world
of misinformation. Yes, laugh because it’s funny.
I’m not
kidding, the following “God-like” quote was in one of CNN’s articles “ADHD is a
genetic condition, study says”: ‘"This tells us that there is a biological
marker that tells us that this person is susceptible to develop this
disease," said Dr. Robert Marion, chief of genetics and developmental
medicine at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore and Albert Einstein College
of Medicine, who was not involved in the study.’ (The quote is not even a smart quote and Dr. Robert Marion did not
participate in the study – but heck, the writer chose to throw in this quote in
the article probably because it filled space and it sounded good without
stopping to consider the quote: “Fool of a Took”. Talk about creating panic in
the hearts of American parents everywhere. Reporters do not live in bubbles.
Reporters are on a World Stage and people are reading so misinformation will discredit
any journalist background, hard work and discipline: I suggest, as I was
taught in Journalistic writing classes at the “best writing” school in the
country in 2000 – that, if I wasn’t sure about a quote, then don’t use that
quote in any article. Sincerely, a bit of advice that was given to me by
professors that had our best at heart because they cared about what happened to
us in our careers.)
Question and Question Everything.
I had to
laugh, Will my adult-friends catch my ADHD if I sneeze?
It’s no
different than the train-of-thought of the 1950’s in which the so called
“smart” science community thought that monkeys could not communicate much less
use tools. Wow, what an embarrassment to any scientific community. THEORY IS
JUST THAT: THEORY, everything else is human-made bi-product and bi-waste.
“ADHD is NOT
a disease” read an intelligently written article from TOTAL HEALTH
BREAKTHROUGHS: ‘“After years of persistence, Dr. Baughman finally got these groups
to admit that there is NO objective validation for ADHD. Today, the National
Institutes of Health state that, “We do not have an independent, valid test for
ADHD, and there is no data to indicate that ADHD is due to a brain
malfunction.” And yet, hundreds of thousands of doctors still “label” children
as diseased and prescribe powerful and dangerous drugs for something that they
have admitted they can’t prove. That is not medicine. It is fraud.’
Hooray to any
independently thinking, writing and scientific sources that realizes theory is
just that: Theory. Could you imagine never questioning the validity of a doctor
just because he is a doctor? Please. “Always, get a second opinion” said my
Father while growing up: A certified and retired Psychologist who contributed a
great deal of mental health and stability to his community of a thirty
year-long career.
My Father –
“The Psychologist” in our home did not approve of me ever taking medication for
my clinically diagnosed ADHD. My father believed in “Bedtime-Hygiene”
(preparing for bed at the same time each night, laying out clothes for the
following day), organization, good manners and discipline as he proved to do
well by me as a Father to a teen who was diagnosed not with a “disease” but
with a great mental-tool that can be channeled property through and by the
power of thousands of ADHD adults all over the world . I owe my life to my
Father for being intelligent, caring and thoughtful about my future. I’ve never
taken Ritalin nor will I for as long as I live. “She’s not the best keeper of
time” said a Finn Elder of me this past fall and I smiled because I know myself
well-enough to realize when time is of the essence and when it isn’t – I was on
vacation and that means I slow down to a halt and I don’t keep track of time on
my vacations.
I make it a
point to be early to appointments, meetings and structured communication
amongst others, I’m not daft to the world. There is a time and a place to be on
time and not to be on time. There is a time and place that calls for social
graces. I was taught social graces by a community of exceptional people who had
my best interest at heart. If anything, I’m a listener – not much of a speaker
now days and more of a writer because talking takes a great deal of effort,
time and energy. If I talk excessively it will be with my Husband in private
and amongst close friends otherwise I have no need for talking amongst
strangers. (Who does? It’s a rhetorical question).
ADHD is NOT
“Schizophrenia” and I don’t see little green and orange stripped men in the
corner of my bedroom at night or in the day time for that matter. No, I don’t
hallucinate, I don’t punch myself in the face out of frustration and I don’t
run into walls full-on speed and hit my head repeatedly over and over, again -
hour-after-hour. I’m not “Autistic” and I don’t only perform one function well
in life but rather several from cinematography, to organic gardening, sewing,
the culinary arts, welding, writing, open-discussion and processing many
thoughts at once. I multitask, when I have to and I probably generate
Incredible amounts of energy daily (chemically through my body) so I channel
this energy into constructive and positive outcomes, I’m not mentally
handicapped and I’m conveying beautifully to you these things through the
written language as a wordsmith. I’ve worked with children who’ve had “Autism”
and “Schizophrenia” and I stood beside myself staring at the graveness of the
situation.
I could
barely breathe while in the presence of such children - they hit themselves
repeatedly in the face and probably did see their mental “boogie-men” coming at
them. I understood that the opportunities that I would conceive for myself as a
creative-intelligent adult would not be anything to those of our fellow citizens
with “Autism” and “Schizophrenia” and “Bi-polar”. My heart did go out to these
children I met and worked with for a short time in the school system and
decided early on that teaching, caretaking and living with these such children
was out of the question for my future not because I was above the work or above
the children but because these children took the type of physical, mental and
spiritual energy that I was not willing to give to them. They would have
emotionally-crippled me for life and I would not have become a filmmaker much
less a writer if I had stayed and worked with such children out of some social
obligation.
Do you think
that because much of the world bores an ADHD minded-individual that something
is wrong with them? I wouldn’t even call it “boredom” rather dissatisfaction
with the status-quo and any general consensus in the lack of structural change.
Consider the
American Educational structure - we’re still teaching children in the same
methods of the Pioneers. That should put anyone into deep slumberous sleep.
Right? Right.
The world
ought to bore anyone at the rate at which change for structure is required but
not being implemented.
Do you think
that I’m okay with working in a cubicle and never seeing sunlight? Step off. It
will not do.
Do you think
that something is wrong with me because I can see discrepancies, loopholes and
misinformation a mile away and process at “Flash” speed? That’s your
shortcoming not mine.
Do you think
something is wrong with me because I can daydream and be intelligent enough to
multitask in my head from mentally and visually editing an entire feature film,
to writing a film script, designing a more efficient public lighting system in
the United States, designing a new type of tri-pod, blogging and taking into
account world politics while most likely you can only do one of these things in
your mind one at a time? Please, who do you think you are? The world is
changing and so are the minds of the world. If ADHD is the future then be
prepared for a changing structure. I process at a rate much faster than your
brain could conceive. You wish you had ADHD.
I’d say to
any medical community: Please, don’t be so insulting as to “label” ADHD humans
with a “disease”. How uneducated are you in this new Informational Age?
(Correction: I can sit for eight hours straight quietly and calmly) while I
design, structure, construct and develop creative ideas-solutions and further
conceptualize creative thinking without ever writing anything down in ways that
I have not seen in most of my non-ADHD contemporaries do so.
I am a
thinking machine. I am an organic computer and I was built to creatively seek
out solutions. If I don’t meet your expectations of some “retarded” little-girl
drooling in some corner then what disappointment it must be to you. (I’m not being “politically-correct” while
using the word “retarded” because I’m using the word in its literal form. Look
it up, if it becomes a personal issue to you.)
A Disease? The
world lives under archaic constructs that are passing people by. I am bored
within the many structures, concepts and ideals about how the world should work
and that I must endure co-existing within mediocre confines.
Aren’t you
bored with mediocrity?
Who isn’t?
I believe
that the dissatisfaction, malcontent and the disillusionment of people –
especially within the “African-American Black” community is that they, too, can
see the discrepancies, misguided information and loopholes in the society so they
take a “backseat” approach because no one’s asking for their input and no one
cares to ask so when any “institutionalized establishment” assumes they know
everything there is to know about the world then everyone outside on the
peripheries can “look-in”, point and laugh at the grandiose-obscene-arrogance
and do nothing but let systems fail because wisdom teaches us that to recognize
true beauty is to learn to define what appears to be and what truly is.
My one-hour
of writing is way over.
I have more
responsibilities for today.
We’ve got a
feature to sink into a can.
Ciao.
Gabriela
P.S. I live
in this present moment and I think for the future. Like I said, I’m a horrible
editor.
Source from Wikipedia
(Side Note: I
made a literary-exaggeration earlier about being able to sit for eight straight
hours without moving a muscle. Obviously, that’s not humanly possible: So, I
made the correction to be more “accurate”: The point is that I do sit quietly
and calmly for eight hours straight a day as any working-creative human adult
does.)
Muscle (from Latin musculus, diminutive of mus
"mouse”) is the contractile tissue of animals and is derived from the
mesodermal layer of embryonic germ cells. Muscle cells contain contractile
filaments that move past each other and change the size of the cell. They are
classified as skeletal, cardiac, or smooth muscles. Their function is to
produce force and cause motion. Muscles can cause either locomotion of the
organism itself or movement of internal organs. Cardiac and smooth muscle
contraction occurs without conscious thought and is necessary for survival.
Examples are the contraction of the heart and peristalsis which pushes food
through the digestive system. Voluntary contraction of the skeletal muscles is
used to move the body and can be finely controlled. Examples are movements of
the eye, or gross movements like the quadriceps muscle of the thigh.
There are two
broad types of voluntary muscle fibers: slow twitch and fast twitch. Slow
twitch fibers contract for long periods of time but with little force while
fast twitch fibers contract quickly and powerfully but fatigue very rapidly.
Muscles are predominately powered by the oxidation of fats and carbohydrates,
but anaerobic chemical reactions are also used, particularly by fast twitch
fibers. These chemical reactions produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP) molecules
which are used to power the movement of the myosin heads.
February 14, 2011
“If you press
me to say why I loved him, I can say no more than because he was he, and I was
I.” - Michel de
Montaigne
“Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the
song still in them.” -
Henry David Thoreau
“Be not simply good - be good for something.” - Henry David Thoreau
“Go
confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”
- Henry David Thoreau
Happy Monday.
Happy
“African-American Black” History Month and rest of the year.
Happy Chinese
New Year!
Happy
“Valentine’s Day” to those Citizens who celebrate this time of Love.
Happy
Valentine’s to all American-Citizens!
Happy Monday
in this year of 2011 to all those Citizens in the Middle East peacefully
demonstrating and changing World Civilization as we know it today.
{A few
thoughts: May all Governments’ of the
World support Civil-Change rather than oppose the needs of World Citizens and
their Seven-Generations of all United People to advance Civilization and make
technological developments no different than those who established the American
Railroad System and the Industrial Revolution. The “Information Age” is here
and it’s come with an Informational-Revolution.
Hooray to the youth of Egypt! For on-line
social networking we look to you to continuing a peaceful, better, kinder,
excellent, open-minded, economically thriving and optimistic Nation with all
the rights and freedoms towards a kinder world. Hooray to freedoms! Hooray to
being free from Dictatorship in 30 years! Hooray to you for having the courage
to make social civil change in this World. I rejoice along with you - my hope
for this new Tech-Generation of Egyptian Citizens is that they take a moment to
breathe and consider the future then continue to evolve and develop
technologically for the betterment of all world Citizens.
Our young American Citizens, who I’ve been
told by many consider themselves the “Gadget Generation” our young adults, too,
have advanced our Culture as we know it today. We’re grateful that our youth
were not afraid of gadgets and have brought us into this new Century (as the
same can be said for the “MTV Generation” 1980’s punkers and creative
thinkers).
In Civil-Disobedience Civilians openly act
to “professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands,
and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power.” People
are that smart when they suffer under any Regime. The moment a Nation’s People
go hungry and without the benefits to education, health care and technology
then that Government has failed its people and the World is always watching on
a political and humanitarian stage which all Regimes of the world stand upon.
This is nothing new in history. Nothing, the human race knows all too well
human-made oppression, prejudice and suffering, exploitation and manipulation
of the Peoples’ Rights.}
The American deficit can be diminished by one-trillion
dollars in the next decade according to this new proposed budget: (Another blog
for another day).
What a way to
start out a week, hey?
The world is changing
and for as much as technology is helping overturn Dictatorships in Egypt and
hopefully the rest of the Middle East – Citizens, in America are faced with a
bleak Economical immediate future. “Vietnam II” is what we’re living through
and our infrastructure, education, and social security suffer greatly while,
clothing and food prices will be going up we’re told in the News. Gas prices
have already gone-up.
{Internal thought: (everybody has an
internal voice and no it’s not schizophrenia) As a “geek-lady” of the world I
pray for a strong wheat harvest all throughout the world this year.
I pray to my personal Gods as any citizen of
any Nation for moderation and balance in the distribution of world wealth and
resources. There are enough resources to feed everyone in the world we must
strategize the distribution of wealth otherwise Citizens die and yes that means
American Citizens as well. America is not “Baywatch”, “Dallas” and “Dynasty” on
the Tele, as Americans we face dire and severe problems. America has been the
leader of the Free World and we continue to have a strong foot-hold, but we
also deal with left-over problems that were forced upon us by a greedy Bush and
Cheney Administration of the previous eight years to this present Presidential
Obama administration.}
It seems to
me that Americans have been left in ruins and from the ashes the Phoenix does
rise.
It will take
time to put this country back together and with the entrepreneurial
intelligence, leadership and guidance of our “African-American Black” Brothers
and Sisters we’ll bring this country out of its economical ruin and soar again.
If we know anything to be true in America it is that we have a fighting chance
to contribute - always to contribute rather than take-away.
I look to the
East and say an Ojibwa prayer for this great country of ours. I believe in
America as I believe in any breath of life.
I heard a man speak about clothing prices which are to be
raised by as much as 10% all throughout the United States in the year to come.
Americans have been outsourced for at least one decade now, and sadly it’s the
American people who have to pay for other’s livable wages in foreign countries
rather than industry setting new guidelines, structures and systems in place
that don’t choke the American middle-class out of the middle-class.
Finally, outsource-manufacturing of any type is now
chocking the average American Citizen.
Recyclable – reusable resources and self-sufficient
lifestyles will need to be implemented because at the rate we’re going,
Americans may not be able to afford the luxury of clothing and fashion to an
extend in which we have in the past – that’s why I believe locally-organic-made
clothing (that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg off of your children) must become
an American supply and demand in and of the-making-of-organic clothing within
our borders.
I wasn’t laughing when a wise man shared the news about
clothing prices going up this afternoon but consider this: How much does it
cost to sew a dress overseas? Can you guess the answer? Exactly. (Another blog
for another day). (Most Third World Nations – its people have two outfits: A
weekday-work outfit and a Sunday Best – this used to be the case with Americans
during the Great Depression. Americans are not above minimalism or going
without – our History teaches us the many facets of survival and economical
depression have already been the very difficult realities of our past).
May Civilians
travel peacefully amongst the Peoples’ of the world as proud and humble citizens
of each and every Nation. May there be peace tonight on this day-of-love
because it was obvious to me as I travelled the city that American Citizens
truly wanted something good to look forward to after a long day after hearing
the news of our Presidential proposed budget Nationally broadcasted this
morning as we listened-on to President Obama deliver the news to fellow
Citizens.
Generations are born and Generations die.
In between as
any Brother or Sister of the Human race hope for peace, open communication,
regard for all life and in my personal opinion – Free National Education,
Health Care, Civilian Services such as those provided by a Costa Rican
Government for and by its people without an Army – I understand that the United
States is far too large a country not to have any National Defense System, but
the country literally crumbles today as our soldiers continue to fight overseas
for a decade now. A decade of war – my Gods what happened to the last ten
years?
We live in challenging times no different than any
other times.
Nevertheless,
we must face into the wind of opportunity and develop as a race or possibly
perish like any other extinct animal – Dinosaurs come to mind. Can you imagine becoming
an extinct race in the animal kingdom? I can but I try not to give that thought
too much power except as an intellectual-exercise and even then we must look to
new strategies, communications, resources and ways of life far more
environmentally friendly in order to really begin to contribute something back.
The World cannot run on empty, forever - humans can and will adapt to financial
burdens placed upon them and created by large manufactures, banks and
governments. Humanity will have to refuel eventually and if that’s too costly
well, the bicycle was invented in 1818 in Germany and humans are never above
survival and reinventing the wheel if they must take a few steps back into
history to restart the wheel.
I really
enjoy watching episodes of “Battlestar Galactica” for the reason that the
storyline makes the impressive point that no matter how technologically
advanced a culture gets there will always be a need for machines which are not
networked. I see industry and manufacturing as a branch of such a concept as
this – as much as we think that physical labor is beneath us or we’re taught to
think that way as Americans because of all of our idiotic advertisement and
bombardment of commercialistic ideals – Blue-Collar work will never go out of
fashion – Now, Americans must continue to hone their skills as Artisans.
Quality made crafts, arts and goods – one-of-a-kind products have never gone
out of fashion nor are they anything but valuable because they last, they’re
well made and sturdy – that’s our future rather than cheap plastic waste
contributing to landfills.
Intellectual
property will become the next “hot-ticket” item and imagine we don’t have to
outsource our creative intellectuals – heck, they can work right from the
comfort of their homes. Imagine, because we can as a Nation not because my
writing is commanding you to think but because we are that intelligent to think
of the possibilities.
I implore
“African-American Black” Brothers and Sisters to find something that they’re
great at and start-up businesses that are unique in services and useful to the
overall survival of a Nation - America.
I implore
you, Black Brothers and Sisters to make a path for us in these dark National
times as we prepare with hope and realistic optimism for a strong economical
future and no I don’t mean prostitution and exotic dancing. I urge you to use
your anger, resentment, discontent into making something that will last and be
thought of as something great – because aggression will soon be forgotten and
it will not go down in the textbooks – it will be forgotten but great
contributions never are forgotten and neither are great solutions.
I call out to
any and all Black Brothers and Sisters to make a difference to contribute
something – anything worth of value that comes from the deepest soulful regions
of your soul Heritage. To take a stand and not to expect that anyone ever owes
you anything not even gratitude and recognize that good deeds always go down in
history.
Kindness is
not a weakness, my dear friends. Kindness shows strength in character and so do
boundaries.
American
children are at stake here and so is their way of life, survival and
intelligence must not be compromised.
Find
something that you love, something that you’re really great at, develop it and
never stop dreaming. Black Brothers and Sisters it is time for you to wake-up
from your slumbering sleep and show the rest of the country what you’re really
made out of. Show us your dynamic, beautiful, insightful and intelligent souls.
If there has ever been a time and a need for the Black Brother and Sister, this
is it. You’ve been called to use your wits and to become greater than you are
today, by a “little” writer who knows nothing. I have hope for the Black
Brothers and Sisters because this is not Egypt, tonight, nor is it any other
Middle Eastern country, this is still the United States of America and we live
not in fear but in hope.
I’m wishing
you a splendid night.
The “Hubby”
and I are happy to be together.
We celebrated
Valentine’s Day with red-velvet cupcakes from a major department store (another
blog for another day). I saw so many angry faces today and so much classism it
left much to be desired.
Cheers to the
World’s Freedoms.
Ciao.
Gabriela
Source from
Wikipedia
Saint Valentine's
Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's
Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and
affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early
Christian martyrs, Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in
496 AD. It was deleted from the Roman calendar of saints in 1969 by Pope Paul
VI. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other
by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards
(known as "valentines").
The day first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey
Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.
Civil Disobedience (Resistance to Civil
Government) is an essay by Henry David Thoreau that was first published
in 1849. It argues that people should not permit governments to overrule or
atrophy their consciences, and that people have a duty to avoid allowing such
acquiescence to enable the government to make them the agents of injustice.
Thoreau was motivated in part by his disgust with slavery and the
Mexican-American War.
Civil
disobedience is the active,
professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government,
or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though
not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil
resistance. In one view (in India, known as Ahimsa or Satyagraha) it could be
said that it is compassion in the form of respectful disagreement. One of its
earliest massive implementations was brought about by Egyptians against the
British occupation in the 1919 Revolution Civil disobedience is one of the many
ways people have rebelled against what they deem to be unfair laws. It has been
used in many well-documented nonviolent resistance movements in India (Gandhi's
campaigns for independence from the British Empire), in Czechoslovakia's Velvet
Revolution and in East Germany to oust their communist governments, in South
Africa in the fight against apartheid, in the American Civil Rights Movement,
in the Singing Revolution to bring independence to the Baltic countries from
the Soviet Union, recently with the 2003 Rose Revolution in Georgia and the
2004 Orange Revolution in Ukraine, among other various movements worldwide.
February 11, 2011
“A great fortune is a great slavery.” - Lucius
Annaeus Seneca
“All religions have based morality on obedience, that is to say, on
voluntary slavery. That is why they have always been more pernicious than any political
organization. For the latter makes use of violence, the former - of the
corruption of the will.” - Alexander
Herzen
“Americans are so enamored of equality that they would rather be equal
in slavery than unequal in freedom.” -
Alexis de Tocqueville
“But if you want to continue to be slaves of the banks and pay the
cost of your own slavery, then let bankers continue to create money and control
credit.” - Josiah
Stamp
“Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most
aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty.” - Plato
Happy Friday.
Happy
“African-American Black” History Month and rest of the year.
“Alien
Nation” and “Star Trek” are “old 'skool', Yo’”. I'm trying to learn to write in
Ebonics. It's very difficult and no I don't like the way it sounds or the way
it feels on my tongue but I think I can appreciate it for what it is no
different than I can...
One of my
personal goals in the year to come is to write one-hour in Ebonics because I
have a great deal of respect for many aspects of dialects, accents and
linguistics. I think it will require a great deal of concentration, finesse and
mindfulness of the many sounds in accent and dialect no different than writing
a Haiku in its entire form.
“Alien Nation”
a TV show broadcasted in the late 1990’s poses many questions, concerns and
complexities about slavery in general. Being that it’s “African-American Black”
History Month and in consideration all throughout the year I’ve given this TV
show “Alien Nation” a great deal of consideration all fall and winter. We’ve
watched every episode ever made to acquaint ourselves with the writing and
storyline.
“Alien
Nation” is the premise of a storyline in which “Aliens” from another planet
find themselves stranded on Earth, “Ship Wrecked” amongst humans who are
physically weaker, far more cynical and with less compassion for overall life.
The characters portrayed in “Alien Nation” have physical attributes far
different from those of humans with much larger and vein-ier-melon heads and
alien males who carry young-fetuses from an alien mother into a male incubation
state from a female one. One of the questions posed in the many complexities of
the storyline is that the “alien” characters have a great sense of sympathy for
life because both male and females of their race carry the fetuses to full
term.
Brilliant
writing. I was hooked on the storyline from the start.
Many of the
storylines in “Alien Nation” deal with oppression, biases and difficulties of
being immigrants and immigrating amongst the human race but also the complexity
of the slave masters who mixed themselves amongst the rest of the alien slaves
and made their way into the human population as well. The humans can’t tell the
difference between slave masters and slave aliens. “All the ‘aliens’ look the
same to the humans.” (Thought: I was told
by a man that according to our human eye and brain function that humans are
made to only decipher those who look like us – it is scientifically proven that
humans can’t tell others apart from different races nor is the human brain
programmed that way - so if you feel
guilty then don’t you’re not made to think that way in the first place.)
{In other words “Alien Nation” can be
considered an allegory for Nazi leader fanatics who escaped to Argentina at the
end of WWII and other parts of the world and integrated themselves into a
working population or lived out their lives on the wealth they acquired from
the Holocaust (imagine, having wealth that was melted gold from the teeth of
other human beings who died in gas chambers?).This isn’t anything new to
humanity – acquired wealth – by the pillaging of others. History has taught us
that exponential wealth has been acquired either by the ravaging forces to take
from the environment, people and other living organisms or to make slaves
within our own species for the benefit of a few and the oppression of many.
Books teach us about the gut-wrenching
stories of slaves from all aspects of history and time. Slavery is not a new
concept to the human race but one would think that if humans don’t eat their
young or willingly participate in cannibalism then we would not participate in
the enslavement of any living organism in the name of power (another blog for
another day).}
“Alien
Nation” makes many major and distinctly poignant representations of the racism
and the oppression that occurs between humans and aliens. The main storyline is
about two detectives one a human and the other an alien who must overcome their
stereotypes of each race and learn not only to listen to the other but to
participate in the understanding responsibility of each other.
Brilliant.
Truly.
Peoples while
here on Earth have understood oppression and slavery all too well.
“African-American
Black” slavery comes to mind when I think about “Columbus Day” not because of
who Columbus was but because of how he is misrepresented in textbooks. I’ve
spoken to enough people to know that what is taught in schools is not what is
taught in “African-American Black” homes nor should it be when so much
suffering and pain comes from such a history. I think about the conditions in
which our Black Brothers and Sisters Ancestors’ came over on ships to be sold,
neglected, abused, raped, and compromised every step of the way until this very
day.
I will not
feel guilty as an American citizen for not being Black and carrying around such
negative emotions about Black slavery three-hundred years ago but I will give
providence and respect to the history of Black people who are wise, gentle, and
kind to the deepest root of their souls because they know what it meant for
their Great-Grandparents (Correction: 10 Generations; I will have to research
this; founding of United States 1776) to be enslaved in America at the
beginning of this country’s history and up till the Civil Rights Movement.
(Maybe, it will take another three hundred
years for “African-American Black” Brothers and Sisters to forgive the history
of how this country began. I wasn’t here I wouldn’t know yet racism seems to be
a “hot-topic” in conversation. So, I face into the wind as my Father taught me
to do in sailing and never to wrap a rope around me while tackling – it’s a
logical progression to maturity – to “forgive those who trespass against us and
not to lead us into temptation” but rather to think of a better future with our
children cultivating something better than our ancestors’ did in their time of
need, chaos, slavery, corruption and war.)
This is not
1711 this is 2011. Three hundred years have passed us by as a country and the
wounds of slavery are still as deep in many pockets of society as they once
were. “Black-Americans”, today like many of my people - “Los Indianos” - who
live in shantytowns and barrios along garbage piles up and down Central America
suffer greatly yet they have an innate wisdom to understand the death of their
ancestry.
The ancient
Mayans, died. Dead. There are 6-million Mayan living today that’s it (another
blog for another day). How sad while ancient Black Brothers’ and Sisters’ rituals,
religions and stories are still practiced. I’ve heard, first account
intelligent Black Brothers and Sisters talk about how “…the white man keeps us
down”. It is true that at this present time we must be aware of economical,
emotional and spiritual slavery yet it is by our wits that we get to pursue our
many American freedoms. Nobody keeps us down except ourselves. That’s painful
to see such words on ink, isn’t it? It strikes at the heart of many truths.
Points of view
on slavery may be cultural today but the honest truth is that as a human race
we have a mind to develop so let us develop it we must or we may perish without
the betterment for anything. Hope, Black Brothers and Sisters for more hope.
Lead us into the future because you know firsthand the
sacred-deeply-wounded-suffering in pain and in wisdom that comes from your
ancestors and please do not forget that great white men and women know the
stories of their ancestors’ plights in human suffering and pain also. Please,
do not for one moment assume that the world of white history of people doesn’t
understand enslavement because it does its obvious in their storytelling if you
so choose to listen.
I think that
“African-American Blacks” have many opportunities different than those of
Haitian Blacks and other countries around the world in which the human struggle
for survival comes down to food and water. Black Haitian Brothers’ and Sisters’
plights are not those of the “Black-American” Brothers’ and Sisters’ plights.
Please, I ask of any Brother and Sister to never assume that “Black-American”
plights are the same as those around the world because around the world in some
places some regimes can still put a bullet through a thinker’s brain and let
them die in public for exhibition to create more fear. We have rights as
Americans and we must express them eloquently with concern and without shame or
prejudice against others. We must learn to get beyond our history of pain and
suffering and cultivate a tomorrow.
Whether
you’re of the “Greatest Generation”, “Baby-Boomers”, “MTV Generation”, “X
Generation”, “Y Generation” and now “Gadget Generation” we must implement
development for the future races not to fall back on enslavement of any type
and our Brothers and Sisters the animals is one concern that we must begin to
consider sooner than later.
Slavery is an
archaic structure and it should never happen again so long as the human race
continues to develop although we still keep our Brothers and Sisters of the
animal kingdom on display for our amusement.
The argument
could be posed, that - If humans enslave other humans than why not eat our
young? The concept is similar to me in the sense that slavery brings about
human-made pain and suffering and so would eating our young. It’s an
intellectual thinking exercise of two wide extremes but necessary to consider
from time to time nevertheless. The more outlandish the circumstance in
argument the least the outcome for it if we can begin to consider anything
intellectually because it seems to me that at the root of intellectuality is
imagination for something kinder, greater and more sophisticated in our
thinking-feeling species.
This week the
“hubby” showed me a picture of a Baboon holding its arm over its eyes and
casting out all light and gawkers at a zoo. The Baboon’s physical behavior was
indicating a “Do Not Disturb” sign. I thought, ‘What do we expect as humans? Of
course anything that is kept as a slave and without a natural existence for
survival will find a way to block out its enslavement in one way or another.’
I’m wishing
you an amazing weekend.
I consider
“Alien Nation” as something of our past and “Star Trek” as something of our
future to hope for in storyline. I’m waiting for a culture that does not
exchange paper-coin money any longer but rather barters a position in a world
future of mental astuteness, intellectual contributions and solutions as well
as the art of bartering in environment, communication and ideas where all
creatures are safe, highly regarded for and who live amongst space travel – I
can imagine it because “Star Trek” did.
Space travel
will be so much more than we-mentally-value money today – that, I think we’ll
have to consider the human brain as a bartering system to intellectual property
and creation. How amazing!
Well, wishing
you an amazing weekend and happiness if you so wish to be happy.
Cheers to
you.
I raise a
moment of silence for all species.
Peace and
Respect,
Gabriela
Source from Wikipedia
Slavery in the United States was a form of unfree labor which existed as a legal institution in North America for more than a century before the founding of the United States in 1776, and continued mostly in the South until the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1865.The first English colony in North America, Virginia, acquired its first Africans in 1619, after a ship arrived, unsolicited, carrying a cargo of about 20 Africans. Thus, a practice established in the Spanish colonies as early as the 1560s was expanded into English North America. Most slaves were black and were held by whites, although some Native Americans and free blacks also held slaves; there were a small number of white slaves as well.
Europeans also held some Native Americans as slaves, and African-Native Americans. Slavery spread to the areas where there was good-quality soil for large plantations of high-value cash crops, such as tobacco, cotton, sugar, and coffee. By the early decades of the 19th century, the majority of slaveholders and slaves were in the southern United States, where most slaves were engaged in a work-gang system of agriculture on large plantations, especially devoted to cotton and sugar cane. Such large groups of slaves were thought to work more efficiently if directed by a managerial class called overseers, usually white men.
Before the widespread establishment of chattel slavery (outright ownership of a human being, and of his/her descendants), much labor was organized under a system of bonded labor known as indentured servitude. This typically lasted for several years for white and black alike. People paid with their labor for the costs of transport to the colonies. They contracted for such arrangements because of poor economies in their home countries. By the 18th century, colonial courts and legislatures had racialized slavery, essentially creating a caste system in which slavery applied nearly exclusively to Black Africans and people of African descent, and occasionally to Native Americans. Spain abolished slavery of Native Americans in its territories in 1769.
February 10, 2011
"Evil societies always kill their consciences." - James Farmer
"How could they say that my religion, Islam was a ‘race hate’ religion after all the plunder and enslavement and domination of my people by white Christians in the name of white supremacy?" - Muhammad Ali (The Greatest: My Own Story)
Happy
Thursday.
Happy
“African-American Black” History Month and rest of the year.
The year of
the “Rabbit” according to Chinese Zodiac.
The days are
moving along all too quickly.
I’m trying to
slow everything down to a halt.
I’m not a
politician nor have I ever wanted to be one.
As a citizen
I try to keep up with bills being presented in Congress. I have special
interests on certain topics than I do more so in others but I find that being
mindful about politics as any citizen is essential and important.
I research,
read articles and write notes about what I discover in books or on-line
research and also what I listen to people talk about any brilliant subject
matter. If someone I know or a stranger is really passionate about a subject
matter, craft or news story I’ll stop and give the subject some consideration
sometimes for as much as two years.
Petitions: As
any citizen I’m interested in knowing how to oppose or support bills that get
presented in Congress.
I’d like to
think that petitions are still significant at this point in time because it
indicates to me that any citizen has the freedom to voice their opinions (if I’m
that idealistic then so be it). A voice is important to state some opinions
about what is being presented in any bill and if it is indeed in the best
interest of people – I think on-line petitions are essential – that was one of
the major campaign strategies in President Barack Obama’s Presidential Election spreading the word
through on-line communication.
How
brilliant, the government has finally caught up with citywide on-line
providers. The entire country isn’t wired for on-line yet but hopefully that’ll
be implemented in cities that choose to have such government services. No
different, really than how railroads got built in America by creating jobs in
that specific field and letting really intelligent citizens implement a future.
When I go to
vote I pray internally for civil workers to uphold the very freedoms and civil
rights which are necessary for the survival of the human race. The world is
over populated as it is and humans as well as any other living organism will
deal with the present situation there’s enough land in the world for humans and
other organisms to co-exist let us not abuse our natural resources for seven
future generations in my humble opinion as a woman who’d like to raise children
in the world.
My personal
sentiment is that civil rights ought to be upheld as a responsibility to the
civilians of any government. Government is changing and so are civilians’ needs
and if a Government can’t meet the needs of the people then something has to be
implemented for a better, safer, kinder future of any tax-paying citizen who
works hard for the incentives of their Nationalism.
Technology
and travel has made the world that much more acquainted. The world is open to
any citizen of any class or race. The world is open to civilians. Think about
it not because my writing is commanding you to do so but because you can
imagine anything for a better world and a better future.
Happiness is
something that Americans get to pursue. Incredible.
It’s stated
ever so eloquently in our constitution. That’s not a freedom in other countries
so I don’t take my freedoms as an American citizen for granted although other
countries have more freedoms then Americans and yet other countries less as
well.
Politics is a
civic position in which the needs of the people are greatly considered. It’s a
thoughtful profession to say the least as any other.
I wasn’t
going to write politically today because frankly I’m not a political expert
only a citizen I have a responsibility to stay aware of what is happening in
congress otherwise someone somewhere in some faraway place will make decisions
about the health of my family, friends and community quietly without much
circulation of information about these
bills which citizens must consider what’s being proposed for our future.
I’m not the
most informed person, but I try to be. I live a life where life is important to
me. I’m what you call an optimist.
There is so
much information on-line and at times it’s easy to get lost through a sea of
it. I try to go on-line for one-hour a day to research, e-mail and read
international news. I don’t normally make-it a point to watch news but I will
especially when history is changing in epic proportions and civilians take
their rights back to medicine, education and health. People are important and
so are their needs to live.
I write this
openly as one human and as an Indiana Sister of the world.
I say daily
prayers to the Gods.
“The world
has been mad since the beginning of time and the lesson is not to go mad with
it.” A proud Black woman recently said those words to me and I was proud like
her to know that she had enough wits about her to understand the existence of
humanity as it tries to evolve.
I’m grateful to
know many different types of men and women mindful and thoughtful of politics.
I’ve met
Black Brothers and Sisters who were incredibly thoughtful citizens and why
wouldn’t they be? Any race that has the history of slavery knows a thing or two
about adversity, change, honesty and love. These are people who’ll continue to
make great civil workers because they understand the importance of any civil
rights as any other thinking Brother and Sister of any other race.
I wish you a
blessed cold-cold deadly Minnesota winter night.
I pray for
all of those who have no shelter tonight.
My prayers go
out to you today.
Ciao.
Gabriela
February 9, 2011
“Everything I've ever done, in the writing world, has been to expand
articulation, rather than to close it.” -
Toni Morrison
“Black people have always been used as a buffer in this country
between powers to prevent class war.” -
Toni Morrison
“Black boys became criminalized. I was in constant dread for their
lives, because they were targets everywhere. They still are.” - Toni Morrison
“Black people are victims of an enormous amount of violence. None of
those things can take place without the complicity of the people who run the
schools and the city.” -
Toni Morrison
“As you enter positions of trust and power, dream a little before you
think.” - Toni
Morrison
“Everybody gets everything handed to them. The rich inherit it. I
don't mean just inheritance of money. I mean what people take for granted among
the middle and upper classes, which is nepotism, the old-boy network.”
-Toni Morrison
Happy Wednesday.
Happy
“African-American Black” History Month and rest of the year.
Yesterday, I
drove an hour outside of the city for the second time in a week.
I sat under an
amphitheatre of bright baby-blue sky around one in the afternoon.
It was
amazing.
It has been
brought to my attention by a Columbian-American Sister that there is a bill
trying to be pushed through in Congress by Republicans that “…would allow
hospitals to let a pregnant woman die rather than perform a life-saving
abortion.” I signed a petition on-line against this bill being introduced in
Congress. I have my opinions about abortion as so does every other American
citizen.
I make a call
out to the African-American Black Sisters not to allow for the freedoms of
women’s health to become a political agenda but a personal choice. Our
Caucasian Sisters of the North American continent throughout the 1960’s and
1970’s fought so hard for women to have the choice to abort especially under
the cases of rape and health issues.
We are a
progressive Nation. We understand our limitations, choices and options. I call
out to our African-American Black Sisters all over the world to consider this
introduced bill to Congress for a moment whether you vote Republican, Democrat
or Independent Party.
What would it
mean to have the American government tell American women citizens what they may
or may not do with their person?
I understand
as any fully grown adult that abortion has many religious, ethical and moral
questions and implications involved. I personally don’t believe in abortion,
but I do believe for the right of any woman who is faced with the difficult and
gut-wrenching option to abort to be her soul-personal choice that she must live
with everyday of her life.
If I was on
an operating table and a pregnancy went horribly wrong and my life could be
saved due to an abortion are you seriously telling me that I’m to die along
with my unborn child? Wow! That’s not even
logical.
Please have
the courtesy to save my life if there are such medical procedures. If the
unborn fetus is already dead then why not save at least one life – the life of
the mother?
I get
passionate about our world because well, not everything is done the same way
around the world as it is in America and I’d like to think that Americans value
life above all else and yes, sometimes it means that when it comes down to the
line and one life is dying then medical facilities not only have the responsibility
but also the duty to save a life no matter what a Republican bill may feel is
right on behalf of their agenda and interest. Please consider what is being
proposed in this bills introduced to Congress. It will not do.
Bills are to
be passed not to make the lives of citizens more difficult or for citizens to
have to step through red tape left and right but to give legal rights to people
in the best interest of them due to a wide range in values, ethics and
perspectives.
Why would
America want to step back sixty years into history?
Let us
progress forward in our thinking through the choices, options and liberties set
in place not to fulfill only one sector of the population but options that
guarantee life for all women no matter what party you vote for.
All I ask is
for us to consider this bill as women and in celebration of our Black Sisters I
speak directly to them.
Thank you for
reading Black Sisters of the world.
(MoveON.org is
a link to the website where anyone can sign an on-line petition if they wish.)
I’ve got to
run… I’m meeting the “hubby”.
I still have
fifteen minutes on my blog to go but I wrote for two hours earlier today.
I’m happy and
satisfied with everything that got accomplished today.
Cheers.
Ciao.
Gabriela
Source from Wikipedia
Toni Morrison (born Chloe Anthony Wofford on February 18, 1931) is a Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, editor, and professor. Her novels are known for their epic themes, vivid dialogue, and richly detailed black characters. Among her best known novels are The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon and Beloved.
February 8, 2011
“A person who won't read has no advantage over one who can't read.”
- Mark Twain
“A man cannot be comfortable
without his own approval.” -
Mark Twain
“Action speaks louder than
words but not nearly as often.”
- Mark Twain
“Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.” - Mark
Twain
Happy Tuesday.
I’m not an expert
on anything except my own personal life and my life happens to me daily. I draw
from my life, think about it and explore it through descriptor words. I blog
about any subject matter with the intent in becoming a better writer over a
lifetime nothing more nothing less. I don’t need a-pet-on-the-head nor to
be-fed-cookies so that my ego is fulfilled. I understand my writing voice after
twenty three years of writing daily.
This blog is
about writing and no, there is no hidden agenda, evangelical or political
approach to thinking and I’m not going to tell you how to think about the world
because that’s any adult’s own private affair.
Happy
“African-American Black” History Month and rest of the year.
As a writing
exercise I will try to write as intelligently as I can about some of the
thoughts I’ve been having about “political correctness” more so specifically in
literature and writing. Now, I’ve held many discussions with many different
people about this and understand the dire implications of what it means to ban
any book or word.
In some
places of the United States of America books are banned due to “improper” and
“lewd” content and language. Some of the classics have been taken out of many
curriculums due to racial slurs and time-sensitive cultural content that no
longer (let me see if I can get this right) applies to our modern racist and
racial outlook.
At the tender
age of fourteen I sat in a classroom amongst all white youth from many
different economical and Nordic racial backgrounds while we listened as our
teacher read out loud from the book “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark
Twain.
My teacher
not once flinched nor lost the intelligence to read the word “nigger” out loud
when she came to those parts. By the age of fourteen we knew better than to get
“hot” and “bothered” about such a derogatory word in literature. We understood
its historical and literary content for what it was.
Not once did
we think that Mark Twain was the answer to all of our racial problems in
America in the early 1990’s but we understood that it was a huge deal at the
turn of the last century and so we were smart enough students to discuss the
word “nigger” in its entire literary content and form in the way in which Mr.
Twain intended the word to be in his novel in relationship to his characters.
Nothing-more-nothing-less: (unless a student brought something more to the
discussion).
By the time I
was a teenager I had already heard the word “nigger” used often primarily by
some African-American Black citizens whether it was on the bus, in pool halls
or in public places where the culture put an emphasis on Black rap.
The word
“nigger” was never used in my household growing up, much less by my neighbors
and my community at large nor is the word used now in my home, by my community
or as a grown adult woman now. I don’t hear the word used much often except in
the media under the context of “political correctness” or I’ve heard the word
used amongst and privately in some Black company, gatherings and parties and
that usage of the word “nigger” is not Mark Twain’s usage of the word “nigger”
– let us make a basic historical and modern distinction of the word.
I don’t
believe for one moment that the word “nigger” “spic” “donkey” “oriental” or any
other derogatory racial slur for a word means the same culturally to others but
we are in one main universal understanding that when we attach negative meaning
to any slur words then we attach power to them to mean something to dehumanize
another. Is that really power, not really but people like to intimidate to get
their façade power across because they have no other real power.
As for
literary historical content I believe that young people are smart enough to
understand racial content and take it at its face value and more importantly
young people understand racism of a different time and era – yes, young people
are just that intelligent.
Now, days you don’t have to call anybody
anything to make a racial implication simply anyone can imply a racial slur
more by what is not said verbally but by what is said through physical
language.
I don’t
believe in banning any literature from any author of any cultural background
simply because the language of the time does not suit us today. If anything, we
have a responsibility to teach and learn about the racially difficult and
gut-wrenching aspects in our American history through the literature of its
time. It is a fact that America had slavery, genocide and incarceration of its
people and historical literature just as any other art teaches its citizens
about the mistakes and the ignorance of the past.
Where else
are we to learn from the past but from literature and the arts, aside from
culture alone?
Are we to deny
art, culture and history in its purest cultural forms because some people are
uncomfortable with the realness of life and racism?
So, the
argument could be made that because Hitler caused so much racism through the
Holocaust that we must not learn about the Holocaust and Hitler much less view
the footage of hundreds and thousands of bodies thrown into large pits to be
buried simply because the content is too sensitive racially, culturally and
otherwise?
I viewed
Holocaust footage at the tender age of fourteen in a Religion class and I
understood the significance of that footage due to its “un-politically
incorrect” content by today’s standards of literary right and righteous
crusaders. I watched working men drag dead bodies and throw the bodies over an
edge for burial. Bodies that had been starved for months, beaten and punished
for being anything but Aryan Nation. I did not look away because I had to watch
history in its entire documentation and visual form even though my adopted
Father’s side of the family are Jews - If anything I needed to learn more about
racial slurs in their historical content than to deny them and ignore them.
Do you think
that as a Mayan Indiana living in America and as a woman of color that I don’t
know the pain of racial slurs? Please. I know the very purpose and intent in
modern racial slurs and thank the Gods I’m smart enough to know that-that is
not my problem but the problem of those who don’t know better. How sad.
I made up my
mind that day as I watched Holocaust footage that I would not be afraid of
content much less historical racial slurs in literature because then I would be
missing out on history in general and I could not do that as any thinking
breathing writing human. I’ve read books with significant amounts of racial
slurs from all over the world and I’ve thought ‘If the arts don’t reflect back
culture then what will? Will publishers reflect back life?’
I won’t be
naïve as to believe that racial slurs are not used daily all throughout the
world for intimidation, connection and communication. I wish that racial slurs
didn’t exist but this is the world we live in and we must wake up to our own
lives by NOT banning books and being embarrassed of dead authors who marked a
place in history through their stories but more importantly to get beyond the
“sensitivity” of words and to bridge cultural divides through awareness.
Just because
Mark Twain used the word “nigger” in his novel it doesn’t mean that-that gave
me license as a teen to make usage of the world in my daily language if
anything I learned NOT to use the word because I understood its significance
and implications.
I will not be
afraid of words and I would hope that under this new age of phony “political
correctness” that instead of teaching fear through “political correctness” that
we start a new dawn of teaching in which we face our greatest racial fears
about culture and race and move forward into the future with more clear and
concise thinking about the meaning of words in general. Let us address words and
not be afraid of their power or lack thereof.
To write is
not to write, alone - but to think, first, then add the mechanics of writing
later.
Writing is
thinking and thinking about the banning of language, the status quo of
“political correctness” and general consensus is powerful because it is to give
meaning to a daily occurrence in the world, language.
Are you to
tell me that a publisher will come along some day in the future and ban all of
the uses of the word “nigger” in Toni Morrison’s beautiful novels?
I hope not.
I believe Ms.
Toni Morrison (African-American Black female author) to be an intelligent and
sophisticated thinker and that she’s placed the word “nigger” strategically and
poignantly in her novels to drive at something important in emotions and to
make distinct racial differences of her time: Writers don’t normally waste
words because they know the value and importance of them.
Peace and
Respect.
Gabriela
Source from Wikipedia
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a book by Mark Twain, first published in England in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. Considered as one of the Great American Novels, the work is among the first in major American literature to be written in the vernacular, characterized by local color regionalism. It is told in the first person by Huckleberry "Huck" Finn, a friend of Tom Sawyer and narrator of two other Twain novels (Tom Sawyer Abroad and Tom Sawyer, Detective).
The book is noted for its colorful description of people and places along the Mississippi River. Satirizing a Southern antebellum society that had ceased to exist about twenty years before the work was published, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an often scathing look at entrenched attitudes, particularly racism.
February 7, 2011
“I detest racialism, because I regard it as a barbaric thing, whether
it comes from a black man or a white man.” -
Nelson Mandela
“A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the
subject.” - Winston
Churchill
“I've said that playing the blues is like having to be black twice.
Stevie Ray Vaughan missed on both counts, but I never noticed.” - B. B. King
“A joke is a very serious thing.” - Winston
Churchill
“I'm fighting the label of "Black" actress simply because it's very limiting in people's eyes, especially people who are making movies.”
- Whoopi
Goldberg
“A lie
gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants
on.” - Winston Churchill
Happy Monday.
Happy
“African-American Black” History Month.
Happy Chinese
New Year. The year of the “Rabbit” according to the Chinese. I raise my glass
to both.
“How about
those Green Bay Packers.” We watched and I thought about the many strategies of
the game as violent as it seems to be a sport. It was the first Super Bowl I
had ever seen in my life to my recollection in which I really sat down and
watched the game – (I was reading books, Yo’). We kept flipping the channel
back and forth from “The Color Purple” to the XLV Super Bowl. I asked the hubby
patiently and with love went back and forth from one to the other. Funny,
right? Right.
{I was fascinated by both the Super Bowl and
the film “The Color Purple” and their storylines one was impromptu ballet while
the other was a racial drama both storylines seemed to have their similarities
in strength, stamina and viewer appreciation. I’ll watch anything-anything once
from anyone who makes any film suggestion or passes along anything to watch. I
greatly enjoy from time to time watching Telenovelas for their hilarious
element. I’ve never laughed so hard in life like watching Telenovelas for their
absurdity but like any Greek-tragedy "Either leave the audience crying or
leave the audience laughing." I heard a man once say. My job daily is to
research one hour a day, to write and to think about anything in the visual
format. So I’ll watch anything for an hour and try to analyze it and write
notes so that I may simply make time to keep my mind sharp. It’s no different than
board-games, puzzles and riddles.}
As for the
lovely young woman who mis-sang the lyrics to the National Anthem, it happens
everybody is human. I can only imagine that it must’ve taken a great deal of
courage to sing the National anthem broadcasted in front of the entire country
at the XLV Super Bowl. I wondered what her loved ones must’ve been feeling for
her – and if that had been my friend, daughter, sister, cousin, and neighbor I
would’ve supported her. What else is there to do? From one grown woman to
another, I-know, right? Misquotes happen she’ll know better for next time. A
great lesson is in the value of the wisdom. One more note on Super Bowl: The
stage performance in the shape of the word “LOVE” and in the shape of a heart.
Lovely. The little red lights on the performers’ costumes were worth every
minute of it for me. I could’ve watched all night like the Opening and Closing
Ceremonies to any Olympics.
No Joke.
“Yo’, wassup!” (I try - I'm not Black nor do I pretend to be) I think I even
spelled it street-style. Sweet! I know-I know I’m learning. Dialect is
important down to the deepest root of any language especially in the written
language but more so in oral traditional form so I like listening to films for
speech and dialect, I’m tone deaf so imitating certain human dialect is
difficult but not some forms of animal sounds – if you listen closely to any
natural animal call you can begin to decipher the distinction in tone. I love
that about sound and musica what is there not to love?
I remember my
sister making loon calls while we sailed through the Apostle Islands, Grand
Marais, Michigan, Wisconsin, the Upper Peninsula, alongside tremendous dune
hills and eventually our backyard, in a dingy to row a shore and home.
Fabulous, what an adventure. I know about annunciation, dialect and form, but I
can’t copy any one of them and that’s alright – that’s not my gift in life. I
know my voice and what it sounds like when I hear myself speaking in English,
Spanish and swearing only amongst adult friends. I tend to understand the
emphasis on life. I can understand the plight of others because nothing is
perfect but there is a lot of consideration in the appreciation of dialect,
speech and form.
{Before I begin. I-know right. We’re already
two pages in but I can see the importance in each and every word here because
I’m generating human energy and power so before I begin my writing exercise for
the day with a prayer and respect for “African-American Black” citizens and
brothers and sisters month I have these thoughts.
Before I begin I’ve been inside my head way
too much lately thinking about how to set a few projects in motion. A man
proposed a film about death to us and we’re considering that a possibility just
what angle to take? There is a lot subject matter to be covered in such a wide
range in topic matter. So as I was thinking, doing bills and creating budgets I
noticed that we forgot to include a tip with our bill this past weekend to our
local food delivery pizzeria driver. I’m making a note of it. Also, a long time
close friend’s mother said to me by name “I hope you’re happy” she said over
the wire. I told her that I was and we said our goodbyes. I wanted to tell her
that I, too, wished her all the happiness in the universe but I didn’t. I went silent.
I need to slow down a few more notches still yet and be a bit more mindful and
thoughtful in the consideration of my daily interactions.}
Writing Exercise:
“Ode to the Black Brothers everywhere in Minneapolis,
MN, 2011”
Thursday
Night…
We headed an
hour out of the city and sat under an amphitheater of stars.
We drove
listening to musica and talked about life in general. Earlier in the night my
friend spoke about being a proud parent to two wonderful and smart children.
She had gone to conferences earlier in the day and she described to me how the
conferences went. I was glad to hear her speak so openly about her genuine
emphasis for excellence in both her two African-American mixed children. (I don’t even think this description of race
fits simply because my friend’s overall point of view is that “Who are we to
believe that anything is what it is just because we’re being told that it is.”
We had a discussion about that: The film “The Matrix” came to mind but we never
got around to discussing conspiracy theory cinema only linguistics, philosophy
and deeply personal points of view on theology.)
We arrived at
a club at 1:40 A.M. We visited with the “hubby” earlier in the evening. My
acquaintance and I stepped out like two smart women of the world in high heels.
Before we got to the club my soul-voice said to me: “Put-on boots.” I didn’t
hesitate I put them on. My acquaintance click-e-dy-clacked her way through snow
filled sidewalks in stilettos.
We entered
and paid twenty dollars at the door and more money for a drink and one H2O, for
fifteen minutes of dancing and at the end watched a whole dance floor of
prominently African-American Black Minneapolis folk go-up into a brawl.
I stepped
onto the dance floor right away when we got there to allow my soul to elevate
to the musica. Three grown Black men and two grown women purposely bumped into
me for territory. I stopped dancing or backed up each time, yet I didn’t skip a
beat. I was aware of the aggressive nature of the people on the dance floor. I
treaded lightly, meekly and with confidence. My acquaintance stood by a sixty
foot white column with an ornate chandelier hovering right over the middle of
the dance floor.
I stood towards
the back and center of the dance floor and felt a tribal call to dance.
So I felt my
heart pumping with my left hand while I held my vegan certified clutch I danced
freely as I would ride a skateboard. I danced without a care in the world for
about ten minutes and then I could sense that the energy had changed.
Someone had
sucked-out all the air from the room. I didn’t hesitate I could smell the room
change. I stepped out from center-back of the dance floor and stood in front of
the bar and faced forward looking at the back of my friend’s head as I watched
her scan the crowd for me for about a minute.
Mindfully,
quietly, slowly and calmly like any turtle I stepped to the side of a heavy
Black brother trying to talk to my “home-girl” – my friend: I stood in front of
her four feet away from the brawl and I could sense how far away there was
danger. I offered her my elbow turned around and walked out.
I looked back
once as we were exiting through the backdoors and straight for outside. A
bouncer went past us and split us up holding a man tightly while he bled from
the right side of his face which my friend saw and I did not. I put on my coat
which I held in my hands, looked at each other, walked outside and kept walking
until we came upon the parked car out on the street two blocks away from a pink
and purple neon horizontal and parallel lights on the outside of a building. I
caught my breath. What weird fifteen minutes of life.
“Do you
understand? With my people it’s sudden. One minute everything is fine and the
next a fight will break out.” My acquaintance said to me.
We decided to
get out of the city.
We headed
out. We’d had enough for one evening.
We stopped at
a gas station and bought water. As we talked - she turned to me and said in
reply to what I was telling her: She said to me: “My people, they don’t own
land, titles and much less property so all they have is their space all around
them and they’re territorial because they’re name and they’re space is all
there is.”
I looked at
her and she was dead serious and so was I.
“Yes, but
French Black, German Black and World Black is not the same as Minneapolis
American Black we just saw in that place tonight. I’m a grown woman. I’ve seen,
met, spoken and asked questions of enough World Black grown people to know that
they have a great regard for civilians, history and culture. No grown Black man
bumps into a woman much less in a public place and bumps hard into her. No man
in his right-grown mind thinks for one moment that that’s what other World
Black are doing around the world because that would be a falsehood. No man who
is a grown-Black proud-man purposely bumps into a woman hard and tries to push
her over to make a point that he exists. No. It will not do. This microcosm
isn’t the center of the Universe.”
She says,
“Well. that’s the sentiment amongst many Blacks. We haven’t had anything so our
space and territory is everything.” If that is so, then no man should touch
another - then why rudely bump into others? Thank the Gods I was born a woman.
Los Indianos
that I know believe that the very Tierra Firma you stand upon is your bit of
Earth. The ground I stand on is my bit of Earth. Please do not for one moment
run a woman over. I felt for the Black citizens in that nightclub on Thursday night.
What anger, fear, resentment and brutality from some Black brothers and
sisters.
With the
population of seven billion of us on Earth I prayed for the Black Brothers and
Sisters to go in peace, tranquillo and with grace. We’re over populated as it is
and we must develop manners and consideration for citizens frequenting any
public establishment. Slavery is not something easily forgotten or new mental
freedoms established in a brave new world of information.
We must get beyond
our hatred, rage and disgust, cynicism and discontent or we will implode on
ourselves. I believe in the Black Brothers and Sisters of Minneapolis – of the
United States of America and of the World. I’ve met many a sharp and dedicated
minds in the thoughtful and mindfulness of a future African-American Black and
any other Black racial background to become world leaders and change the world
for betterment, equality and justice for all.
I’ve run out
of my one-hour of writing a day.
I do have to
go soon.
Peace and
Respect,
Gabriela
February 4-5, 2011
“A cheerful frame of mind, reinforced by relaxation... is the medicine
that puts all ghosts of fear on the run.” -
George Matthew Adams
“What impressed me particularly in Vienna was the strict order everywhere.
No mob disturbances of any kind, in spite of the greatly increased liberty and
relaxation of police regulations.” - Fritz
Kreisler
Happy Friday I meant to write yesterday and now Happy Saturday afternoon!
The hubby’s taking
a siesta as I did yesterday afternoon – Now - I’ve got world news on mute.
Thursday night I saw a lot of culture in Minneapolis downtown club scene
(another blog for another time).
Friday the
“hubby” and I slowed down to a halt… made food, placed a delivery for food-in
from our local neighborhood pizzeria, talked about world news as we do daily
with one another, said prayers for world peace, change and negotiations amongst
world civilians and governments. The hubby and I are plugged into the many aspects
of worldwide politics, news and media. No culture, civilization, individual is
ever daft to their microcosm and the world at large – I listen to people speak
about world politics from all aspects of cultural exchange in communication,
environments and outlooks. I don’t often speak politics unless and directly
asked but I’ve sat in conversations that have touched me deeply to the core due
to their intelligence, mindfulness and critical thinking skills.
Eric and I
discussed the following topics this week which lead to an hour of writing each
day (specifically for a writing-exercise in the format of a screenplay) – The
following topics were, weather, Egypt, global food prices going up everywhere,
world governments, why the world can’t sustain itself anymore, solar cycles,
asteroids, and religion and “in-the-goofy-group” online forums there is a child
levitating-in-the-air somewhere in Russia and I had to laugh hard not because
it was random, uncomfortable, or not my story but their story but because I had
no idea what to expect from the video and the transition from one aspect to
another were suddenly abrupt so I laughed and I laughed hard. “Sometimes,
that’s all you can do.” says the “hubby”.
It was a full
week but we went about it as thoughtfully and as mindfully as any two grown
adults do: co-existing in love. The hubby works hard and has a daily eight hour
life quite different from mine – I’ve missed our lunches together in
locally-run sandwich shops, restaurants and co-ops.
The last four
years working independently and holding separate relationships has been quite
extraordinary, the hubby and I look forward to working together sooner one of
these years than not. We met working together and did build a great friendship,
dated and married – living together for five years. What a life. It’s been
quite intimate, adventurous and a life of solidarity. I’m grateful for my
friends who live all over the world and contribute to the world at large
wherever they are, when we buy property – it’ll be because the neighborhood
calls to us and we have decided that contributing to that neighborhood, public
school system and overall neighborhood economics is a place where we see fit
for seven generations to come and go peacefully amongst familia, friends and
community.
I’m grateful
to live in the United States, change always comes soon-enough and no, I don’t
think that building more factories in America is the only economical solution
to bringing us into the twenty-first century. We’re not the Industrial
Revolution any longer but that doesn’t mean that we don’t treat all aspects of
living organisms with respect, dignity and regard for all. The liberties of
Americans are impressive if anything we oppress each other more than being
bombed, terrorized and we’re not citizens in up rise – revolt while other
factions in other parts of the world take advantage of the situation to create
chaos in the those situations. Americans are blessed, blessed and I don’t take
my rights for granted as an American citizen.
I encountered
Black African-American Midwestern Minneapolis civilian men bump into me on
purpose on Thursday night as a territorial gesture out of disrespect and I
thought ‘They don’t know. They don’t know that French Black, German Black,
European Black, Asian Black, Carabino Black, Africano Black, Indiano Black,
Multi-Racial Black are not Midwestern Black African-American.’ I had a long and
intensive discussion with my closest racially mixed (Black and White) female
acquaintance about this. I liked her words and point of view another blog for
another day.
Happy
(Correction: “African-American Black”) History Month.
Happy Chinese
New Year came and went.
I look
forward to the year of the rabbit.
Ciao.
Gabriela
February 3, 2011
The
Giving Three by Shel Silverstein
Once, there was a tree…
And she loved a little boy.
And every day the boy would come
And he would gather her leaves
And make them into crowns and play king of the forest.
He would climb up her trunk
And swing from her branches
And eat apples
And they would play hide-and-go-seek.
And when he was tired, he would sleep in her shade.
And the boy loved the tree… very much…
And the tree was happy.
But time went by,
And the boy grew older.
And the tree was often alone.
Then, one day, the boy came to the tree and the tree said:
–”Come, Boy, come and climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and eat
apples and play in my shade and be happy!”
–”I am too big to climb and play” said the boy. “I want to buy things and have
fun. I want some money.
Can you give me some money?”
–”I’m sorry”, said the tree, “but I have no money. I have only leaves and
apples. Take my apples, Boy, and sell them in city. Then you will have money
and you’ll be happy.”
And so the boy climbed up the tree and gathered her apples and carried them away.
And the tree was happy…But the boy stayed away for a long time… and the tree
was sad.
And then one day the boy came back, and the tree shook with joy, and she said:
–”Come, Boy come and climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and eat
apples and play in my shade and be happy.”
–”I am too busy to climb trees,” said the boy. “I want a house to keep me
warm”, he said. “I want a wife and I want children, and so I need a house. Can
you give me a house?”
–”I have no house”, said the tree. “The forest is my house”, said the tree. “But you may cut off my branches and build a house. Then you will be happy”.
And so the boy cut off her branches and carried them
away to build his house. And the tree was happy.
But the boy stayed away for a long time…
And when he came back, the tree was so happy she could hardly speak.
–”Come, Boy” she whispered, “Come and play”.
–”I am too old and sad to play”, said the boy. “I want a boat that will
take me away from here. Can you give me a boat?”
–”Cut down my trunk and make a boat”, said the tree.
“Then you can sail away… and be happy”.
And so the boy cut down her trunk.
And made a boat and sailed away.
And the tree was happy…
But not really.
And after a long time the boy came back again.
–”I am sorry, Boy”, said the tree, “but I have
nothing left to give you – My apples are gone”.
–”My teeth are too weak for apples”, said the boy.
–”My branches are gone”, said the tree. “You cannot swing on them”.
–”I am too old to swing on branches”, said the boy.
–”My trunk is gone”, said the tree. “You cannot climb”.
–”I am too tired to climb”, said the boy.
–”I am sorry” sighed the tree. “I wish that I could give you
something… but I have nothing left. I am just an old stump. I am sorry…”
–”I don’t need very much now”, said the boy. “Just a quiet place to sit and
rest. I am very tired”.
–”Well”, said the tree, straightening herself up as much as she could,
“well, an old stump is good for sitting and resting. Come, Boy, sit down… sit down and rest”.
And the boy did.
And the tree was happy…
The end.
Happy
Thursday!
Amazing how
the days went by so quickly this week.
We’re almost
to a quiet, tranquillo and peaceful weekend.
The hubby has
taken the day off tomorrow and we’re planning on visiting over breakfast with a
friend who has known the hubby for twenty years. Amazing! Eventually, we’ll end
up sitting on the couch in pajamas, sharing meals together and kicking back.
The poor hubby now has the same sinus-cold I had all last week. Life as it
happens and we’re happy to make the time to take care of ourselves.
We figured
that we would’ve had papers signed by January 15, 2011 to buy our flat here in
Uptown. No word was ever spoken about the buying of the flat between the two
parties after an offer was made for us to buy so we did not pursue it. We don’t
push through on anything that is not communicated and discussed. Why would we?
If you can’t talk, discuss and negotiate then an exchange in communication,
ideas, monetarily and / or otherwise most likely is not meant to be. I don’t
mind being told, “No.” I can understand that and I can also understand silence.
Right? Right.
I love
Minneapolis in general and I would live out my days happily here and contribute
as we already do to this magnificent city of Minneapolis as it is now. We’re
connected to many different communities, establishments and people who change
the world daily through their hard work, dedication and keen insight on how to
make this amazing city more developmental, safe and the infrastructure kept-up
so that all citizens, civilians and others may travel in and out of this city
peacefully, safely and with confidence that this city is civilized, established
and strong economically, politically and open mindedly.
What is there
not to love about a city that is run by a large and steady middle class? This
is a city where the average citizens are making a difference and serious major
contributions towards seven future generations. One of my concerns about
Minneapolis is the rate of arm robbery, rape and some murder that does occur
against civilians. That does trouble me and it has been on my mind for three
summers now – I’ve given Uptown a great deal of consideration, contribution and
energy over the past seven years.
I have a
great concern for the women, men, children and elderly of Minneapolis. I’m not
paranoid about violent crime but I do consider this city just as any other
citizen who is a part of watching any great metropolis develop and grow - major
civilities must continue to be applied either through education to grant the
average citizen not only the right but the pride and need and want to stay and
contribute over a long period of time. The world is open to citizens of any
economical and status background.
Money and
status is placed on what you think is important. I don’t consider my work and
my business the most important thing in life. I give a lot of nurturance to
relationships that are full of sharing, thoughtfulness and constructiveness
because like any grown adult I respect myself and others.
Eric and I
discussed moving to a south Minneapolis neighborhood because frankly some of
our friends in town live, shop and contribute to that part of town. It’s a
progressive and distinctly beautiful neighborhood. We have other friends who
contribute to many other parts of the city, but the thing is we want to be less
than five miles away from downtown.
We’ve
researched, discussed and acknowledged that part of living in any city in the
world comes with responsibilities, challenges and opportunities specifically
and directly in regard to where anyone ever lives. We want to contribute – we
want to build, live and strive for a better environment.
We’ve kept
looking at the crime watch for the 3rd and 5th precincts
over the last eight months. What I found was a bit startling and shocking the
violent crime rate for rape is five times higher in the 3rd precinct
than in the 5th precinct. We’re smart urban folk who’d like to think
that we understand urban culture since we live in it every day.
The fifth
precinct is not by any means perfect with auto theft, residential and business
burglary even as far as aggravated assault but with a high rate of rape that is
not a neighborhood that I want to bring-up children in.
Rape and violent
crime happens every moment of everyday everywhere all over the world so in
choosing a neighborhood that is human friendly and conscientious of its
citizens is important. I believe that the third precinct as well as the fifth
precinct are both places conscientious-enough to live-in, work-in and we do
live-out urban existences along with many other thousands of citizens, but to
have to contend with rape and aggravated assault right on your front doorstep
is disconcerting to say the least.
We would like
to build with reusable, recyclable materials. I dream about going off the
electrical grid. I dream about solar paneling, a hydroponic greenhouse, a
darkroom and a workshop for welding and other necessary materials. A
skateboarding facility and eventually a space for artists in residence –
professional working artists from any background – details will need to be
ironed out that’s part of any creative process.
I spoke with
a friend yesterday about their dream to build a resource center for battered
and pregnant young women and their children. A place for women to learn, build
and establish lifelong relationships through self-empowerment and educational
stability. When my friend spoke I could see this dream a reality and considered
the possibilities of such an amazing public space for young pregnant women and
their children. What a beautiful dream. Mind you, I was talking to a sharp mind
and a human who can make anything possible in the decade to come.
Anything is
possible. Finding capital is easier than constructing a dream. A dream requires
forethought, knowledge, research and regard for an objective. I will not stop
dreaming nor do the people that I run alongside like parallel lines as we go on
forever understanding the power of the “negative” space between us. Okay so,
now I’m getting a little visually creative, here. Anyway, I told a friend
today, “Bamboo, I’d like to design, construct and build with some bamboo. I’ll
figure it out.”
I’m not
afraid to build a studio with my own two bare hands.
I’ve watched
my Father build two out of the three beautiful homes in the last thirty years.
I’ve helped my father build and it was a wonderful process. My Father with the
help from his buddies along with their bare hands went and acquired enough
knowledge and put it to good use. I’ve seen my Father exhausted and satisfied
with his work and I know that I too would get satisfaction and a kick-out-of
building. No, I’m not an architect, interior designer or a builder by any means
nor do I want to be one by trade I have a profession already but I’m not afraid
to learn and further any of these skills. We’re looking at all of our options
for a decade ahead. Growth is difficult but I can only imagine no growth is
even more difficult on the human soul.
I contribute
wherever I live and to think that I don’t would be foolish. All citizens
contribute in one form or another. I’d really like to settle into a
neighborhood where people do contribute large amounts of money into the
economics of any neighborhood not only with a few getting an economical
advantage and prosperity from an abundance of resources, but more so to
distribute large amounts of wealth into an already culturally thriving and
active middle class body of citizens with a low violent crime rate and
disadvantages brought on by crime in general. Crime keeps neighborhoods from
advancing as they need to and should – it doesn’t mean that neighborhoods don’t
thrive it just means that it makes it harder to contribute through all the
layers of injustice, brutality and distinctly human made disadvantages.
I’d like to
grow old and retire in Minneapolis, but when I think about having children I
think about other possibilities with rural America in mind, rural anything in
the world with exceptional public schools. The hubby is open to anything so
long as there is a well thought out and reasonable plan. Public schools will be
a huge factor on where we end up living and contributing at large in a quiet
and peaceful environment, not perfect or manicured by any means but simply respectful,
safe and kind – I’ve seen such places in the world and I’ve been left
breathless and astounded – it can be done.
We thought
about our flat and restoring it to its original form but it would have taken
money that could be well spent elsewhere. We dream, we conceptualize and we
eventually act – I’m a turtle in that regard. Anything is a possibility if you
think it and I’d like to have a well organized and thought out plan before I go
forth in finding capital and large amounts of it. No, I’m not talking peanuts
I’m talking business and communication at a level of high trust, understanding
and compromising without forfeiting our personal ideals, values and ethics.
Peace.
Cheers!
Gabriela
P.S. I’ve got
to run some errands for a potluck tonight that happens on the first Thursday of
each month that I have not frequented in four years although I’ve been invited
every month by my friend and their amazing wonderful friends, I have some
organic desert I’d like to buy to bring for tonight’s meal, and I’m pulling out
the high heels and red lipstick. My girlfriends and I are stepping out to
dance, I’d like to journal to some loud and soul-felt musica anywhere in the
city of Minneapolis as geeky as that may seem and eventually work-up the soul
to shut-everything-out and just feel music and dance at least once before the
night is out.
We have early
breakfast with a friend and a date with the hubby to shut-out the world for
three days and do nothing but heal the body, mind and spirit. I can’t wait to
be with my love. Ah, are you feeling it, that’s the end of a long working-week
coming almost to a crawl. Cheers for that. SO much happens in one hour, one
day, one week, one month, one year to people.
February 2, 2011
“If we open a quarrel between past and present, we shall find that we
have lost the future.” - Winston
Churchill
“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the
mind on the present moment.” –
Buddha
“The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of 60
minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is.” - C. S. Lewis
“I do not want to foresee the future. I am concerned with taking care
of the present. God has given me no control over the moment following.” - Mohandas Gandhi
“The distinction between the past, present and future is only a
stubbornly persistent illusion.” - Albert Einstein
Happy Wednesday-Thursday!
Today’s
writing exercise is one that we wrote about in High School.
I had to go
and look for a journal and take it out because what I wrote at that time in my
life made me laugh hard.
Reviewing the
journal I had changed very little from fifteen till today in one regard I was
still passionate about the world and using descriptors through words to best convey
sentiments, thoughts, ideas and ideals – thought-up and understood by others.
I’m passionate about listening to people speak their words any words so long as
they mean something of value and consequence to them. There is nothing wrong
about being passionate about the world you live in – nothing. (At times when I’m loose in conversation with
friends and no children are present then we swear and we do it purposefully
because we’re adults) I sometimes seem to be lazy minded about recalling the
name of an author or the title of any book I’ve ever read.
I sometimes
get lazy brained with the basics of remembrance simply because I can always
look-up anything.
I can use an
online search engine, public libraries anywhere and any other public assistance
made available to citizens granted access to records. Fantastic, wonderful
that’s an aspect of civilization which still exists in the world.
Who can’t
raise a silent moment for the ability to grant any human citizen knowledge of
any kind. The greatest development it seems, for humanity has finally arrived
at this so called “Information Age” is that information is not a luxury but a
civility granted to any citizen. To argue that, has to be a mute point.
Writing
Exercise: (Make an Ode to something), 1995.
“Ode to A Friend, 2011”
Friday night…
I packed
minimally with one light-weight metal tripod and another plastic tripod with a
flat mount. I brought two cameras (both digital – no film), an external mic, a
light, no flash and one bottle of organic red wine odd-year to my friend the
documentary filmmaker at his studio this past Friday night.
I stood
outside of my friend’s studio garage door and took in that bright dark blue
dusk night. The street lamps gave the darkening sky a dramatic splash of orange
across it. I didn’t hold in my breath as I normally do when I’m nervous I
inhaled and exhaled softly in through my nose and then out through my mouth. I
took in a few wonderful low, relaxed deep breaths.
I made a
call:
“Aloha. Hey,
it’s me.” I said into the phone.
Silence.
I let out
genuinely comfortable laughter.
“Hey?” I said
again.
“How are
you?” My friend’s voice came across.
“Fine. How
are you?” I asked with interest for his well being.
“Fine. What
are you thinking about? Are you thinking we could film now or in a little bit
when you get here?”
“I’m already
here.” I smiled.
“So, what are
you thinking you want to do?” My friend the documentary filmmaker asked me
again in a calm and kind voice. I stopped to consider for a moment what I
wanted to do – I hadn’t been asked all day what I wanted – it caught me by
surprise. It was nice, he asked me frankly and I enjoyed a moment of silence
standing outside by myself.
Comfortable
silence sat between us over the phone. I love silence between friends it means
comfort to me.
“I’m thinking
that I’d like to look at the lighting, set up equipment, introduce ourselves to
some ideas and slowly work ourselves up to an interview. I can answer any questions
and when you’re ready to roll then we will. It’s up to you I want you to be
comfortable, relaxed and ready. Do you have any ideas?” I was truly curious.
“No, no. That
sounds like a good idea. I’ve got lights already set up. Are you right outside?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll be
right there.”
“Thanks.
Ciao.” The line went blank.
A heavy steel
door opened immediately and I saw my friend’s beautiful shiny face staring
right into mine into my soul. I can never look away from his deep and kind blue
eyes as much as I wanted to veer my gaze out of reverence I didn’t out of
cultural sensitivity. My friend is a mid-western white fellow and culturally to
look away is considered weak or rude so I held his stare with all of the energy
and effort that I could muster. I held his look which seemed to withstand the
test of time always a bit longer than most humans. I saw no judgment, need or
want. I felt like I had gone home all over again for the first time. I didn’t
move into his space to hug him but I did feel warmth and kindness towards him
and I only hoped to the Gods that he could sense it.
I stepped to
the side of my friend who held the door open for me and I was grateful for the
simple gesture. We walked up a slight concrete ramp and took a sharp left
through another steel door and entered a beautiful small classroom size studio.
Straight ahead I saw his cat and a beautiful woman talking to the cat. The cat
got down from his perch and came straight at me I wanted to laugh. It had been
a long day by the time I got to my friend’s studio and the relaxed tone of the
cat set me at peace immediately.
My friend had
mentioned quite early on that he wasn’t feeling well and I had a sinus
head-cold that left me shivering and tired to the bone all of last week. I saw
the long day around my friend’s eyes and he could see the tired around mine. I
didn’t hide it or pretend not to be human.
I walked in
said hello to the cat in Indiana style which is to always bow my head to any
animal known or unknown to me. The cat came to me and purred around my ankles.
I was surprised this was the cat that’d bitten my friend on the hand earlier in
late summer as well as biting his studio mate.
In the summer
time I had stopped by a large industrial kitchen sink as my friend poured water
over his infected wound and proceeded to tell me the tale of his cat who
terrorized him at times. I felt compelled and bold to speak “May I make a
suggestion?” I asked my friend not for the permission to speak but to be
granted the honor to be listened to openly and honestly and he gave me a nod so
I proceeded on that hot summer day.
Standing by
that large kitchen sink I felt shy, sheepish and simple minded to tell my
friend, “I was taught by different people that if I ever got bitten by anything
that broke the skin or made contact causing any rash or burn to immediately
suck on my skin. Really suck on it.” He raised an eye-brow and considered what
I was telling him - I could tell that he wasn’t about to dismiss my words
completely.
I could tell
that he was trying to make sense out of the information. “The saliva on the
tongue has natural antibiotics and as simplistic as that may seem to you I
can’t say that I’ve ever had any wound infected right after I’ve sucked on a
bite of any type.” I flushed red standing there feeling completely stupid
because every time I’ve ever brought that up to other white people they have
laughed at my non-conventional wisdom. I looked away for a second and wanted to
fix my stare anywhere but on his face instead I looked up at my friend and saw
the same kind blue eyes that I saw last Friday night and I felt that he was
indeed wise. I made some lame excuse to move away from him before I said
anything more that might sound like bizarre back woods culture.
The cat
around my ankles didn’t seem like the same animal that had caused the gaping
wounds on my friend’s hand – but I understood that it had a nature to bite I
entered the studio and introductions and handshakes were made all around and I
hugged my friend’s wife.
I try not to
shake hands with people unless people initiate that type of greeting first or I
sense that its part of their cultural outlook. The young woman smiled a large
smile and turned to speak to two parrots in a cage. What I gathered was the
lovely woman’s partner, who I had only met once before in my life and her were
there to relax and we shook hands as well. I set my backpack down and brought
out a bottle of wine. I placed the bottle on a lovely wooden table and was
offered a home brewed organic apple wine. I tasted it on the corners of my jaw
and sunk into it with relaxation. I was in no hurry as I know most aspects
which are valuable are never hurried. Filming is sacred to me because I give
everything of myself to it. No holds bar. I am quiet and aware or social at times
- nevertheless aware what else is a human to be but just that.
I turned to
the couple and called them by name, “How was your day?”
Both stopped,
held their breaths for a split second and with excitement in their voices answered
simultaneously, “good good.” We made talk and the young lady preceded to
changing a light bulb which set a nice ambience to the already well lit studio.
I was impressed by my friend’s lighting there was not a single change or
suggestion I had to make to any of the lighting so I didn’t all I could do was
to silently admire his hard work and efforts and make genuine comments here and
there as we looked about. We stood around and watched the lovely woman change
the bulb and then we discussed how the defused lighting did work for the
parrots and the filming. I was overwhelmed with glee and joy at our simple
interactions. I set my glass down, climbed a stage and began to unpack one of
the tri-pods, cameras and white balance in relationship to my friend’s
brilliant lighting while I held conversation with my friend’s friends.
In front of a
large drum set stood a chair and I set up around it.
My friend’s
friends were intelligent and we spoke about the necessity of plants and their
medicinal power. They poignantly and respectfully asked me what the film was
about and I answered that it was about food. My friend rested his feet and sat
down, watching and looking up at me on the stage as I forced words forward
amongst strangers and friends alike. “Well, we should get going before the
interview gets under way.” She said and he agreed. We spoke a little bit more because they were
just that intelligent and kind. They could peacefully without any prejudice or
agenda could speak intelligently to the production of food and its importance.
We said our goodbyes and they left happy for their friend and his ability to be
interviewed shortly. His friends spoke volumes about him and his wife and I was
honored to be present in that room that night.
I finished
looking over some minor technical details and left the room for about ten
minutes to give my friend a moment by himself before we began our interview and
to gather my mental notes as well.
I went back
inside. We both climbed a stage, he took center seat, I set a chair across from
him and placed the tripod to the right and to the side of him, then we did a
sound check, rolled the camera and got out our questions and began.
Immediately I
laughed to give my friend a cue that this was not a matter of life and death.
“If you have
any questions, comments or concerns let me know. I can stop rolling at anytime
and we can stop and start at anytime.” We both breathed-in and looked at our
paper each which contained nine questions that I had e-mailed him the day
before.
I asked the
first question he proceeded to answer each and every question about his organic
gardening experience, quest and future goals. He spoke at length on some
questions and not on others. When we were through with the questions I began to
ask improvisational questions that had stemmed from his previous answers which
had brought forth more detailed and in depth questions hopefully leading to
more detailed and in depth answers. Every time my friend spoke he looked
directly and deeply at me and I looked directly and deeply back at him. I
sensed that what he said was as truthful to his knowledge and ability. I was
honored to be in the presence of such a genuine human.
I got lost in
his sincerity. I felt as connected to my friend as I ever had not because I was
an authority on anything but because he was truly human and beautiful under the
light. He was as genuine as a grown man could be and I understood his quest for
organic gardening. I understood his responsibilities to the world and to his
community at large.
At times I’ve
spoken with such genuine vigor with my closest friends about art, philosophy,
musica, skateboarding and filmmaking and they have understood my passion for
all of it. My friends have understood that as awkward as I had felt all through
film school and through the first decade of my independent career that I really
wanted to make a connection to others, convey well enough storytelling meaning
and share the importance of what and how people do contribute to their
communities.
It’s been a
year and six months that my friend and I had signed a personal release form, a
locations release form and there we were sitting across from one another
without a pretence in the world. We had arrived at a moment that we had both
briefly spoken about but held great respect and interest on the subject matter
and for each other. Can you imagine the patience of waiting to be interviewed
and to interview for over a year and a half – that’s visionary and wise in a
society that rushes through most processes that take time to build trust,
consideration and mindfulness.
We finished
the interview and we spoke frankly about our physical health. We were both
sick. My friend’s wife came out to join us from a computer room and we all hung
out some more. My friend’s studio mate came in enthusiastically and asked if
the interview was over. “I knew it had to be something important when I saw” he
looked over at his friend kiddingly and said, “washing and combing out his
hair.” I let out splendid real laughter and had to admit to them, “I thought
about showering right before I came here tonight and making myself quite
presentable but then again I didn’t. I felt comfortable as I was.” My friend’s
friend an excellent painter by the look of his oil and canvas paintings seemed
to be quite direct and intelligent. He seemed to be a man who could talk about
any subject matter openly and with regard for life.
“Well, are
you ready to play?” I finished packing the last of my light-weight gear and set
it to one side of the stage. My friend and his friend climbed the stage sat
down and began to tune their electrical instruments. I asked, “Would you mind
if I stick around and watch for a bit, unless this is a jam session?” “No, no
why would you even have a need to ask?” Asked my friend’s wife and I had my
ideas as to why. I’ve been around enough talented and dedicated musicians to
regard their practice, jam and play time as sacred. When I write at my home,
private studio or friend’s homes I don’t normally tend to have people watching
me while I write, but I can understand people wanting to watch a play rehearsal
and musicians at play. Watching somebody write just seems so boring like
watching paint dry.
I settled in
and spoke to my friend’s wife for a while. We rode a skateboard through a long concrete
hallway down to the bathrooms. I rode that hallway fully happy and a few more
times because it’ll be months until I get to ride “Desilu II” anytime soon
again on the streets of Minneapolis. Although, I look forward to taking her to
Florida with me I also long to ride her most through my hood in warmer weather
through Uptown and downtown.
My friend -
his wife and I looked through some large prints of amazing well renowned
artist’s works. I could do nothing but stare. I was low energy and yet full of
gusto for life, art and vino. We laughed, we played and we had a meeting of the
minds. I will never forget that night of filming for as long as I live. I will
never forget my friend, his friends and the people I met through and in his
life. I have a great deal of respect for this man and his lifestyle. I like
that behind his deep blue eyes nothing escapes him, nothing is ever fully
completely completed – everything has the chance to evolve, grow and mature. I
like that behind an unassuming face that he picks up on the subtleties of
others. I let down some of my guard that night and trusted in my friend and the
company he kept because I had gone to his studio and even though we were both
under the weather we had a chill play date set up more than a serious stuffy
interview.
Just before
we departed I did place myself inside my friend’s space and drew him near to
me. I genuinely hugged him and gave him every inch of respect that I could
muster physically without breaking a bone or crossing some bizarre cultural
line between a man and a woman. “I hope I didn’t intimidate you. I hope I
wasn’t too bold or barked too loudly.” I said to him knowing that I hadn’t and
that he had handled himself beautifully as well as I had.
“Let’s do it
again some other time when we’re feeling better.” My friend suggested.
“Okay,
sometime between now and May – if you can make the time.” I moved away.
He asked me
if I needed any help carrying equipment out and I thanked him but said no. He
followed me outside and held the doors for me as we walked out. We stood
outside for a moment exchanged a few words. I wanted to say so many meaningful
things to my friend but I got shy and decided to run away I lost my voice. I
left feeling like we had accomplished something worth of value. I left thinking
this man has changed me forever not by what he says but more often than not by
what he hasn’t said especially while others have been in heated debate. I’ve
watched this man for over a year and have understood his greatest strength to
any group dynamic, his ability to never jump on one idea but to continue to
introduce a multiple of ideas with consequence. 'They don’t make ‘em like that
anymore.' I thought to myself as I drove away.
I am honored
to know such a man… I will carry his demeanor close to my heart in the year
ahead. I will stop and think about him and his leadership qualities every time
that I find myself in a group dynamic that I don’t have the energy nor the time
to enter their world but would like to observe as any documentary filmmaker can
and does… He gets that about my nature to document and I’d like to think that I
get that about his nature to document. My next film being that I need a break
from people – my next feature is about species of flowers.
Goodnight.
It’s been a
long day.
It’s now well
after midnight and I need to upload, bathe and climb into bed with the “hubby”
who went to bed long before this was completed.
I love
people…I’m passionate about people but people as wonderful as they are do take
a lot of energy.
I don’t give
up on anybody too easily I never have and I never will but I also don’t force
myself to become an exact replica of my friend’s lives styles, outlooks and
agendas. I’d like to think that I let people be who they are, truly. I’m an
adult and what adults go through daily is a lot.
Much Respect,
Gabriela
February 1, 2011
"The
best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time." - Abraham Lincoln
Happy
Tuesday!
Most
documentary filmmakers are not philanthropists, venture capitalists, social
workers, therapists, psychologists, anthropologists, sociologists and crusaders
by trade.
They’re not –
nor should they be expected to be.
I’ve been
expected to be all of these and more by others and I am not nor did I set out
to be any of them yet I use the tools of their trade daily to decipher through
cultural, emotional and monetary con artists vs. the average civilian surviving
our contemporary times.
Let me jump
in as any thinking breathing writing human and make some poignant points about
my professional field as a documentary filmmaker, because it’s valid and it
needs to be recognized, quickly.
Most people
who chose to go to school for documentary filmmaking and / or come into the profession
by default, don’t normally set out to take away the problems of the world
rather to document them.
Most
documentary filmmakers I know did not go into their profession with fame and
riches in mind. It’s not a field that you get rich quickly or ever, although
some notoriety may come along the way and that’s that. The importance is always
in making a connection no matter how small or large and we understand the
impact that we make so I tend to tread lightly not because I don’t have my own
opinions about the world but because sometimes its just not my place in the
world to give certain personal input that may or may not cause a certain
outcome.
Filmmakers
should be expected to be respectful and if anyone ever puts them in a situation
where they are to give their opinion on anything concerning the well being of a
group or an individual they have the right to answer honesty even if it doesn’t
withstand amongst the status quo or general consensus - they are granted the 5th
– not saying anything is a given right not to persecution.
Most
documentary filmmakers don’t jump on any bandwagons or lifestyles of any type
because believe it or not more often than not they have a home, they have
families, friends and communities in place that already support them in their
professional endeavor, so I hate to burst the bubble, but most thinkers and
professional artists are common citizens working much of the time away from
their family, friends and community.
A thinking
human is a contributing human and their time and their positive conflict
resolution skills are the greatest assets they will ever assist with
participating in any group dynamic that, which is not their own, aside from the
fact that they’ve already set aside a fiscal yearly budget for their filming
projects. Documentary filmmakers are people who more or less are constantly
juggling budgets, projects and relationships to the best of their abilities.
Documentary filmmakers are not an authority on anything except the making of
documentaries and in place are set some professional boundaries, guidelines and
ethics to their development, maturity and astuteness in their field.
When I take
on a film project, I do not take on other people’s lifestyles, bandwagons,
propaganda and exploitation in regard to their world and their artistic,
political and humanitarian endeavors. I’m not “Alice in Wonderland” fallen
through the rabbit hole nor do I much care to be her. Although I have found
myself in many rabbit holes and been pissed off about ripping my dress at the
beginning of the story every time it happens this does not mean that I can’t
and won’t tread through murky waters. As objective and unassuming as I have to
be in my profession anytime that any human questions me personally about the
many adult choices I have made in my life I do take quite a bit of a
standoffish approach to them.
As a
documentary filmmaker I never assume anything about others. Why would I? Others
are the authority on their lives and I am the authority on my life. I do not
want to be judged for what I eat, how I dress as a woman, where I shop and my
core value system. I’m thirty three and I’m too old for high school antics.
Moving on…
It would be foolish
of me to do so and rather exhausting and unnecessary amount of energy to expand
upon everything all of the time every time I’m involved in any filming project.
And even though we normally only produce one documentary feature a year, it
ultimately comes out of our pockets. My time, my energy and my resources along
with the time, energy and resources of others as well is of the highest value
and I treat it as such.
How much,
where and how I choose to spend my money is my business and nobody else’s. I
work hard to earn a living, put food on our table and a roof over our heads. We
meet many responsibilities to our families, friends and community at large. To
assume that I should drop my life and become whatever lifestyle I am filming is
not only foolish on the part of others but also irresponsible.
I meet all
sorts of people all the time and I am genuinely interested in their lives, and
all I ask is to please have the respect to acknowledge that filmmakers have
lives elsewhere, too. Time and energy are everything because money isn’t
everything.
I’ve never
believed that money was everything and I never will - not even at the tender
age of six while clutching my stomach from grueling hunger did I ever believe
that. I had use for food not money and so I made the best with what the
surrounding rainforest had to offer, bitter green mangos, bananas, platanos and
rice and beans. I know where I come from I know the suffering and pain of the
world and I understand my own suffering and pain in my own life therefore I
don’t have a need to talk about it with others other than my closest friends as
to (whatever) that may seem to people outside of my private life.
People deal
with illnesses, deaths and many aspects of complex life do happen to people
hourly, daily, weekly, and yearly. If you ever believe that you’re alone in
your quest, suffering and healing power then you’re wrong; there are many
people all over the world being human as you are in your present condition.
I’ve observed
enough of the suffering and great pain of the world that in order to be a
storyteller I cannot live inside the suffering of others, because well, frankly
I’m one individual trying to do what is best for my family, friends and
community. I, too, have my own suffering and responsibilities, financially,
emotionally and otherwise to fulfill.
Life can be a
grown-human adult plight and anytime anyone lessens that and begins to see you
as an “ends-to-a-means” as a “meal-ticket” or even as far as a “coattail” for
them to ride-on well, then it was never a friendship in the first place - it
was a gain for others and frankly a loss somewhere in the universe if not plain
and simple a broken heart. What else is there to say? Nothing more nothing
less, I take life like a grown adult. Standing up. There are two choices, I
either stand up or I don’t. I choose to stand up for what I see to be just,
right and kind. I always have and I always will. I can see through layers of
manipulation, exploitation and emotional force - I have not deterred from my path
nor will I - no matter how many people are vendors in the world trying to sell
me on a philosophy, thought or ideal on life I rather design and establish my
own destiny.
I’ve made
some friends and lost some friends in the making of films. Its left me divested
to lose friends at every turn and it’s been very rare but the friends who I
have lost were not friends at all when their actions have been too different
from their words. I’m not a meal-ticket and never will be, again. That was all
too common in my twenties. I’m not a sucker so choose another for your pet
projects because frankly so many things said and unsaid sometimes only become
annoying in the grandiose shallowness of others especially when in any group
dynamic (it’s amazing how people become sheep quite quickly in the protection
of numbers - bah).
I was taught
to see through discrepancies, loopholes and misinformation as any intelligent
adult through my excellent liberal arts education and life in general. I don’t
have to see it that way but I choose to and these are great mental tools not to
lose my way in the life of others. I dare say that I won’t buy into anything
that takes force, bullying and peer pressure. I’m too old for that…
I have
friends who’d die for me and I for them.
I have friends
who’ve never told me who or what I am but more importantly I have friends who
don’t tell me what more I should be because they know all too well that I’m
aware of the impact we make every day on each and every human we come across.
My friends make an impact on me – otherwise everything else is human made and
you can buy into it or not. I choose not to buy into any one ideal on life.
People touch
me deeply, maybe more deeply than I let on, but they impact me. Nevertheless, I
don’t honestly consider rudeness a behavior linked too closely to friendship
because it means that there is some disregard for life and that is far too
great a double standard that I cannot bare, nor will I voluntarily give myself
to it.
I’m a
documentary filmmaker and I stand now at the crossroads of my life. I’m
changing and so is my work. I will not be spending as much time with people as
I have in the past while filming because frankly it leaves me exhausted to the
bone. I’m thinking about building a studio, more producing and less field work.
I can think it therefore it can happen. Every possibility begins with a
thought.
I know who my
friends are and they are not people who have ever insinuated or said that I
must play the role of savior, philanthropist nor much less have they
continually asked me for money in one form or another. I don’t live like that.
Everybody makes an impact and the company I keep is sacred. I choose not to be
a meal ticket to others just because they demand it of me. I was warned against
this by great business men who believe it or not do change the world
every-and-each day with their presence of mind, respect and great intellectual
and emotional astuteness.
I look
forward to growing old with my friends because they have watched me in the struggle
to create, produce and live a meaningful life. They know. I don’t have to
preach it to them nor remind them. They know me as well as I’d like to think I
love them.
As a
documentary filmmaker I cannot save your world for you I can only either peacefully
co-exist in it and as quietly as possible contribute something from myself.
Insight, respect, kindness, boundaries and forethought. I never set out to be a
crusader much less a savior of mankind.
A man once
asked me, “You don’t let yourself be taken advantage of, do you?”
“No, I don’t
allow for it.” I answered as directly as I could.
Change is
difficult on people. It’s far easier watching it from an outsider’s point of
view than being inside change. I’ve seen it more times than I care to expand upon,
here. I know its smell, its dislike for betterment and I see the grueling
resentment for guidelines, rules and regulations in keeping everyone at peace
and balanced in this life time. I believe in organization and some type of
respectful and peaceful interactions. I can see a condescending demeanor and
dismissal a mile away. Smart people are this way – they can foresee what others
can’t. They know when someone or something is not good for them. Not everybody
is good for you – no matter what reputations they have built for themselves,
believe it. It’s a part of life.
I go forth…
and I look forward to the change in my own personal life. I look forward to
getting back to my life because there is so much of it and I have missed out on
it in the last five months. I came out of the rabbit hole late last night and
I’m ready for what is next.
Frankly,
whether you’re ever missed or not that’s not up to you, but you hope that
you’ve observed, questioned and challenged quietly enough to create some change
in the world. The status quo will not do and normally I’ve learned that the
general consensus is just that and nothing more nothing less. It doesn’t mean
anything unless you want it to and decide to put great emphasis and value on
it.
I don’t close
my doors to my friends, but rather to people who have been disrespectful,
swindlers or outright inconsiderate in relationships, negotiations and trade
with me and others. I’m not always polite, per say, but I’m definitely always
considerate enough to always be courteous even when my brain is running at a
thousand miles per second. I’m not daft to my world and how people live in it.
I know all too well as most people do that either you buy into others or you
co-exist.
I don’t ever
want to be a spokesperson, vender or a solicitation on anything. I’m not a
talking-walking advertisement nor do I endorse any product nor are my films
infomercials.
I stand for
what I make with my own two bare hands and the very sweat of my brow.
Cheers!
I raise my
glass to my closest friends.
I raise my
glass to my husband.
I raise my
glass to my tremendously wonderful family.
I raise my
glass to those pursuing anything worth your time.
I’m not a
lone wolf, an island by myself nor do I cry-emotional-wolf at the injustices of
the world.
I can see
clearly through everything logically, emotionally and with confidence.
I’ve made
mistakes and I’m mature enough to face them when called for. I am a responsible
human adult as many others are. I thank the Gods for that. I know who I am -
you don’t need to tell me who-you-think I am but if you do want to find out
about anyone then asking questions is a good place to start rather than making
assumptions about anybody’s life.
I’ve been a
Tortuga my entire life but something is shifting inside of me and I’m beginning
to evolve into an eagle.
I have a keen
eye, a great presence of mind and flying solo on artistic endeavors is always
an option. I should’ve gone to school to become a venture capitalist, a
stockbroker or a strategist on a global political level and I still may, (most
likely not but I could that’s the beauty of it all). I’m not a foolish little
girl nor may any man consider a woman whose found a way to carve out a living
from the earth something to take, steal or bully his way through he could only
find her resilience something to uphold as sacred because she’s trying her
damndest. I’ve heard enough lies to make me shiver, enough exploitation and
manipulation to make me want to vomit (yes it’s a physical reaction with me) in
one lifetime and I know it’s not the last of it that I will ever see and I’m
not a fool to any of those lesser degrees of conduct.
I stand for a
code of honor but more importantly I stand for a code of conduct amongst
civilians.
My thirties
are about the lessons I learned in my twenties – it’s very easy to get
swindled, misguided and lost by people-who-pretend to be friends but have never
much less been in your home, shared a meal with you and your loved ones in your
home, asked questions about the ones you love or so much as placed any value
and importance in making a connection aside from their needs and wants – that’s
when you know that they were suckers at one point in their lives when a hand
out is in order rather than hard work.
We have a
feature to cut.
Need say
more?
Ciao.
Gabriela
P.S. I had
the best time eating sushi this afternoon with an old girlfriend. We laughed,
we debated, we argued and we were direct and yes, even fierce. This afternoon
my friend offered me the proposal to build a studio together. Ha! Can you
imagine how weird life is? One moment you’re lightly and silently weeping for
the loss of something when Wham! Someone else enters the picture and says
“Friend, let’s work together not because I want something from you but because
I want to grow and learn from you because you have more to offer than I can
begin to explain to you.”
I wept a few
quick and silent tears with my girlfriend and I thought, “They don’t make ‘em
like this, anymore.” Yes, believe it or not I’m human and I cry when the spirit
calls me to it. I’m extremely difficult to get to know not because I’m a snob
but because I’m introverted.
I will not
become cynical only stronger against the defenses of others who only see their
agendas, their lives, their perspective as something mightier outside of the
context of an overall meaning in life in relationship to others. It’s a tragic
day any day when a lesson is not learned and I have learned my lesson. I’m
keeping the lesson to myself - the root in the cause of the problem, I know
exactly what it was and when it occurred simply by challenging the philosophy
and ethics of another and I won’t tell you exactly what that was but I will
never forget it for as long as I live I will know its face the next time I
encounter it.
I’m growing
and at a crossroads taking me down a path that I have longed for all these
years. “Wham!” I love comic books. I love the hubby for introducing Batman and
Wonder Woman to my life.