BlackMan Time

Archive for February, 2008

Traditionally Leap Year is a time women can propose marriage, particularly in today’s modern times, where it has become acceptable for a woman to propose to her man. The principle probably works for any other kind of partner to partner proposals too, but these are outside the scope of this piece.

There was a time when society looked down harshly on women who so much as even think of proposing to a man under any circumstances. For one the strict laws of courtship forbade it. February 29 was the only date on which they were allowed to get away with it and this only came around once every four years!

The number four figures very prominently when considering a Leap Year. For instance February 29 only occurs in years evenly divisible by 4, such as 1988, 1996, 2008 or 2016 for the wiki(Gregorian calendar), most widely used today. The only exceptions to this rule are/were century years not divisible by 400, such as 1900.

But why does a Leap Year occur every four years?

Although it is accepted that the modern year consists of 365 days, a complete revolution around the sun takes approximately 365 days and 6 hours. Apparently, every four years, an extra twenty-four hours have accumulated, so one extra day is added to that calendar to keep the count coordinated with the sun’s apparent position.

All this does not explain why it is acceptable for a woman to propose to her lover on February 29, only that the tradition began in 1288 when the Scottish parliament under Queen Margaret, legislated that any woman could propose in Leap Year. Nevertheless, the facts behind a Leap Year are sure fascinating!

Who knows, maybe some woman might still propose to me before the end of the day! Failing that they’ve got until the end of the year to do so…

God willing, I will let you know on January 1, 2009!

It grieves me to admit it but seems like most people prefer to receive light and fluffy things through their inbox than anything serious. If the content of the message also forces them to look at life seriously then that email is heading for the trash bin, a reply with “Remove Me” in the subject or further emails from that sender is filtered as spam.

When I first discovered this reality I tried to tell myself it simply was not true, that people would rather be enlightened and educated than to be dumbed down with frivolity. But, over time I have had to concede and retreat with my tail between my legs…

The reason people give for choosing fun over substance is usually something of the order: “Life is serious enough as it is, I think we should chill!” Or: “We only have one life to live so we should live it up and have some fun…”

Maybe it is this kind of mentality which has seen the exponential rise of wiki(viral marketing) emails circulated around friends where the content is invariably a joke or an amusing photo showing the lighter side of life.

Usually, I delete such emails without reading them; in my mind they are time wasters and takes away from work productivity. Of late, however, I have been reading a few of them and although I still think they are generally mindless wiki(tomfoolery), I have to admit they also serve a function to brighten up moods, through entertainment.

If that is what the people want and you try to force feed them anything else, obviously they will reject it, even if what you are offering, in your mind, is more edifying for them.

People are funny bad, aren’t they?

My middle sister pulled me up about my obvious Barack Obama bias as I was Assessing Hilary Clinton yesterday. She is spot on of course. However, I failed to explain the reason for my bias. Let me do so now!

Firstly, any political bias I have shown to either Democratic nominee candidate in the US Presidential race is purely intentional and easy to make. I do not ever see myself liking any right wing representative so the sole Republican John McCain stood no chance with me. That left Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton.

I was actually rooting for Hilary a few months back but what shifted my allegiance was when her husband Bill started to campaign on her behalf. A disparaging comment he made that his wife did not need the support of Black voters was what turned me against her because it was Black people’s votes which helped to secure (and sustain) Bill's infidelity famous time in office. It was, for instance, the Black community which “saved his presidency” after the wiki(Monica Lewinsky) scandal.

Bill’s comment that Hilary did not need Black peoples’ votes came after Obama won a few primaries in predominantly Black states. Nevertheless I thought the remark was disingenuous and treacherous, to say the least.

Bill’s other (allegedly) racist comments diminished the role of Martin Luther King Jr. in the civil rights movement and his ominously stark overtones dismissing Sen. Barack Obama’s image in the media as a “fairy tale”.

Hilary has since tried to distance herself from Bill’s remarks but the damage has already been done and cannot be reversed. This may not bring joy to my middle sister’s ears, but I hope it brings Barack Obama to the White House!

Now, that would be the biggest irony of all: a Black man in the White House!

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PHOTO: The Clintons (and/or their supporters) are increasingly revealing a racial side which is turning Black voters against Hilary. Copyright: AP

What’s the best way to assess someone? Through the clothes they wear? How much money they have? Who they know and who knows them? The car they drive or the expensive material things they own? Where they live, how they speak and how they say things? None of the above!

The best way to judge a person’s character is through the things they do. Sometimes you can get an indication of their character through the things they say but charismatically good speakers can make the most devious lie sound heavenly. Unless the talk is followed through with actions, then it is empty airheaded talk or promises.

In the case of Hilary Clinton she makes good speeches but she delivers precious little or nothing. Many American voters are now finally realising this and are turning away from her in droves.

Her poorly run campaign has not served her well in the US Presidential nomination race against Barack Obama either but this is probably more a credit to the strength of Obama’s campaign by comparison.

Some of her recent actions have even conspired to work against her. For instance her various attacks on Barack Obama only tend to reflect, perhaps even mask, her own weaknesses: inability to deliver.

It is now getting late for Hilary Clinton to address this issue and in the end it will be the votes who speak through their voters that it is time to step aside.

An animal is more dangerous when it is wounded. This renowned fact is most apt when you examine it and unmask that animal to be…Hilary Clinton.

Wounded and trailing badly in her US Presidential nomination battle with Barack Obama, Hilary is now apparently displaying all the signs of the wounded animal and is resorting to openly dirty politics to try and regain the advantage.

Her latest episode involves the sudden appearance of a photo of Obama dressed as a Muslim, wearing a white turban and a wraparound white robe presented to him by elders in Wajir, in north-eastern Kenya, Obama’s father’s birthplace.

The photo appearing now is of greater strategic importance to Hilary’s cause as by surfacing in such a public, dramatic way,

On Saturday, at the One Hand Can’t Clap reworking session I attended, we discussed in passing the reality that Black people never seem to value what they have until someone outside the culture, usually a European, exploits and profiteers out of it first! All in the room agreed with some sharing examples that represented the theme.

These included African/Caribbean hair care products and food businesses which seem to be operated predominantly by Asian vendors. Whereas a number of Black businesspersons have risen to fill the food/beauty products gap, the overall majority still tend to be outside the circle, so to speak.

These were just some of the thoughts sweeping through my head as I walked towards the O2 Arena in South London, to watch Andre Heller’s “Afrika! Afrika“, described in the brochure as “the magical circus adventure from the amazing content”.

High Quality

From the second we took our seats in the upper executive box section and the lights dimmed, we (being my middle sister, a sister-in-law and her son), our expectations were high.

For some two and a half hours the show did not disappoint as we saw a phalanx of various acts amaze with their physics-defying feats of acrobatics, contortion, illusion, dancing, singing and entertainment!

Everything about the production screamed quality and it made us feel proud to watch a joyous production like this showing many facets of live African arts and culture. Even the decided delicious North African food consisting of fresh cous cous, Rasta-coloured vegetables with a tasty spicy tomato salad, added to the ambience.

Afrikan Aide

The only rub, and this was an afterthought, was the fact that it wasn’t an African company which had organised this: it was a German one, led by the aforementioned Mr. Heller.

Any thoughts I had about Europeans making money off the backs of black people, was partly averted by the fact that one of the aims of the production was to raise money to support African artists and performers.

For each ticket sold a small donation is apparently made to a UNESCO organisation which subsequently passes the funds onto the Goethe Institute which sponsors projects by African artists.

Thus, in going to this event we were also helping fund the development of future African artists and performers. Just the very thought of that alone is music to my ears!

Can you hear it?

I seem to make connections or strike up associate friendships quite easily with people everywhere I go. Some have described my personality as magnetic.

Others, usually the jealous, envious or rib-tickling ones, reluctantly utter the word “charismatic” in a sentence describing me! Obviously my tongue is firmly within my cheeks when I say all of this but the bottom line is I guess you could say I am a people person.

One of the people of note I have met recently is Lorlett Hudson, a woman who is spreading Jamaican culture around the British corporate landscape in quite a unique and cultural way.

Her One Hand Can’t Clap company, a name which itself is drawn from the Jamaican vernacular which essentially means “no man is an island”, is currently organising a series of “What Next” networking workshops in central London. It brings together a number of established and aspiring business people of Black, African and Caribbean background and seeks to build and/or extend relationships conducive to us helping one another.

Lofty

It is a lofty concept but from the love, excitement and camaraderie generated and displayed when I attended today’s session at the Grange Fitzrovia Hotel, Bolsover Street, London, I would say it seems to be working well.

This is probably a model that should be replicated in every corner of the globe where black people live and work. It is only by uniting in this way, do we not only acquire the strength to become economically strong, but also the belief to be culturally and politically potent too.

OHCC also produces a series of motivational cards on which Jamaican proverbs are used to act as a motivation guide in life, business, relationships and any other area where knowledge, wisdom and understanding impacts upon people!

During the session on my OHCC card was written “Ah nuh wen de leaf fus reach water bottom that it start fi rot” which in standard English means “everything takes time to grow” or more simply “have patience.”

Over time I will give more details about OHCC but you can see what they are about by visiting the website.

There is a wind of change blowing across America; a wind of hurricane proportion that could upturn everything in its path, yet the only damage being caused is the one to people’s expectations! This is the wind that is blowing Illinois Senator Barack Obama into US Presidential contention as the first Black US President.

As the dust behind his 11th consecutive state-by-state nomination process wins over his Democratic rival Hilary Clinton settles, the American people are taking greater interest in him, warming to his charismatic style, honey-toned oratory and promise of a change for the better.
He has somehow fused the best of Malcolm X’s fiery oratory with the best of Martin Luther King’s wholesome trans-race appeal and America is gravitating towards him in a big way.

The media, particular the Right Wing leaning ones, meanwhile, are looking for a rock to throw at him, hoping to knock him off his perch.

They thought they had found one through a remark by Obama’s wife Michelle Obama who, beaming with pride while addressing a Wisconsin audience last Monday, said that “for the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country. Not just because Barack is doing well, but I think people are hungry for change.”

A bunch of critics jumped down Ms. Obama’s throat for the claimed suggestion that, up to this point in time, she’d spent her whole life in a state of American-hating shame. A carefully worded subsequent explanation outlining how she was misquoted, averted any danger, but it does illustrate the precarious road of politics as Obama stride his history making bid.

If he gets the Democratic Party nomination to contest the likely Republican candidate John McCain, which is now looking the likely outcome, it will be a highpoint in America’s political history.

Fingers crossed, I only hope the wind will continue to blow in the right direction!

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PHOTO: Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama speaks at a rally in Dallas, Texas Feb. 20, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

When I was a youth coming up we used to joke that the phonetic sounding of the word euthanasia was a government job scheme for young people from abroad! Youth an’ Asia, geddit! At the time we thought that was the funniest thing on the planet.

A little town in South Wales is not finding the subject of youth deaths so funny. Seventeen of their young people have committed suicide since the start of the year and the incidents have left the townsfolk bewildered, to say the least.

The latest victim, a 16 year old girl called Jenny Parry, was discovered two days ago, after she hung herself from a tree at a local beauty spot in the town of Bridgend. There had been no signs anything was wrong and her death has further traumatised the town.

Like many of the other victims, Jenna had her own personal internet pages on social networking sites like Bebo, Facebook and MySpace. But there was nothing on them to signal any intention to end their lives, police said.

But, clearly, something seems to be troubling youths in Bridgend, a working-class town forged during the industrial boom of the 19th century which prospered in coal mining for more than 100 years. Now, with that industry in decline, the youths there are said to be pessimistic: jobs in local retail parks or fast food outlets are just about the best they can hope for.

Could this be what is pushing them over the edge? Who knows? But, the question still troubling everyone is why are the Bridgend young, without apparent help and with so much to aspire to, rushing to end their own lives like that?

It is seriously not funny at all…

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PHOTO: Courtesy of the BBC.

What’s the difference between a Christian fundamentalist rejoicing in the death of a homosexual and a different religious fundamentalist wishing death on a Christian?

This was the question on my mind after reading a feature where an American preacher said that the death of Heath Ledger, the “Brokeback Mountain” film actor, was “the best thing that ever happened” to his family.”

The preacher, Fred Phelps, a 78 year old right wing leader of an anti-homosexual group, referring to Ledger’s Oscar-nominated role as a gay cowboy in the 2005 film, went even further. He added: “The bottom line is that guy went out of his way to spend his time and make a little money, and glamorise and glorify that filthy, deadly sin of sodomy.” And you’re (the public) making the hero out of him!”

I couldn’t help thinking this was a little harsh. The fact that the sentiments were also said while invoking God’s name, made it especially shocking. It made me wonder whether God would actually sanction the death of someone because of their lifestyle choice.

Personally, I don’t think so but Phelps obviously does, as exemplified in the extreme way he was making his protest, salivating over the death of Ledger in that manner. How is this behaviour different to the views of other fundamentalists, for instance people who are willing to kill themselves and others to make a protest? The answer is it is not different at all.

To argue that Christians are somehow more righteous than any other groups is a flawed logic. Most people's concept of God is that he is fair, just and trades in equality and justice. I think it is man who remakes or misappropriate God’s gracious ways in order to justify his own destructive one. But it beats me why God doesn’t strike down all dissenters as they are caught in the beam of their acts.

But I guess doing so would make him no different to men like Fred Phelps…

Photo: Fred Phelps with a still from the film “Brokeback Mountain”