Award-winning Poets Lamont B. Steptoe  &Sandra Turner-Barnes Lecture at DC Public Library

Who:               Award-Winning Poets Lamont B. Steptoe & Sandra Turner-Barnes

What:              Share their recent work and discuss their approach to writing.

When:            Mon., July 25. 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Where:          Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library

                      Black Studies Division

901 G St. NW

Lamont B. Steptoe is the recipient of numerous honors including the American Book Award, a Pew Fellowship in the Arts and two fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.  His work appears in the “Longman/Penguin anthology of African American Literature” and the “Oxford University Press Anthology of African American Literature.” His most recent books are “A Long Movie of Shadows, Crowns and Halos” and “Oracular Rumblings and Stiltwalking.

 Sandra Turner-Barnes is the winner of the 1995 Ebony Magazine Literary Award for Short Fiction. She is also the author of 3 books of poetry including her latest, “But, Mostly Love.” Additionally, Sandra’s popular poetry and jazz CD, “September Will Never Be The Same,” is available throughout the United States and the United Kingdom.

The discussion and book signing which will be hosted by Washington-area poet and literary activist, Sistah Joy.  Groups are encouraged to register in advance as seating is limited. For further information and group registration, contact 202.727.1211.

Killer Drones Take the Place of War

Doug Noble, Truthout: "What is different about this latest weapon of war that we oppose so strenuously?.. The answer is this: Killer drones are not primarily weapons of war, as usually defined, but instead are automated technologies designed for convenient, targeted killing or assassination outside of war zones. As mentioned, the usual targets are in countries we aren't at war with, far from usual areas of armed conflict."
Read the Article

Five Prison Reform Ideas Being Ignored on Capitol Hill

Shani O. Hilton, Colorlines: "After last week’s breakthrough in mitigating the damage of the drug war... advocates stressed that it’s still up to Congress to eliminate the crack-powder cocaine sentencing disparity altogether and to create more lasting prison reform. The lack of reform isn’t due to a lack of bills, however. There are many ideas already in the congressional hopper, they just can’t get any attention from legislators. Here are five prison reform bills that were introduced in the last six months, but haven’t yet made it out of committee."
Read the Article

Nonviolent Revolution Clarified: Five Myths and Realities Behind Egypt's Uprising

Cynthia Boaz, Truthout: "In Gandhian language, means and ends are inseparable. That which is won through violence must be sustained through violence. That which is won through mass civil nonviolent action is more legitimate and more likely to be sustainable over the long term. Additionally, how we understand and interpret the source of the power that emerged in Tunisia and Egypt last spring can go on to shape our long-term views about what is possible. If we consciously or unconsciously reinforce misconceptions or negative stereotypes about nonviolent action, we potentially undermine the morale of people engaged in ongoing struggles."
Read the Article

CHARLES JOHNSON ON MALCOLM X:

On the E-Channel: http://www.ethelbert-miller.blogspot.com/

MY FRIEND LAUREN SENT THIS LINK TO ME. PRICELESS.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v8DbLWAXvU&feature=youtu.be

JOB: 

July 10, 2011

Department of English and Language Arts

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT
Rank: Assistant/Associate/Professor of English

Visiting Professor of Creative Writing with benefits at the rank of assistant, 
associate, or full professor of English to teach undergraduate and general 
education courses in freshman composition and humanities and undergraduate and 
graduate courses in poetry, fiction, and drama, effective August 2011. Four 
course per semester teaching load.  Duties will include serving as Coordinator 
of Creative Writing, with a 25% reduction from the four course per semester 
teaching load.  Preference will be given to candidate with Ph.D.  Candidate must 
have a record of publication and scholarly activity in nationally known presses 
and journals, and show potential for successful, on-going creative activity in 
the profession, as well as a record of teaching excellence.  Candidate should be 
able to develop and teach on-line courses as needed..  Experience teaching 
creative writing and/or editing a literary journal is highly desirable.  All 
Creative Writing faculty are expected to direct graduate theses.  Candidate must 
demonstrate a commitment to working with an ethnically and culturally diverse 
student population.
Applicants should submit a sample of published work.

Salary:  Commensurate with education and experience. 

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until position is 
filled.

This Department will advertise to fill this position with a tenure-track 
appointment, effective for the 2012-2013 academic year.

Send letter of application, CV, statement of teaching philosophy, transcripts 
(may be unofficial for initial application), three recent letters of 
recommendation (or a dossier which includes them) and a writing sample, a 
minimum of 20 pages, to:

Dr. Dolan Hubbard, Chairperson
Department of English and Language Arts
Morgan State University
1700 E. Cold Spring Lane
Baltimore, MD 21251-0001
dolan.hubbard@morgan.edu

Founded in 1867, Morgan State University is a historically black institution 
with the unique designation as Maryland’s public urban university.  
http://www.morgan.edu
Morgan State University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and 
Immigration Reform Act Employer.  Position subject to final authorization of 
funding.



Dolan Hubbard, PhD
Professor and Chairperson
Department of English & Language Arts
Morgan State University
1700 E. Cold Spring Lane
Baltimore, MD 21251-0001
(443) 885-3165
(443) 885-8225, fax
http://www.morgan.edu

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Nothing is born, nothing is destroyed. Away with your dualism, your likes and dislikes. Every single thing is just the One Mind. When you have perceived this, you will have mounted the Chariot of the Buddhas. - Huang Po, Zen Teaching of Huang Po

LISTENING TO PUBLIC ENEMY this morning. BRING THAT BEAT BACK!

OH, JAPAN...

Breaking: 7.1-magnitude quake in Japan triggers tsunami warning 09 Jul 2011 A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 hit Japan's northeastern coast on Sunday, prompting a tsunami warning for the area still recovering from a devastating quake and killer wave four months ago. The quake hit at 9:57 local time (0057 GMT), and a warning of a possible tsunami was issued for most of the northeastern coastline. The epicenter of the quake was in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Japan's main island, Honshu, at a depth of about 6 miles (10 kilometers).

Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Saturday, July 9, 2011 -- 2:02 PM EDT
-----

Derek Jeter of the Yankees Gets Hit No. 3,000, a Home Run to Left

Derek Jeter became the 28th player in baseball history to reach 3,000 hits on 
Saturday, with a home run to left field in the third inning at Yankee Stadium 
off of David Price of Tampa Bay. In doing so, Jeter became the first player in 
the Yankees’ storied history to reach the hallowed number.
Jeter is the active leader in hits and the first player to collect his 3,000th 
since Craig Biggio of Houston in 2007. He is also the first to achieve the 
milestone at Yankee Stadium, old or new, and the fourth youngest player to do 
it. Only Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron and Robin Yount joined the club at a younger age 
than Jeter, who turned 37 on June 26.
Jeter accomplished it all without playing anywhere but shortstop, the most 
physically demanding position on the field besides catcher. Only three other 
players, Honus Wagner, Cal Ripken Jr. and Yount, have recorded 3,000 hits while 
playing most of their careers at shortstop.

THE   E  MAG
Treve de blues
   - Leon Damas

Compassion is my art
-- Grace A. Ali

God makes stars. It's up to producers to find them
  -Samuel Goldwyn

MY GUEST IS NIBIR K. GHOSH. HE IS THE EDITOR OF THE NEW BOOK, CHARLES JOHNSON EMBRACING THE WORLD.

Q. WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO THE WORK OF CHARLES JOHNSON?    

1. Nine years ago, when the Public Affairs Section of U.S. Embassy, New Delhi informed me that Charles Johnson—author of Middle Passage, Oxherding Tale, Dreamer etc., a MacArthur Fellow and winner of the National Book Award—was visiting India on a lecture tour, I was thrilled by the prospect of interviewing him against the backdrop of the Taj Mahal.  My enthusiasm did not last long as his visit did not ultimately materialize on account of the Iraq war.  Perhaps Fate had ordained that we would meet not in Agra, the city of Sulahakul, but in Seattle from where Johnson proclaims to the world the imperatives of embracing a standpoint that calls for an amalgamation of multidisciplinary and multicultural perspectives.

The chance to meet this celebrity came when I was awarded the Senior Fulbright Fellowship to work at the University of Washington, Seattle during 2003-04 on a project that was concerned with Contemporary African American Writings with special reference to the works of Charles Johnson.

I was attracted to Charles Johnson as a writer when I got to read his profile marked by amazing diversity of interests. I thought it was noteworthy that in a conflict-ridden world whose belief in multiculturalism, in flesh and spirit, made a lot of sense.

Q. WHERE SHOULD WE PLACE THE WORK OF CHARLES JOHNSON WHEN EXAMINING WORLD LITERATURE?

 While examining World Literature we can place Charles Johnson at the crucial meeting point of philosophy and fiction. Through the corpus of his fictional and non-fictional writings, Johnson combines philosophy and folklore, martial art and Buddhism, to provide incisive insights into the new frontiers of the African American experience that calls for an amalgamation of multidisciplinary and multicultural perspectives. What is significant is that he not only loves to address the symptoms of change in terms of acute identity crisis but also tries to prepare the aesthetic ground for such a change.

Q. WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT THE NEW BOOK, CHARLES JOHNSON EMBRACING THE WORLD?

The erudite articles, insightful essays, vibrant poems and stories, glowing tributes and animate interviews in this memorable volume not only address multifarious dimensions of the Charles Johnson canon but also bring into bold relief the magnetic appeal of  a veritable activist relentlessly engaged in making the world a better place to live in. Also included in this volume are essays and stories by Charles Johnson that illumine variant issues and concerns ranging from the ambivalence of the American Dilemma to delineating the meaning of Barack Obama, besides displaying his innate ability to contend with conflicting forces by celebrating life in the manner of Buddha, DuBois, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi. If Johnson admires America for being the great country where “passions define possibilities” and where “no individual or group, white or black, could tell me not to dream,” he is no less enamoured by India: “its beauty, antiquity, breath-taking art and remarkable people, the peace I feel instantly when my mind drifts to the Buddhist Dharma or Hinduism, that great democracy of Being.” Above all, the book is bound to create an audience in this important region of the world where interest in subaltern themes is on the rise.

Q.  WHAT NEW PROJECTS ARE YOU WORKING ON?

4. Currently, there are two projects that I am working on: one is a book on Rabindranath Tagore as a Cultural Ambassador. It will be in the form of a tribute to the multicultural spirit of the Nobel Laureate in the 150th year of his birth. The other project is on Gandhi and his soulforce mission.

I may mention here that my focus is on the forthcoming issue of Re-Markings that marks the completion of ten years for the journal with its twentieth issue in September 2011. In the words of Professor Jonah Raskin of Sonoma State University, California: "The world is a place of conflicts and clashes, but it is also a place of confluences and Re-Markings helps to further the dialogue between different cultures around the world. It aids communication around the world and it has moved with the times and with the technological changes in the past decade as evidenced by the website which is impressive and professional. I hope to continue to work with Nibir and with Re-Markings and I hope that the journal has been shaped in beneficial ways by my contributions just as I have been shaped and influenced in beneficial ways by my association with the journal." 

BIO NOTE:

Dr. Nibir K. Ghosh, D.Litt., is Head, Department of English Studies & Research, Agra College, Agra (India). He was Senior Fulbright Fellow 2003-04 at the University of Washington, Seattle, U.S.A. He is the author of widely acclaimed books: Beyond Boundaries: Reflections of Indian and U.S. Scholars (2007), Multicultural America: Conversations with Contemporary Authors (2005) and Calculus of Power: Modern American Political Novel (1997). His most recent works include Charles Johnson: Embracing the World (2011), Shaping Minds: Multicultural Literature (2010), W.H. Auden: Therapeutic Fountain (2010), Erasing Barricades: Woman in Indian Literature (2010) and Perspectives on Legends of American Theatre (2009). An Associate of Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, he is the Chief Editor of Re-Markings (www.re-markings.com), an international biannual journal of research in English that is in its tenth year of publication.

  

NIBIR K. GHOSH

THE 5TH INNING:

President Obama turns 50 on August 4th.

BRADLEE DEAN

MORE BUNNY NEWS:
OK, I confess, I never heard of Bradlee Dean until this week. Is this going to be another political distraction? Poor Michele Bachmann, how many weeks has she been running for president? It seems as if politicians get into more trouble when they go to church or hang around ministers. God help them and us. Oh, and how long are we going to keep linking Obama to Islam? Geez.

LE SAPEURS: BLOWHIPHOPTV.COM

youtube.com5 min - Jan 28, 2011 - Uploaded by BLOWHIPHOPTV
For the past 30 yrs west africans have dressed and maintained a fascinating movement created in the Congo called Le SAPE ...

July 12th
10th Annual D.C. Hip-Hop Theater Festival
5p.m.
Concert Hall, The Kennedy Center
Free.

There were more than 295 suicides last year among active-duty personnel, a majority outside combat zones.

  - New York Times, Editorial page, July 7, 2011.

In one sense the meaning of 7/7 is as clear to Britons as that of 9/11 is to Americans. It was a savage, brutal attack intended to sow mayhem and terror. Yet whereas 9/11 was the work of a foreign terrorist group, 7/7 was the work of British citizens. The question that haunts London , but that Washington has so far barely had to face, is why four men born and brought up in Britain were gripped by such fanatic zeal for a murderous, medieval dogma.

   - Kenan Malik, The New York Times, July 7, 2011

----------------------------------------
Breaking News Alert: Unemployment rate rises to 9.2 percent in June; 18,000 jobs added
July 8, 2011 8:48:23 AM
----------------------------------------

The Labor Department reported Friday that the nation's unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent in June, with employers adding only 18,000 jobs.

That looks like Ethelbert at the Warhol Retreat (2011) in San Francisco. Check that name tag.

Tricycle Daily Dharma
 

Replace Anger with Tolerance

The sixth chapter of the Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life (Bodhicharyavatara) is considered to be a special magical precept from Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, for replacing anger with tolerance. The essence is: Why get upset if you can do something about something? And if you can't do anything about it, then why get upset?

-Robert Thurman, “Rising to the Challenge: Cool Heroism”

Union Workers Replaced With Prison Labor Under Scott Walker's Collective Bargaining Law

Alex Seitz-Wald, ThinkProgress: "While Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's (R) law dismantling collective bargaining rights has harmed teachers, nurses, and other civil servants, it's helping a different group in Wisconsinites - inmates. Prisoners are now taking up jobs that used to be held by unionized workers in some parts of the state."
Read the Article

Bachmann Lies About Her Family History to Sound More Iowan

Chris Rodda, Truthout: "In previous speeches in Iowa over the past few months, Bachmann has elaborated on the story of her Iowa roots with a saga that sounds like something straight out of 'Little House on the Prairie.' The only problem is that most of the incredibly inspiring story of Iowan ancestors - which Bachmann is using to sound even more Iowan than most of the Iowans she's speaking to - simply isn't true."
Read the Article

 YOU KNOW YOU'RE OLD WHEN YOU BECOME AN ANSWER TO A TRIVIA QUESTION:
http://www.blackpast.org/?q=special/what-can-i-do-black-studies-major-222-answers

IT'S STILL SPRING IN SUMMER: Comments from Yahia Lababidi:

http://www.newint.org/contributors/yahia-lababidi/

TOP NEWS

President Looks for Broader Deal on Deficit Cuts

By CARL HULSE and MARK LANDLER

President Obama, who will meet with the bipartisan leadership of Congress on Thursday, wants to move well beyond the $2 trillion in savings sought earlier.

• Video: The Caucus | Debt Ceiling Deadline Nears

Screening July 26 7 PM "Will the Real Terrorist Please Stand Up"

Dear Friends,

We are writing to you to request your co-sponsorship and outreach to your 
friends and communities to attend the screening of an important new documentary 
"Will the real terrorist please stand up," directed by Emmy Winner Saul Landau.

The screening will coincide with the release of the documentary to the public 
and is the first time that it will be shown in Los Angeles. "Will the real 
terrorist please stand up" shows that US-backed violence against Cuba continued 
for decades. Some Bay of Pigs participants and the most well-known terrorists 
appear on camera to boast or re-evaluate their activities over the years. 
Orlando Bosch, Jose Basulto, Luis Posada Carriles and Antonio Veciana discuss 
assassinations and other actions they took to bring down the Revolutionary 
government. The new film, with Danny Glover, Cuba's top counter spy and Fidel 
Castro himself (filmed recently) is combined with fascinating archival footage 
and a rare recorded interview from prison with one of the Cuban 5. These men are 
serving long sentences in US prisons for trying to stop terrorism against 
tourist sites in their country.

Date: Tuesday July 26
Time: 7pm
Place: Laemmle's Monica 4-Plex, 1332 2nd St., Santa Monica.
$10 entrance fee
Q@A with Saul Landau

This event is organized by Cinema Libre Studio and co-sponsored by the 
International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban Five and the Center for 
Human Rights and Constitutional Law.

Please let us know if we may add your name or organization as co-sponsors. If 
possible, please respond ASAP, so that we can include you or your organization 
as a co-sponsor in the final invitations to be distributed starting around July 
1. And please help us to spread the word.

Sincerely,

Peter Schey
Center for Human Rigth and Constitutional Law
pschey@centerforhumanrights.org<mailto:pschey@centerforhumanrights.org>

Alicia Jrapko
International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban 5
ajrapko@yahoo.com<mailto:ajrapko@yahoo.com

NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO

I'll be on the Diane Rehm Show, July 20th discussing Marilynne Robinson's HOME.
Tune in.

THINKING BIG:

Stephen Hawking, Ray Kurzweil, Michio Kaku: Whose Idea Will Most Impact Our World -- You Decide! | Top Five | Big Think

 

BUNNY NEWS 


It's time to recycle. Hugo Chavez is back in the news. Look for Iran and maybe North Korea to return in a few weeks. Is anyone ready for bad news to hit Haiti or New Orleans again? What will August bring?

Notice how the bunny news services are trying to tell us the best next US president is another governor from Texas. Who writes this script?  Are we just a few months from someone on the Democratic side deciding to challenge Obama for the 2012 nomination? Oh, and did Bin Ladin leave behind a diary or some document that outlines new doors to terrorism?  It's also time to add some new groups to the terror list. We moved from Arabs to folks from Somalia and Nigeria. Don't let someone from Kenya get into trouble. If so,the Far Right will immediately find a link to some distant cousin of Obama and then we are back to listening to some Republican wondering where Obama's aunt disappeared to. Are you tired of these news games? What bunny will be pulled from the hat today?

Quote of the Day:

Everything today is Rod Sterling. Everything.

    - Doug Brode

The struggle for marriage equality is about more than the definition of marriage; it's about the definition
of justice.

    - David Remnick, The New Yorker

THE NEW BUSBOYS AND POETS
LOCATED AT 5331 Baltimore Ave, Suite 104.
Hyattsville, Maryland.

YES TO:  DCentric

NATALIE MOORE

  INTERVIEW with Natalie Moore: http://t.co/J30qlOV 

IMPORTANT -PLEASE WATCH-

 http://vimeo.com/15488784

John Coltrane Quartet- Afro Blue

John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, Elvin Jones

"Afro Blue"
(1963) 

 

 

NUFF SAID!

TWO LINKS RECEIVED YESTERDAY FROM YAHIA LABABIDI:

http://pmc-mag.com/2011/05/yahia-lababidi/

http://www.bu.edu/agni/authors/Y/Yahia-Lababidi.html

GRACE NOTE: HAPPY BIRTHDAY G.

GRACE A. ALI

 

Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here: Opening Exhibit and Reading

July 7, 2011, 6:00 pm–8:00 pm
Gallery 31, The Corcoran Gallery of Art
500 17th St NW
Washington, DC

The Corcoran Gallery of Art presents 'Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here', a collection of 130 broadsides celebrating our collective cultural voice and representing the deaths and injuries of the March 2007 car bomb on al-Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad.

Featured poets:

Tina Darragh has been a DC poet for over 40 years. Her most recent books are Deep eco pré, an ecopoetic collaboration with Marcella Durand (Little Red Leaves 2009 - available free at http://littleredleaves.com/ebooks/dep.html) and the Belladonna Elders Series #8 in collaboration with Diane Ward and Jane Sprague (belladonna 2009). Darragh earns her keep as a librarian at Georgetown University.

Zein El-Amine has an MFA in poetry from the University of Maryland. His poems have been published by Folio, Beltway Poetry Quarterly, DC Poets Against the War Anthology, Penumbra, GYST, and Joybringer. His short stories have appeared in the Uno Mas and in Bound Off.

Sarah Browning is director of Split This Rock. Author of Whiskey in the Garden of Eden and co-editor of D.C. Poets Against the War, she is an associate fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies, poetry co-editor of On the Issues Magazine, and co-host of Sunday Kind of Love, a poetry series at Busboys and Poets in Washington, DC. She has received fellowships from the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities and the Creative Communities Initiative.

Spoken Word Poet Jinahie has a huge buzz right now. She has been on BET and HBO, performed with Common and the Roots, and won a contest to perform at Sundance Dance Film Festival in Jan 2012. She just met Russell Simmons who is interested in her work and has shared the stage with Rosario Dawson, John Mayer, and Grammy-nominated artists such as Lupe Fiasco, Smokey Robinson, Mos Def and Talib Kweli.

Get more information about the event and exhibit here.

SAPPHIRE has a new novel out.
The title is THE KID (Penguin Press). $25.95
See review in The New York Times today by Michiko Kakutani.

SOUPERGIRL IS COMING!  They will be located across from the Takoma Metro Station.

This week, we are moving into our new kitchen which is located in Takoma, DC. We aren't yet open for business, but will be cooking there from now on. We'll let you know as soon as we're selling soup from the shop. Don't live near Takoma? Don't worry! Our new shop / kitchen will enable us to expand our current delivery/pick up model!

How China Changed Everything For Stephon Marbury’s Starbury

China not only gave the former New York Knick a second chance in basketball, but a greater shot at business. 

A SHORT BY E:

Richard sat on the edge of his bed. It was 5AM. Monk time?  Yes, Thelonious. Sleep and music had left him alone, teasing him to start his day. Today he was ready. Another day at trying to answer the question that had been a problem for every black man ever born. A question so simple, yet so difficult it made him scratch his crotch in wonder. Why did the black man cross the street? Was this the chicken and the egg routine? Richard was deep into Buddhism and meditation. Now some Zen koan made him ponder his blackness with the knowledge that life was nothing but a black hole. Dig or be dug. Richard reached for his computer which was the only metallic thing he could sleep with lately. Too many women he found to be cold. He was in his third month of getting over flesh. It was like becoming a sexual vegetarian.

Type. Type. Why did the black man cross the street?  Richard quickly began to make a list of possible reasons, beginning with the most obvious, and the one that had nothing to do with race. Yet everything he listed was an answer in waiting:

- To get to the otherside
- To escape from a black woman
- To find a white woman
- To find a good black woman
- The blues made him do it
- He thought he was going North
- He thought it was Paris
- He thought it was Africa
- To look for his father
- To see things from the otherside
- To get to the mountaintop
- For the wine, the chicken and the melon
- For Starbucks
- For Wal-Mart
- For Jesus
- He was lost

Richard pushed the computer aside and walked across the room. It was almost 6AM and he was already late.


- E. Ethelbert Miller

Listening to Sonny Stitt this morning.

Palestine Studies TV Interview with Huwaida Arraf  

 

In this installment of Palestine Studies TV, we spoke with Huwaida Arraf, a lawyer and activist. She is also a co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement and is a key organizer of the Freedom Flottilla Movement. She spoke about the planned Freedom Flotilla to Gaza, a multi-national effort by humanitarian activists which aims to deliver badly needed supplies to Gaza in defiance of the Israeli embargo.

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Our problems, both those we experience externally such as wars, crime and violence and those we experience internally as emotional and psychological suffering will not be solved until we address this underlying neglect of our inner dimension. That is why the great movements of the last hundred years and more--democracy, liberalism, socialism, and Communism--have all failed to deliver the universal benefits they were supposed to provide, despite many wonderful ideas. A revolution is called for, certainly, but not a political, an economic, or a technical revolution. We have had enough experience of these during the past century to know that a purely external approach will not suffice. What I propose is a spiritual revolution. - His Holiness the Dalai Lama

BASEBALL

Let me sit in the ballpark
cap turned backwards and praying
for a rally. I need the sun and sweat
to remind me how much
I love the game. How each year
it comes down to the last inning,
the final out.


   - E. Ethelbert Miller
 

THE DUMB NEWS
McCain blasts Obama on his troop reduction plans for Afghanistan. Is this really news?  Obama is the commander in chief not his generals. So what if our military generals disagree with what the President decides to do? It's not their call. They give advice. The President makes the final call and decision. Is McCain still running for something?  Are we going to stay in Afghanistan forever? Is it possible McCain was thinking about Arizona? Can we find an immigrant to blame?

Tricycle Daily Dharma
 

Live Lightly

We have to cultivate contentment with what we have. We really don’t need much. When you know this, the mind settles down. Cultivate generosity. Delight in giving. Learn to live lightly. In this way, we can begin to transform what is negative into what is positive. This is how we start to grow up.

-Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, "No Excuses"

E-CHANNEL: CHARLES JOHNSON TALKS VISUAL

TODAY IS THE BEGINNING OF GRACE WEEK:  Happy Birthday G.

GRACE A. ALI editor --of note magazine

 

Interview with L. Lamar Wilson: (http://www.blastfurnacepress.com)

Editorial:  A Love Still Supreme, but a House in Ruins
John Coltrane's house in Long Island, where he lived and composed some of his immortal jazz, is crumbling and in need of restoration.

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	If we train our breathing, we can control our emotions--that is, we can cope with the happiness and pain in our lives. We should practice until we feel this; our practice is not complete until we can see this clearly. - Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, "Mindfulness with Breathing"

14 Propaganda Techniques Fox News Uses to Brainwash Americans

Dr. Cynthia Boaz, Truthout: "It is ironic that in the era of 24-hour cable news networks and 'reality' programming, the fluff-to-news ratio and overall veracity of information has declined precipitously. Take the fact Americans now spend on average about 50 hours a week using various forms of media, while at the same time cultural literacy levels hover just above the gutter. "
Read the Article

Home for the 4th:

My son and I walked over to the basketball courts around 7AM yesterday. It was like old times. Now 24, he talked about some of the guys he played against in high school who were recently drafted by the NBA or are playing somewhere in Europe.

I haven't been on the court in a year - maybe make it two. I can feel my body forcing itself to run after the ball. From the free throw line I can only make 4 out of 10 shots. I'm not even as good as Shaq was. My son in a matter of minutes is back to his old form  - knocking down jumper after jumper. Before we leave the park two young kids want to play us. Oh, those father/son days are over. I tell my son to play one on one. The kids are about 17 year old. Pants hanging and sneakers not tied. Where is the respect for the game? In a matter of seconds the kid playing my son is down by 8. 

And then I stand around and notice the person my son has become. He is now coaching the kids, challenging them, complementing them when they make a good shot. Belts become tighten and sneakers tied. The kids are showing respect to my son and the game. Now my son is calling shots as they leave his hands. It's another morning for me to learn from, another chapter in fatherhood. There is that moment when your son is fathering others. There is nothing left to do but smile. This is what it means to be a winner.

THE RACE FUND

There are going to be countless books written about Obama and the Obama Administration in the future.
One book that should be written is how the tasteless attacks against Obama hurt the image and office of the US presidency. From liar comments to being called a "Dick" on television are all new lows. After a negative statement or text message an apology is simply an attachment you can open. But the damage has been done. It's just a matter of time before some leading member of the GOP is caught using the N-word to describe Obama. Of course, that person will offer an apology and claim they were talking about the president in only a way black people might understand.

N- please!

VOCABULARY BUILDING:

One word that has not jumped across the Atlantic has been the word austerity. How long will this word remain in Greece and England?  Everywhere the "attack" against the rights of workers has been taking place this year. The poor can't take no more. It's sad to see our nation being divided by class as well as race. What's going to be next?  Urban violence? I hope not. It takes too long to rebuild after riots and destruction.

A generation of young people embracing chaos. Everywhere in the world nothing but the growth of rubble. Stone throwers already stepping forward - next will come machine gunners. Hope bleeding from the back of its head. Is that me or you?

His Holiness the DALAI LAMA will give A TALK FOR WORLD PEACE

Saturday, July 9, 2011 at 9:30 AM

FREE TO THE PUBLIC - U.S. Capitol (West Lawn)

SAD BUT TRUE:
http://www.blueavocado.org/content/regrets-former-arts-funder

A LINK TO DOUGLAS KORB'S BLOG.
Is the Compact for you?
http://knownonew.tumblr.com/

Kellie Jones  recently sent me a copy of her new book - EYEMINDED.  Gosh - I like how this woman thinks:

What I want to think about here is how art objects, and the activities around their making and display - in exhibitions, homes, studios - as well as their materiality and life, are integral to forming relationships, connections, and kinship among sometimes diverse constituencies. How is art a connective force, a glue between people, creating the sense of community whole but also of family and affiliation? Indeed how does the circulation of art forms in public and private arenas create dialogues and sites of collectivity, personal and communal meaning, and how are these formations part of how we craft individual and larger social and political involvements?

- from the Introduction of EYEMINDED by Kellie Jones, Duke University Press.

N.B.A.
The idea of Kobe Bryant leading a group of NBA stars to China is interesting. It's another example of how sports will cross borders if the money is right. If a network (or someone) decides to air these games back to the US - lookout. It's another example of players (workers) finding a way to get around the owners. Writers should think about doing this too. How many months have I been waiting for Northwestern University Press to let me know the status of my manuscript? My last poetry book was published in Abu Dhabi. Is China next?
 

THE DREAM LIVES: www.dedicatethedream.org

THANK YOU, HARLEN.
I posted this a long time ago in my E-Notes.
Every writer should look at this. It's the story of my life...
YouTube - ?Harlan Ellison -- Pay the Writer??

What is the moral meaning of our own gods?


     - June Jordan

Ain'no such a thing as I can hate anybody and hope to see God's face.

    - Fannie Lou Hamer

Heading home this morning.
Goodbye San Francisco - Hello Washington.

Talk at Goucher College on Friday.

Tricycle Daily Dharma
 

When Obstacles Arise

When challenges or obstacles arise for us, we don’t have to get so intimidated; we can say, “Yes, it’s an obstacle, but it is not intrinsically bad; it’s not going to destroy me.” To create a relationship with the obstacle, learn about it, and finally overcome it is going to be a helpful thing to do. It gives us a chance to cultivate wisdom and skillful means. It gives us confidence.

-Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, “Old Relationships, New Possibilities”

What is this about?  (See below) I've been curious as to why slavery in America lasted so long but Obama gets only a couple of years to change things. When black intellectuals talk should I listen? Going into 2012 I'm waiting for the creek of discontent to rise. If Obama is defeated in the next election and the Far Right becomes the Close Right - who should we blame?  I can see folks getting honorariums to fly around the country talking about the return of racism.  Black profits to be made while the poor get no more than a mention. Get ready for the year of fools and hustlers. I'm  no more disappointed in Obama than I am in myself. We all have so much more work to do. It's heavy lifting. Did you really think things were going to get better in Haiti one year after the earthquake?  How long did Nelson Mandela stay in prison? Freedom's timeline never fits a slave's mind. We tend to complain and find fault with everything except our own shadows that too often continue to beg for sun.

The Wrong Black Man: Van Jones’ Faux Activism

The role of Van Jones is that of gatekeeper, not activist. He’s part of the power ecosystem now.

THAT SPACE GODDESS VERTAMAE:

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2011/jun/18/vertamae-smart-grosvenor-writer-actor-cook-looks-h/

A BETTS BOOK REVIEW: http://www.postnoills.com/main/?p=254.

A MOVIE FROM THE RACIALIST:

 

YouTube - Tribe Encounters White Man For The First Time. [ AMAZING footage ]

 

San Francisco Symphony presents 'Favorite String Serenades'
San Francisco Examiner
[6 pm, Commonwealth Club, 595 Market St., SF] E. Ethelbert Miller: The writer and literary activist appears in an evening of poetry, prose and conversation. ...

Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Wednesday, June 29, 2011 -- 9:32 AM EDT
-----

Greek Parliament Votes in Favor of Austerity Plan, Staving Off Risk of Default

Greece’s Parliament on Wednesday voted in favor of an austerity plan demanded by 
the country’s foreign lenders before they would provide it with a financial 
rescue package and avert a debt crisis that could have shaken its European 
neighbors and economies throughout the world.
 
The austerity steps, which include wage cuts, tax increases and privatizations 
in a recession-starved country, were required to unlock the next installment of 
aid that the country needs to avoid default on its debts.
 

Tricycle Daily Dharma
 

How Language Conditions Spirituality

The first three practices of the eightfold path are right view, right intention, and right speech. These make right conduct possible, and when there is right conduct, there can be meditation practice and mindfulness, which lead to wisdom, thereby reinforcing right view. So from the first, the Buddha saw that our language conditions our spirituality through our views, intentions, and uttered words, and that training in an increased awareness of this process has to be the starting point for spiritual practice.

-Zoketsu Norman Fischer, "Beyond Language"

CENSUS

There are too many poets in the world.
I must burn books and make room
for my own ashes.

    - E. Ethelbert Miller

EL CERRITO

        (for Lauren)

I cannot name or identify
any of the plants and trees outside.
I no longer know the names of clouds.
Geography is distance more than map.
So many things I cannot understand
or do. There is a nakedness to my life.
On the table a jar filled with red and yellow
flowers. Petals fall as I write. The fragrance
of death is often slow and beautiful.

-  E. Ethelbert Miller

CUBA:
www.daphnemuse.blogspot.com

Poetry & Music: An Interview with Paul Muldoon
"[The song lyric] needs something else. It may be recited as a poem, but for one reason or another, it's missing something. The poem conventionally brings its own music," says Paul Muldoon in a recent interview held at the Academy offices. Read what he has to say about the relationship between poetry and song.

On the web at: www.poets.org/pmuld

NEWS FROM JUDY LABENSOHN
www.Writeinisrael.com  (BLOG)