Author: onajide

Sorry for the multiple postings… a glitch somewhere. I didn’t see my postings even after refreshing my pages. After 3 hours I came back, then deleted the multiples. Please forgive me.

I got home last night after spend the past few days in Minnesota. My trip was two-fold. I went to take pics at day one of a four-day bicycle race, and to do some art. Well, the art took a back seat because of something I wasn’t prepared for. An unruly, but cute, dog.

My friend was given a dog by his sister a year ago but since he’s not very parental, his dog has taken control of his life and everyone that comes close. I exited the airport, got into the car and knew my ears were being targeted by a wet tongue. I had to spend 250 miles of driving to prevent this from happening. The dog moaned, groaned, whined, wheezed, barked, growled, jumped, crawled, snuggled, clawed, scratched, pounced, and anything else I’ve forgotten all the way. This went on for the next 3 days, almost non-stop! Eye contact was the dogs license to do whatever he wanted, including jumping into bed to play, with his nasty doggy body odor and wet drool. I had to fight this off for 4 of my 5 days there.
let’s move on, please

1. Your work, your life, are informed by post-colonialism. As is your Self. Can you tell us about your encounters with po-co, how and why it makes sense to you, and how it informs how you live your life?

I came of age during the 60s but with my childhood interests in African American writers of fiction and poetry there was a consistent subtext for the fight for recognition, both as a valued contributor to ones locale, region and the world, and the great joy and honor it was to participate in a long tradition of peoples of the African diaspora. I embraced the concept of the African Atlantic world and saw this rich, yet ignored, culture that was brought to the American continents as something I was part of. Even though somewhat flawed, Amieé Ceasere and former President of Cote d’Ivoire (both writers) evolved the culture concept of “Negritude” which was a praising of our “blackness,” our “Africanness” with open arms. On the other hand there were freedom fighters Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana), Nigeria’s independence, the Black Panthers (whose tactics I didn’t particularly like), and Dr. Ron Karenga, founder of the US Org. and today’s widely celebrated Kwanzaa. Dr. Karenga was very much a cultural nationalist, but a bit militant. I liked a man that could intelligently argue his points, not just out shout somebody or wield a gun to get his respect. In the 1970s I decided I no longer wished to carry the family name that had in all likelihood been my family’s slaveowners. (My father has accepted my decision yet I had to send him copies of my legal documents and I’m sure he was disappointed in my name change since I was named after both grandfathers.) I also have Cherokee background and there were issues there about a Cherokee and and African woman marrying, again with names changed out of necessity (a couple generations ago). So, to end this initial answer, during the this somewhat mixed up lifetime of mine I have found that even though we are all human, culture is one thing that differentiates us, yet provides for fascinating ways to learn about the world in which we live. Artists work within the cultural realm and therefore I think I’m in my element, along with many others.

2. The US National Endowment for the Arts offers you a fellowship worth US$40k a year for 3 years. Donor constraints require your term to be served in the US, but not in any place you’ve ever been resident. Where would you go and why?

(Any place I’ve been a resident, meaning city, county, or state? I’d hope that would only mean city, although you can re-specify if you like.) This would be a beautiful opportunity. First year I’d spend in Edgefield, County, South Carolina. Charleston, SC and New Orleans were the two major ports into which slaves were brought (into the U.S.). I would like to research my own family’s history and see how it works out with family rumored to be in the Bahamas. These people and connections would be worked into very interesting series of visual and textual works. The following year would be spent in Atlanta. As the ‘mecca’ of African American education and culture in the south, I would love to live and work there and see what happens. I’ve been there several times and every time I come away feeling very positive about the city and environs. The final year I would have to reserve until the last portion of the second year because Atlanta might be worth staying longer. If I had to go on to another city, I guess the most obvious choice would be NYC because it is still the most important city in the U.S. for visual art and I would definitely want the opportunity to exhibit the work of the 2 previous years in the proper venue.

3. What makes you weep? Why? One thing that really gets to me is child abuse of any kind. Hearing a young child describe something really tramatic can make me shed tears. I’m not sure why but, I guess it comes from seeing the comforting gestures of many of my family members.

4. Name every synonym for penis that you can. Phrases or words, in English (foreign words that appear in English usage are ok). Jeeeze… I’m not good at this but, here goes. Cock, dick, schlong, rod, penga, boner, tinkle, peter, ? Sorry, that’s the best I can do.

5. On the day my life changed forever…(finish please) Since my life is not punctuated by highly dramatic events I would have to say it was the day my mother died. She and I were very close, unlike my father at the time. After her death he began to reach out to us kids and now we have a very warm, loving relationship. I’m very sad it took my mother’s death for that actualization.

I asked mademba to interview me since nobody has done it yet. I originally ran across his LJ somewhere and found we had some similar interests. So, here it is… read it here

NPR : Commentary: City Lights Turns 50 City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, a focal point of [U.S.] American alternative culture, marks its 50th anniversary on June 8. City Lights was founded in 1953 by Beat movement icon Lawrence Ferlinghetti, now Poet Laureate of San Francisco, and Peter D. Martin. The store’s regulars included Jack Kerouac, author of the novel On the Road, and poet Allen Ginsberg.

City Lights helped publish Ginsberg’s landmark 1956 poem “Howl,” then successfully defended the controversial work in court, establishing new guidelines regarding freedom of speech.

I used to browse and shop there when I lived in the City. 🙂

“Lookism: The Ugly Truth — In a series of hidden camera experiments, John Stossel and 20/20 put the adage, “looks aren’t everything” to the test. Will a less attractive woman raise more for charity than a knockout? Will a woman choose a short man over a tall man for a date? The results aren’t too pretty for the less attractive — or the short.” • Quiz: How Much Do Looks Matter?

Your Brain Usage Profile

Auditory : 29%
Visual : 70%
Left : 43%
Right : 56%

Onajide, you possess an interesting balance of hemispheric and sensory characteristics, with a slight right-brain dominance and a slight preference for visual processing.

Since neither of these is completely centered, you lack the indecision and second-guessing associated with other patterns. You have a distinct preference for creativity and intuition with seemingly sufficient verbal skills to be able to translate in any meaningful way to yourself and others.

You tend to see things in “wholes” without surrendering the ability to attend to details. You can give them sufficient notice to be able to utitlize and incorporate them as part of an overall pattern.

In the same way, while you are active and process information simultaneously, you demonstrate a capacity for sequencing as well as reflection which allows for some “inner dialogue.”

All in all, you are likely to be quite content with yourself and your style although at times it will not necessarily be appreciated by others. You have sufficient confidence to not second-guess yourself, but rather to use your critical faculties in a way that enhances, rather than limits, your creativity.

You can learn in either mode although far more efficiently within the visual mode. It is likely that in listening to conversations or lecture materials you simultaneously translate into pictures which enhance and elaborate on the meaning.

It is most likely that you will gravitate towards those endeavors which are predominantly visual but include some logic or structuring. You may either work particularly hard at cultivating your auditory skills or risk “missing out” on being able to efficiently process what you learn. Your own intuitive skills will at times interfere with your capacity to listen to others, which is something else you may need to take into account.

Finally arrived back home tonight from a long trip. My Uncle’s death was one that could have been avoided as he had prostate cancer and refused to get checked up in time. In the past year his body just withered away. He was a strapping man in his younger days even splitting a guys finger during a baseball game with a 3rd base throw to 1st. The power of a man like few others. Anyway, PLEASE, take the time to get a check up everyone reading this!

I was in Cincy and wished I could have contacted Chris Glass but I was with my many relatives. My father insisted on us driving to Phila. to see my sister who I haven’t seen in over 20 yrs! I wasn’t so sure that this trip was right but it turned out okay. My sister has been running from ‘something’ since our mother died back in 1973. Sis won’t slow down but I think it’s easier that way to not have time to reflect. Makes not difference that she went into hiding, got involved with selling drugs, got involved with woman-beating-men, refused to talk to her brothers. I still love her. I love my brother too. It really hit me when my Uncle died that my father and his siblings were close and if I died my brother and sister would probably hear from some distant phone call (thinking after the death of my father). Terrible thoughts… I’ve given up trying to maintain contact and communication with them. At our ages (over 50) it is a sad state of affairs.

mademba

106%













danlmarmot

95%













baraksf

80%













telemann

76%













reddevilbear

76%













querrelle

72%













vwaffle

69%













cpratt

65%













jawnbc

58%













bigredpaul

54%













ultrabithorax

35%









How compatible with me are YOU?

UPDATED: Sun., 1 June, 2003; Tue., 3 June, 2003 (after adding querrelle to my friends list) Jawn, you just have to climb over somebody to get higher; I know can do that. 🙂
Tim so high on my initial list? That’s interesting. 🙂

Before anything else my Uncle died yesterday morning. He had been ill for the past year but when I last talked to him his spirit seemed as usual, full of energy and life, always a smile on his face and in his voice. He will be missed deeply by family, friends, and loved ones. He looked like Kwame Nkrumah. How’s that for a handsome man!

1. Your Live Journal “user name” & what it means: art_thirst=art3st, a combination of art and the sound of thirst. Kinda difficult for people to remember… however, water is important to me. “Still waters run deep.”

2. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest) how well does your Live Journal represent who you actually are? 7.

3. How much about your life do you post to LJ? About 25%

4. Is there anything you refuse to post about? Yes, personal diatribes, personal attacks, and my life’s intimacies.

5. On a scale of 1-10 how interesting do you think your own journal is to others? I’d like to think it was about 8 but in reality I think it’s more like 3.

6. From who/how did you find out about LJ? I found LJ because of stpbear, but signed up because of jawnbc.

7. Has anyone ever joined LJ because of you? No.

8. What proportion of your posts are friends only? Zero… if it’s that private, it’s email.

9. What do you like about LJ the most? Meeting the friends of friends and the interesting things that come from hopping from friend to friend to friend.

10. How often do you respond to/comment on other peoples’ journals? Actually, more often that I thought I would but, mostly when I feel I have something interesting to share.

11. Do you prefer to write in your journal, read other journals? Both… call me versatile, using the words of jawnbc.

12. Have you ever had something mean said to you or been stalked, harassed, or got into an argument/flame war on LJ (or did it to someone else)? No, although somebody said something that I thought was uncalled for so I deleted my post from their journal and moved on.

13. Have you ever banned someone from your journal? No.

14. Who are your favorite LJ friend(s) and tell me something about them? Well, because jawnbc invited me here I read his journal as much as I would my own. I really like reading his entries, intelligent yet multilingual and makes a nice sound in my mind.

15. How many of your LJ friends have you actually met? None. However, I’ve met many of my IRC friends.

16. Of all of the people on LJ you know of, who is the most like you? No one that I know of.