Fashion

 One of my best friends once commented that I liked the requisite artists, designers, music and brands to enable myself to fit in with the whole artistic-hipster cliques popular throughout many parts of So-Cal. (and elsewhere).
But this was not an intentional process on my part.
It seems that as one becomes less generalized, he becomes more specialized in his tastes and desires. 

 Every group has it's own uniform and code. - and while these often overlap into other groups, there seems to be a certain amount of similarity required to enable one to be labeled as belonging to one group and not another.

 How many people follow fads, trends or traditions because they think that they are supposed to?

 Why are smart guys so often poorly dressed?
Do they have more important things to worry about than something as superfluous as fashion?

 Does wearing the uniform make you a member of a group?

 A quick measure is that of dirt.
Real cowboys show natural wear in their jeans.
Doctors have stains from bodily fluids on their clothes.
Nerds have ink stains where their pocket protectors have failed.
Preppies have clothes faded from days spent on crew or from their lack of care for the pretense of looking like a Preppy.

Pretenders are worried about dirt.
These are those who fret over a scuff on their travel bags because these accessories are intended to be more for show than they are for actual usage.

"Uppity Black Teen"?

"Uppity"?
That's how Christwire.org describes McGehee High School (Arkansas) co-Valedictorian Kymberly Wimberly (Yes, that's her real name.).
Apparently, Ms Wimberly attributes her race as the reason the school decided to name another (white) student as her co-Valedictorian even though Ms Wimberly had the higher GPA.
But some argue that the problem of "A big mess" (as quoted by her mother, Molly Bratton) was that Ms Wimberly was a teen mother and that that would not shine a positive light on the school nor the district.
Former students have noted that the school has had Asians, Eastern Indians and a Blacks (as recently as 1989) as former Valedictorians in the past and that Ms Wimberly's race should not have been an issue.
This case is difficult for this poor (Seventy percent of the students at this school are eligible for free (59%) or reduced (11%) lunches) school to defend as Title IX protects against discrimination directed towards pregnant female students.

One Too Many Video Games

Video game ideology +

Nationality based religion =

One Crazy Dude.

Making The Band?

 Of course I don't think P-Diddy is the smartest man in the world.
I was using him as an example to refute the argument that derivative products/ideas are a bigger advancement than those which are seminal.

 Some argue that the people who 'invented' sailing ships were smarter than those who first created simple carved water craft.

And that those who created vessels which could end the societies which they were created to protect are the smartest of them all.

P-Diddy an' dem are using the same model as much of Western culture - they appropriate and revise and then sell it as their own original thought.
But these rappers have taken it to another level - they sell people things (music) which can be had for free.

Okay, DesertFlower - One More Time...

What is 'Bacalao'?

The World's Smartest Man

No, he didn't 'invent' music - he didn't even invent Hip Hop.
Seminal/derivative... does it matter?
Original idea or better marketing?
P-did manage to take an under-exploited resource and repackage it to sell to the masses.
Sure, he just took what everyone had done before him and sold it as his own - but isn't this how many measure I.Q. and success anyway?
Didn't most great 'inventors' appropriate the ideas of others only to pass them off as their own original ideas or concepts?

I.Q.

I.Q. tests don't really measure intelligence - what they actually measure are gaps in intelligence.
Think of the tests as reference points on a Mo-Cap model.
The dots are useless unless one is able to fill in the spaces between the gaps - otherwise one just has a series of seemingly random dots with no purpose.
I.Q. tests just test ones ability to recognize and organize each reference point.
Like saying that being able to quote Faust is more important than being able to quote Pooty Tang - the author of the test determines the value of the answers.
Most of these test use an Occidental point of view as their starting point and anyone not familiar with this view is deemed to be inferior.
But what of those who can fill in the blanks without using such models or reference points?
What value is there in intuition,
or faith,
or talent?
What of one who ignores these constructs and decides to learn what is of real value to himself?
What do we do with one who has learned and excelled within the limitations of these rules but who has chosen to discard them in favor of a more natural process which can be understood by many?
What do we do with the one who seeks the simple instead of the esoteric?

I'll Never Understand...

(Among other things) Women.
I'm a peaceful guy.
I'm also polite, jovial, generous, sedulous, and whatever...
But a recent event at one of the clubs took me back to my youthful days.
Some big mother-effin' dude tried to call me out.
When I politely replied, the dude tried to step foreword.
As I waved him in, "Just don't approach me in an aggressive or threatening manner. Anything I do after that will just be "self defence" and you can't sue me.", I said calmly.
"You're a big dude. Big guys usually walk straight in and try to land a knockout blow while leading with their right.", I said as I raised my left to deflect any attempted blow.
"I'll bob and duck, you'll miss and I'll hit you in your gut with a solid blow that will leave you pissing in your pants and crying like a little girl.", I concluded.
The guy walked away mad - but he walked away.
(Later, he called his crew to meet him in the parking lot to jump me after the club closed but that didn't work out for him either.)

But a strange thing happened...
The women who watched or heard about the exchange suddenly became even more attracted to me.
"Dayum..., John turned Black in a second!", one would say.
I don't know...
Maybe the sight of two men fighting arouses women.
Maybe I began to sweat and to emit odors which match those found during mating.
Maybe these women were fearful and seeing a guy able to protect himself offered a sense of security.
But the last thing I want is a woman who needs to start trouble so that she can see me fight just so that she can become aroused.

Women...
I may get my fair share - but I'll never understand them.

I Don't Care...

 About Casey Anthony nor that she may have gotten away with murder.

I do think it's funny that the girl has to go into into hiding after being acquitted.
Some say that she can never get a job - but I'd hire her.
I'd give her housing and a job at a club.
For me - it would be a win-win.
Sure, she may have to live in the hood but she wouldn't have to pay rent.
The job would be at a nightclub so she could party all night every night.
I'm sure the place would be packed as many people would come just to hear her side of the story.
(Casey - If you need a place to live and a job - come to Beaumont, Texas and I'll hook you up.)

But I do care about the women's soccer team losing the World Cup final.

There is just something about women with nice quads...

Oh, and that they play for the USA in world competition.

Women's soccer? Yep.

Casey Anthony? Not so much.

NOT Sexy

 For some reason, most women love the sax.
The accordion - not so much.

 It's not as though one can woo his woman with a sexy rendition of some Luther Vandross song while playing this instrument.
The lowly accordion is probably the least sexy of all instruments.

 When most people think of the accordion - they think of ethnic European Polkas and the Chicken Dance at weddings.

 But a lot of Mexican music uses the accordion as well.
Have you ever been to a quinceneria without dancing to accordion music?

 Down here on the Gulf, the instrument is used in a genre of music called Zydeco. (Where's Mills when I need him?)
Both Cajuns (White descendants of the French) and Creoles (Black/Mixed descendants of the French) feature the instrument prominently in their music.
When I first heard Zydeco I had no idea what was going on.
"What the heck is that?", I asked.
But after years of hearing the music I've grown to like a few songs.
The Trail Rides are fun and the dances are family friendly and always spirited.

So, after rethinking this instrument - maybe it is sexy after all.
If not sexy - at least it's always associated with fun.

CCS?

 John Kurman said; "...i think you are suffering from a variant of (Cynical) Cop Syndrome. In those clubs... .".

Maybe, but I don't think so.
I can always just go home and drink lemonade under a tree in the backyard and say 'eff all y'all'.
I'm not trying to help people here to benefit myself - I'm trying to help the people who have to live here.

FreeMan uses Plato's Cave as an example in one of his recent posts.
Most people only know what they 'know' and this is usually a viewpoint created by limited exposure and experience.
My biggest problem here is that so few people can imagine a life of equality even though this option is readily available to almost everyone.
Most people have become so inured that they wouldn't know what to do with equality if given the responsibility.

 Don't get me wrong - I'm just a regular guy.
It's not as though I'm Superman coming from a distant world nor is it that I possess other worldly super powers - but I did come from a highly competitive environment.
My town was integrated before I was born.
The Black schools were equally funded and the gifted kids were hand picked and separated for acclimation and acculturation.
Being a college town surrounded by military bases, NASCAR and churches - we were even more Middle-America than those in Middle America. (And this shaped our values and perception.)
We were the guinea pigs who were forced to excel.
My high school was one that would (illegally) recruit the best athletes from the area.
(A starter at another school would sit on the bench at ours.)
What I thought of as being 'normal' turned out to be exceptional to many others here in Smalltown USA.
The ability to fit in and excel within many social structures is not as common as I had thought.

 It's not as though I've been chosen as The One who would save all of humanity either.

 Most of the time I'm more similar to the Merovingian.
Sure, I dress well and get the girl... but that's not it.
Most of the time what I have to offer is 'information'.
The information that racism is not a problem to the point where it cannot be overcome by being educated, skilled and prepared.
That being called a "Nigger" should have the same effect as someone calling you a "Doo-Doo-Head".
That the mistakes from ones past do not have to determine the possibilities of ones future.
That we all have the ability (and responsibility) to make our own lives better by taking ownership of our choices and conditions.

I don't even like this role.
All I ever wanted to do was to collect and sell Mid-Cent-Mod furnishings.
But this town doesn't have a market for such things.
Most people here (regardless of ones race) still value cheap Ashley furniture (which depreciates in value) to the well-built, solid wood classics of the past (which appreciates in value).
Most people here are still more concerned with impressing everyone else than they are with getting and doing what they really want for themselves.
 I'm not a cynic - I'm just tired.

id, ego, super-ego

 I like Scarlet Johansson - The Scarlet Beast... not so much.
The Scarlet Beast is a system, a world-view, a way of life.
Those who believe in and act within this system were created to do so - they've just become similar to a human version of rogue NK-cells in the Gaia hypothesis.

Maybe Freud was just projecting.
Maybe he was just viewing the world through eyes stained by a myopic world view created by a destruction/consumption-driven flawed gene.
One man thinking this way is no problem.
The real problem gets out of hand when nations and institutions begin to think, act and then reinforce such thinking.

Germ Theory, Yeast Theory, Game Theory,...

 Dopamine Theory, Social Cognitive Theory, Theory of Planned Action, Hive Theory...
I've always had but one question (From whence, volition?) but I've stumbled upon hundreds of 'answers'.

If given the choice, why do we humans so often choose to do that which is not in our best interest?
Why do we take a short-term gain when we know it will result in a long-term loss?
Why do we choose partners which put us through hell on earth?
Why do we buy into an economic system which has shown itself to be a failure time and again?
Why do we purposely ingest harmful toxins into our once pristine bodies?
Why do we always choose to leave a perfect garden in favor of a corrupt world?

Shouldn't we, as a species, have learned that most of our current behaviors lead only to death and destruction?
Why do we always choose to sin?
Vanity is said to be one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
IMOHO - It is probably the worst - it is the sin which leads to all others.

As I said, I hate running night clubs - I get bored.
But the clubs are a good place to watch people interact.
The hierarchies are built and maintained (or toppled), the cliques are formed and reformed, the strong rule the weak, money plays, looks matter and people value what seems to be without regard for what really is.

Regardless of what one has accomplished in life, it seems that all people seek status - to be recognized as being better than everyone else.
When one feels that he is at the level which affords him some type of special treatment, the denial of such special treatment triggers fits of anger.
This is what causes many problems regarding race and the resulting racism.
 As long as someone 'knows his place', everything is honky-dory. (I know it's 'hunky' but 'honky' works better here.)
When one tries to grow and excel beyond the limits put upon him by others, that's when the problems begin with both groups of the oppressors and the oppressed.

When one is still trying to acquire such treatment, such treatment seems to be the penultimate goal in ones life. Every purchase made, friend met or word spoken is used to imply a sense of belonging to an ever more esoteric group.
Every reference made is meant to imply erudition.
Every car, television, watch, i-Phone, or home purchased is meant to convey wealth.
All clothing worn is intended to imply that one belongs to the leisure class not the working class.
By saying things like, "I know, met, sat by or just saw so-and-so.", one seeks to convey that he is not a member of the proletariat but that he is one of the elites.
Poor people will even choose to remain poor just as long as they think that others will bestow status upon them just because they have a few knock-off trinkets.

From whence, volition?
IMOHO - the answer is; "The Ego".

Ceviche?

C'mon DesertFlower, explain this to me.
A group of Puerto Rican 'Mamisangas' invited me over for a meal on the 4th.
One of the dishes they promised was Ceviche.
What is Ceviche?

Happy 4th of July!!!

Every region has it's own way of celebrating the birth of our nation.
While I'm not always pleased with the direction and conditions of our country - I don't think I'd wish to live anywhere else.
Down here on the Bayou we eat BBQ but what we really eat is crawfish ('Crayfish' for those of you who insist upon using Spellcheck) ... Boiled Crawfish (A sort-of low rent version of shrimp).
(Where's Mills when I need him to talk about Southern food?)

Confused?

" I'M BLACK....

Y'all just Niggas.", I said to a group of men complaining that, "The white man won't let us have nothin' for ourselves."

"Let"?
"LET"?
Really... in this day and age some people still imagine that they have to ask permission to do well?
The comments came when some well-to-do Black patrons noticed a group of white guests at the club.
"This is our club.", one woman said.
"Is your name on any deed, licence or signed at the bottom of any pay check?", I asked.
"THIS is my club and I treat everyone well.", I concluded.

By now, I know the routine.
The offended patrons will talk shit about me for about a week trying to start problems between me and others we all know.
"You don't know who you're effing with", will be the most common remark.
"If I don't know who I'm effing with, you must not be that important.", I will reply.
First their friends will call or invite me to lunch to reassure me that things are still cool between us at least.
Then those closest to them will ask if I'm still mad at the offended person.
Then the offended person will call or text with some excuse as to what they really meant to say.
It happens all the time.

I'm not an important guy - I'm just normal.
I have my own mess to worry about without having the time to worry about gossip.
I'm more concerned with my group of elderly women eating and taking their medicine everyday than I am with being invited to the 'right' parties or social gatherings.
I'm more concerned with teaching fatherless boys marketable skills than I am with being a member of any 'in' group.
But being 'in this world but not of it' causes some to think that I have some hidden agenda.
By helping others who are unable to help themselves, I am causing some, whose only goal in life is attaining more status, to resent me.
By trying to remain humble and principled, I am causing some to question my intentions.

Trying to be a good man also seems to give me access to people the titled proles and minions are seeking to impress.
"You know my boss, parent or superior?", is the most common reaction from someone who is easily offended.
"Oh, so-and-so? I play golf/tennis/poker with him or her.", or "Yeah, we volunteer together.", or "I helped his mother, son, brother... with something", or "We see and speak to each other.", are common replies.

People value most what they were lacking the most as a child.
The skinny and weak kid values strength...
The poor kid values money...
The unpopular values popularity...
The ugly kid values looks...
The disrespected values respect... .
Each then becomes a bully using what new trait or resources he's gained as an adult.
People who've are said to have accomplished the most often seem to be those who have compromised their values the most so that one who retains his values often seems like an impossibility.

As a kid I was dishonorable.
I'd use people for whatever purpose suited my needs and/or desires while leaving them to pay for my mistakes.
I was a thief.
I would steal what I wanted while setting up others to take the blame.
I was a racist.
I taught to believe that everyone white was to be milked for their worth and then left behind for someone else to use.
I was fearful.
I would let others suffer for my misdeeds.
I was self-centered.
As long as something benefited me - that was all that mattered.
Bret Easton Ellis' Patrick Bateman ain't had nothin' on me.
Because of this, I now value things like honor, virtue, bravery, humility and creativity above everything else.

But back to those who are so easily offended...
"But you started a Black-only club owners group. Isn't that racist?", one guy asked.
"The purpose is to get enough Blacks to begin to know (not hope - not think - not believe) that they are ,in fact, equal so that they cannot use race an an excuse for their failures.", I said.
"We're better than white people. White people copy and fear us.", another guy said.
"Look dumb-ass.... You're not even better than the people in this club. How do you think that you are better than everyone white? White people don't fear you - they fear the same Black people you cross the sidewalk for when you see them walking your way. Copy you? What have you ever done that has improved on something before it? What have you ever done that was original?", I said.
"If you're so superior, why do you use something as trivial as ones race as an excuse for your shortcomings? If you were indeed better, something like 'race' would be just as important as your hairstyle.". I continued.
 "If your asses were less concerned with gaining the respect of others at all costs - maybe those same people would actually respect you.", I said.
"If your asses wanted and worked to gain stable families and communities instead of seeking what others tell you you're supposed to want - maybe you would not even care whether others approved of you in the first place.", I said.
"Which brings me to my point. I AM BLACK and everything good that goes with it. Your asses are just Nigga's and every negative stereotype that goes along with them. If you wish to claim greatness - be great. If you wish to stick with the philosophies of being subjugated - be a Nigga'", I concluded.

Once again, these Southern sons of slaves still think like slaves.
Once again, these Southern sons of slaves are still living the lives of such.