Shutting My Mouth

The older I get the more widsom I've gained regarding when to shut my mouth.

Toni Morrison Says

"Critics generally don't associate black people with ideas. They see marginal people...sociologically interesting people perhaps, but very parochial....We are people, not aliens. We live, we love, and we die."

"Black people have a story, and that story has to be heard. There was an articulate literature before there was a print. There were griots. They memorized it. People heard it. It is important that there is sound in my books--that you can hear it, that I can hear it."

-- From Conversations with Toni Morrison (1994), University Press of Mississippi

Dreaming of Bees

Have you had a dream about bees? What could it possibly mean? Seems like clairvoyance, greater vision, illumination, enlightenment, hard work, and a mysterious link are some of the meanings of bees flying and/or buzzing in a dream.

Here's a fairly thorough interpretation of Bees as Dream Symbols. Enjoy!

The Future of Black Film

“I don’t think we need black film per se. I think we need to have our experiences represented. It’s a similar question about black history … We are integral to this country. It’s not -- there’s America and then there’s some black stuff. No, there is no America without the black stuff.”

– Baratunde Thurston, author of How to Be Black


(Thanks to Mark Anthony Neal at The New Black Man for posting this earlier.)

KING: Paris, Amber & Anita, Sing Girls!

These ladies (twins Paris and Amber from Minneapolis, and a woman from L.A., Anita), who call themselves KING, need to get there CD on out there! I just chanced upon their music on Youtube. Evidently Prince, their homie from Minneapolis, Questlove, and Erykah Badu are liking their flavor too, as those three artists have invited KING to open shows for them.

Here are two of the song's from KING's first and as of yet, only EP. Enjoy:
"Supernatural":

"The Story":

Children Starve and Dogs/Cats Get Fat

A fifth of dogs and a quarter of cats in America were classified as obese, reported Harper’s Weekly Review on Feb. 7. "I didn't notice the weight creeping on," said an Atlanta woman of her dog, Dodger. "All of a sudden he was just this fat dog."

Apparently dogs eat well while a 2010 USDA report shows that 16.2 million kids in America struggle with hunger and the most current U.S. Census Bureau statistics tells us that 15.7 million children (21.6%) in America live in poverty.

Need I say more?

The River: Duke Ellington and Alvin Ailey

Duke Ellington composed The River in 1970 as part of a collaboration between himself and Alvin Ailey, who requested Ellington's assistance after he was commissioned by the American Ballet Theatre to create a ballet for that company. This suite, in seven movements, represents the natural course of a river. The movements are called:

1: Spring
2: Meander
3: Giggling Rapids
4: Lake
5: Vortex
6: Riba
7: Village Virgins

I've seen several ballerinas dance the Vortex section, from Leslie Browne in the Oscar-nominated film "The Turning Point," to an Alvin Ailey dancer, who captured all I believe Ailey wanted that section to be -- visceral, forceful, sassy, sexy, and exhilerating. Unfortunately, I can't find a video of any of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre performances, but I was able to find two dancers, one from Baltimore, Jennifer Gelfand, and one from the Czech Republic, Ida Fišerová, who seem to be giving this dance all they have. I have to tell you though, the Alvin Ailey dancer, whose name I don't remember from the mid-90s, had more attitude and HIPS than these ladies. I only hope that I can eventually find it. It's a REVELATION.

Jennifer Gelfand, performing "Vortex" from The River Suite:
Ida Fišerová, performing "Vortex" from The River Suite:
And here's the song "Vortex" by Duke Ellington:

What Obama Said

"I think to myself, if I'm willing to give something up as somebody who's been extraordinarily blessed, give up some of the tax breaks that I enjoy, I actually think that's going to make economic sense.

"But for me as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus' teaching that for unto whom much is given, much shall be required."

The president also cited the Biblical gospel of John, arguing that sharing and generosity would sustain Americans in harsh economic times.

"John tells us that if anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?" Obama said

M.E.D.: Black Power/Brown Pride

M.E.D., a black and Mexican rapper from Oxnard, Calif. tells us he's got black power and brown pride. This guy has got to be one of the few artists out there pulling together the African and Mexican sides of the family tree. This alone would get people's attention, but what's really worth listening to is his message about "unity" and "reinforcements" dating back to 1910 when blacks hid in Mexico City to escape the violence and dehumanization they suffered in America.

In the video for his song "Blaxican," M.E.D. pays all kinds of tribute to the gamut of his ancestors, by showing murals, portraits, and more importantly, the brown and black faces of an African-American/Chicano community. Muy interesante.

Are y'all ready for this? Check out the video for "Blaxican," a cut from M.E.D.'s 2011 recording Classic:

Alicia's Sundance Film Festival Picks: Ice-T and Spike Lee

Editor's note (Jan. 25): PBS will broadcast Slavery By Another Name on Feb. 13. Look for it in your local listings!

InThe Hidden Smile, a 10-year-old orphaned boy in Addis Ababa tries to integrate into a gang that's part of a whole street children's society where daily survival is a major challenge. (Directed by Ventura Durall, shown through Jan. 26)

Slavery By Another Name recounts the many ways in which American slavery persisted as a practice many decades after its supposed abolition. This documentary shows how an American moral failure has been obscured in history. (Directed by Sam Pollard, shown through Jan. 28)

In Red Hook Summer, when Flik's mom deposits him at the Red Hook housing project in Brooklyn to spend the summer with the grandfather he’s never met, young Flik may as well have landed on Mars. Fresh from his cushy life in Atlanta, he’s bored and friendless, and his strict grandfather, Enoch, a firebrand preacher, is bent on getting him to accept Jesus Christ as his personal savior. (Directed by Spike Lee, shown through Jan. 28)

“Majo” Tonorio, a.k.a. Filly Brown, is a raw, young Los Angeles hip-hop artist who spits from the heart. When a sleazy record producer offers her a crack at stardom, Majo faces some daunting choices. With an incarcerated mother, a record contract could be the ticket out for her struggling family. (Directed by Youssef Delara and Michael D. Olmos, shown through Jan. 27)

Incorporating break beats, fresh rhythms and freestylin', Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap, captures the soul and original genius of some of hip hop's legends, including Chuck D, Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Caz, Mos Def, KRS-One, Run-DMC, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Snoop Dogg. (Directed by Ice-T (What?) and Andy Baybutt, shown through Jan. 28.)

Click here to get information on times, dates, and purchasing tickets to see Sundance Festival films in Park City, Utah.