The weekend.

I'm walking out the door. I'd like to tell you about the closing reception but I gotta get my Friday on. The event was hella cool. Wonderful crowd, food and live music. More later.

My feet are cold, I need some shoes! And, socks! What happened to summer, y'all? Maybe I should retire my sandals(*weeping*), with it being like 55 degrees and all. So, I guess this weekend will be shopping, banking, printing and framing. (And, first Saturdays @ the Brooklyn Museum of Art AND a nice dinner somewhere and the SPA, SPA, SPA, well, maybe.) I am really going to holla at some long johns. I might pick up a NANO, too, I'm not sure. I'm afriad of the screen breaking. Maybe an IRiver maybe one of the cute Sony MP3 players - they have the pink ones exclusively at Target. I'll find the right MP3 player soon enough. No rush.

The pic is of my girl Busi Mlongo. Yup, she's real fly, kinda like Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan and Earth Wind & Fire rolled up in one, South African style, of course. I saw Ms. Lady in Cape Town in 2003 and she tore the house down, I didn't know what she was saying but I was doing the Electric Slide, Kid'N Play, Running Man, Humpty Dance, Cabbage Patch, Crip Walk, the Wop, the butt, etc, throughout the whole show. Sam Jackson was standing right next to me, he wasn't dancing, though. He gotta be cool, like Shaft and sh*t. I really miss South Africa. I need to check it out again. It's such a haunting and beautiful place. Ah, soon enough...

In the meantime I'm visiting some cool peeps, you should too: BomaniBabatunde, Akintoye, Jimi Izreal, Scott - Mr. Hung, Hassan Le French, Renee Dupree Goddess, Nappy Diatribe, The Foxy Brown Show!, Chrome (Mr. GetttingMeInTrouble@work), Mr. Poet/Jazzman - the lovers' Lover.

More visits later. My Turtle Nut Iced Latte is calling. Shop shop!

SPA WEEK!

Oh my goodness, National Spa Week is approaching us! October 17- 23, 2005, Spa Treatments are only 50 dollars! Click here to locate a spa to indulge yourself in.

A Request

Si vous pouvez obtenir cette chanson à moi je vous aimerai à jamais. J'ai besoin de visiter la spa. Je suis accablé avec le travail. Mes besoins français travaillent, je sais. mais je dois pratiquer parfois autrement je le perdrai complètement.

Come check moi out.

Okay, people. The closing reception of the MX80 Exhibit is tomorrow and I want to see you there!

(Stay tuned for my next exhibit at the Latin Collector Gallery, next month, I'll keep you posted.)

MX80: a fine arts contemplation of the life & legacy of Malcolm X
September 8-29,2005
Exhibition & Benefit Auction
www.malcolmx80.com

You are cordially invited:

Closing Reception & Final Auction
Thursday Sept 29th, 6-9pm

Featured Artists:

Laylah Amatullah Barrayn, Anthony Bonair, Miles Bumbray, Wesley Clarck, Nigel Clarke, William Cordova,Jimmy James Greene, Leslie Hewitt, William Jones, Eric Mack, Githinji Wa Mbire, Eesuu Odundide, Marc Andre Robinson, Hank Willis Thomas, Amanda Williams

Plus...

A reading by celebrated author Asha Bandele from her new book, "The Subtle Art of Breathing".

Live jazz band featuring Djibril Toure (Bass), Ramsey Jones (Drums), Kwame Coleman (Piano) & Khahil Murray (Flute).

BRECHT FORUM GALLERY
451 West St. (between Bethune & Bank)
Below 12th St. along the westside highway
A,C,L,1,2,3 trains to 14th St.

rsvp_mx80@yahoo.com

*All tax-deductible proceeds from auction sales support the Malcolm X Grassroots Movements programs. These include the Grassroots Movement Katrina Relief Effort, The
people's self-defense campaign against police brutality (Cop Watch), after-school programming in Brooklyn Public Schools, a community library, and free legal aid clinics.

Tagged.

Aight, Chrome tagged me! Here are my answers:

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE ARTICLES OF CLOTHING?
My brown scarf and my navy denim skirt

THE LAST CD YOU BOUGHT?
Brand New Heavies - very, very old school

WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING?
5:30

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE KITCHEN APPLIANCE?
My waffle baker

IF YOU COULD PLAY AN INSTRUMENT, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
I'd be on the bass real quick!

FAVORITE COLOR?
Brown

FAVORITE CHILDREN’S BOOK?
Honey I Love

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON?
Hot fun in the Summer time!

IF YOU HAVE A TATTOO, WHAT IS IT?
No tattoo on the browness, sorry!

IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPERPOWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
to stop bad things from happening before they happen

ONE PERSON/PEOPLE FROM YOUR PAST YOU WISH YOU COULD GO BACK AND TALK TO:
my greatgrands

WHAT IS UNDER YOUR BED?
Negatives, shoes, luggage, books

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE DAY?
Friday. Jummah, man...

WHICH DO YOU PREFER, SUSHI OR HAMBURGER?
Sushi? I'll put the sushi on the hamburger!

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER?
Gardenias, they smell so good!

DO YOU LIKE YOUR JOB?
I like my job, i'd like it even better if everyone there quit!

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM JOB?
Traveling the world and writing and photographing my journey

THREE THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
My smile, my hair and my heart

THREE THINGS YOU HATE/DISLIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
my fear, when I hold grudges, my insomnia

THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
Prayer, music and Dunkin Donuts Turtle Nut Iced Latte

THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW:
Old Navy denim mini skirt (only in the crib), a choli, and brass ankle bracelets (on both ankles)

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS/ARTISTS (AT THE MOMENT):
Los Hombres Calientes, Marvin Gaye, Monk!

THREE NEW THINGS YOU WANT TO TRY IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS:
Sky diving, checking out Berlin and Amsterdam, a solo photo show

THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP (LOVE IS A GIVEN):
honesty/comfort/reciprocity/tons of passion/freedom/longevity!

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU:
height, eyes, arms

THREE THINGS YOU JUST CAN'T DO
give up, sleep (sometimes), revenge

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES:
photography, writing, traveling, taking long walks

I am taggingMarcus, Jalylah, Akin, Reneeand Hassan! Man, I'm tagging everyone!

Brooklyn, Stand Up!

Big Daddy Kane ripped it, killed it, tore it apart last night on VH1 Hip Hop Honors! What!? It may not have started with Kane but he definitely brought the finesse into the game. Reppin' the hood, where Brooklyn at, baby?

Common, Black Thought,TI...going at it HARD! Man, I almost had a attack...

Ah!

How delicious?
(back foto by Mr. Ray Tamarra)

Dinner with a Celebrity

I've never been out on the town with a celebrity. Until now. I won't call it a date, cause really, we were just chillin like two villains. And, I can't tell you who dude is, but he is a rather well known jazz musician - and that is all I will disclose - I'm not trying to be like 'oh, I went on a date with suchandsuch - I'm not the bragging type! (AND, for those with the active imaginations, its not Mr. Man or anyone from his band. Although Mr. Willie Jones is hella cool, we hung in L.A.)

Okay, so Mr. Hep Cat and I decided to take in a fading summer evening downtown. We had dinner at Kin Khao, a restaurant I've heard great things about but never got around to checking out. Kin Khao is this hip little Thai joint with lots of young and trendy folks, nice decor and cool vibes, etc. I got on my Enzo Angliolini's so I'm pretty fly myself, lol! We sit and eat. He looked so handsome. Dressed for the oassion, he wore a suit and a hat for goodness sake, y'all. Ladies, you know. Folks are looking our way, no, excuse me, his way. One middle aged man comes over and gives my dude a pat on the back and a nice to meet you. I'm surprised.

I'm in awe with Mr. Jazzman, anyway. I'm always quick to admire someone. (Maybe I shouldn't let him know, guys seem to be turned off when you are actually feeling them, but that's another story.) He reminds me of my good friend Rahsaan from the Jazz Institute of Chicago. Mr. Jazzman is so young. He's just a few years older than I and has internalized this immense knowledge of jazz and black music. He is such the jazz musician in that his his thoughts are filtered through jazz theories on America, Blackness and preservation. I feel proud of him. Our conversations make me feel well traveled. I didn'ttell him that I just got his second album (my favorite) this summer at Amoeba Records in San Francisco.

Jazzman questions me all night. He is so interested in what I think about music. He's such the jazz musician that he wants to hear me describe the sonic landscape of the music I love. I told him about the multilayered stages of my love for Ramsey Lewis' Sun goddess. I told him about Miles Davis' All Blues and how it makes me feel. What John Coltrane's A Love Supreme means to me Islamically. I told him that Roy Hargrove's Liquid Streets sounds like a silk gown slipping off my dewy skin. I told him that what Fela was doing was jazz uninterrupted. The Qunicy Jones and Rod Temperton partnership; Wynton Marsalis' Mademoiselle d'Gascony and Sunflowers; George Benson; Culture Club. There was so much to describe. It took me back in time to the 80s. I remember dancing to D Train and Change when Luther Vandross sang lead.

I ask him to take me to his city of birth, meaning tell me about it. The Big Easy. He wanted to know about New York. I have to admit that after all the years as a dancer, I am still in transition in knowing New York as a writer, seeing it as a literary city. For many years the streets of Manhattan represented the stepping stones of Ailey and Forces of Nature, Limon and Dunham. I understood Times Square as a center for performance art. For me, West 66th street still sounds like Babatunde Olatunji and Irving Berlin. Everyday as I entered my high school I was reminded of Donny Hathaway and his suicide, his building was always in view. I was used to seeing Judith Jamison on Amsterdam Avenue. Gary Deloatch and Ulysses Dove still hold tremendous spaces in my heart. I demanded that he find a way to see Bill T. Jones Fever Swamp, a f*cking amazing piece!

Oh, my phone is ringing...Be right back!

The Lost Recordings

Monk and Trane, y'all!

The lost recordings of Monk and Trane are here. Ever since they were found in February, we kept hearing about these tapes that were packed up in an old box at the Library of Congress. The recordings are of a concert held at Carnegie Hall in 1957 of the Thelonius Monk Quartet with John Coltrane (along with Ahmed Abdul-Malik and Shadow Wilson). The show was a benefit for the Morningside Heights Community Centerin Harlem. Now this execellent record is available to the public. I've been listening to my copy non-stop, it really is a beautiful piece of work. Pick it up when it drops on 26 Sept and stop by Vibe.com tomorrow to check my article on this wonderful discovery.

Orange Moon

First, I'd like to *hug* my fellow bloggers. Thank you for the posts and emails. My blueness has faded away.

Sometimes the most simplistic things are slow to realize, they take much time to discover. While I feel so far away from my traveling friend, I realize the distance is not so great. Last night, from Brooklyn, I marveled at the moon and watched it meander across the sky. My friend also, stationed home, across the Atlantic, watched the trajectory of the moon, gashing through the sky, prancing through the navy blue marsh space to finally exit gracefully for the arrival of the sun. Same moon, we watched. Not at the same time, but it was the same moon. What unity. What connectedness. That thought was so filling for me. All day I thought of this very simple notion of concord and harmony. Reminded me of Surah Rahman where we are asked which favor of our Lord will we deny? None.

Kind of Blue

Kind of blue. Kinda blue. Hanging on to the last remnants of summer. On my mind is love, and the decision to leave its fold. There is so much to say. But, it's a beautiful Sunday afternoon, so I am going outside to enjoy.

The Blues Manifested

Jazzman by Charles Bibbs

"What we're about to see is what's gonna happen when people take the blues and turn it into what happens when you play the blues."

-Wynton Marsalis speaking on the Tavis Smiley show regarding the aptitude of the New Orleans people.

Beauty by Asha Bandele

Beauty by asha bandele
from Essence, September 2001

Fom the beginning he has told me I am beautiful. I no longer argue with him, no longer direct his attention to the series of flaws I have somehow learned to see as the whole of myself. I smile at him, and say thank you, and try to see what he sees. I want to know the beauty he sees in me. I want to embrace it, to relax in it, to hold it close and feel protected by it on the days I feel myself shattering, getting lost in the ugly I have known. But this has yet to happen for me. This amazes him.

He asks me: Don't you see the way people look at you on the street? Don't you get a whole lot of attention from men? Look at yourself. He nearly demands this. The color of your eyes, your pretty hair, your smile, your figure. What's there that's not beautiful?

Nothing, I tell him, nothing at all. I say to him he's right, because to argue about beauty means I have to go all the way back, all the way into the places I keep trying to leave behind. So instead I agree with him, and quietly acknowledge that the special treatment I sometimes receive in restaurants and stores is probably based on my appearance. I acknowledge to him that there is this outside thing, this face, this body that is generally greeted by the world with the particular sort of kindness, the particular sort of favoritism that is granted to women and men who are deemed attractive.

What I do not acknowledge, what I do not say to him, is that however grateful I may be for what he sees on the outside, I have never been able to carry that same beauty on the inside. Beauty, the idea and space of it, is buried so far down in me, shoved down into a crevice by the memory of the teacher who molested me when I was a child, only 7 years old. Or later, when I was 14 and working in a movie theater, there was the 30-year-old who beat me up when I refused to have sex with him. Was I seen as beautiful when these and other incidents like them occurred? Can I be beautiful now as they still haunt me, still sneak up behind me and drag me back into the horror and ugliness of those days?

To continue reading Beauty go here

Come see me, tomorrow!

Greetings, dear readers. Just back from Chicagoland. Had an wonderful trip. Had some rough spots, but everything came out wonderful. I'm trying not to let my sadness overcome me, the New Orleans situation is just so unbelieveable. My heart is broken. I am going to try to reroute that energy into Katrina relief efforts, school and art. In the meantime, come peep me tomorrow at the MX80 Exhibit @ 7pm, aight.

MX80: a fine arts contemplation of the life & legacy of Malcolm X

Exhibition & Auction www.malcolmx80.com

September 8-29,2005

Thursday Sept 8th, 2005 7-10pm

OPENING RECEPTION

Sounds curated by Lumumba aka DJ Revolution

Featured Artists:

Laylah Amatullah Barrayn, Anthony Bonair, Miles Bumbray, Wesley Clarck, Nigel Clarke, William Cordova, Jimmy James Greene, Leslie Hewitt, William Jones, Eric Mack, Githinji Wa Mbire, Eesuu Odundide, Marc Andre Robinson, Hank Willis Thomas, Amanda Williams

BRECHT FORUM GALLERY

451 West St. (between Bethune & Bank)

Below 12th St. along Westside Highway

A,C,L,1,2,3 trains to 14th St.

Events:

Thursday Sept 15th 7pm

ARTIST TALK

Moderated by Rashida Bumbray of the Studio Museum in Harlem

Thursday Sept 22nd 6:30pm

FILM SCREENING

Curated by Listen Up! & National Black Planning Consortium

Thursday Sept 29th 7-10pm

CLOSING RECEPTION & FINAL AUCTION

Reading by Asha Bendele from her new book, "The Subtle Art of Breathing"

*All events also at the Brecht Forum

A Project of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement