What’s Goin’ On

What’s Goin’ On

I just watched a documentary on Marvin Gaye, a man I’ve actually known quite little about for the past few years. I did know that he was extremely talented, attractive and charming. I also knew that he had a drug problem and his father shot him to death.

I didn’t realize that he married Barry Gordy’s sister, Anna Gordy Gaye, who was thirty-nine to his twenty-one years when they did marry. I also didn’t realize that he had an entourage to make M.C. Hammer’s following look considerably sparse, and that same entourage was one of the main causes of his financial demise.

The documentary showed footage of him talking about his life in later years, and the one thing that struck me was the sad and hollow look in his eyes. Here was the man who, at one time, was Motown’s bread and butter, and could mix his oozing sex appeal with social commentary in both his performances and music.

I felt haunted by the look in his eyes. This man, brought up in a religious family, went against the grain to become one of the greatest rhythm and blues singers of all time. He is a legend, yet somehow fell prey to his own sense of limitation. I got the feeling that he was someone who wanted to help others, who cried out against injustice, and was clearly a trailblazer in the music business. He worked overtime to set new standards and assert control over his own destiny, yet seemed unable to rise above his own demons.

The inability to rise above one’s own demons in their various forms is just one aspect of the human condition. Some folks drink too much and abuse substances, others can’t seem to control their anger or tendencies toward violence. It doesn’t matter the vice, since we’re all subject to error. What strikes me as interesting is that struggle that some artists seem unable to manage. It seems that the same creative energy that makes them so remarkable and ingenious is the same energy, on the flip side, that can pave the way to self-destruction. Does their ability to create and invent overwhelm them? Is this world too difficult and too ugly to cope with after experiencing the brilliant visions and ideas they see in their own minds? I wonder. I wonder probably because I’ve seen people close to me, brilliant and highly creative, self-destruct. Very disturbing yet very curious.

On the other hand, there are individuals like Prince. Prince is an absolute genius, and a great businessman all at the same time. He has been extremely adept at protecting himself from exploitation. Prince has maintained a very clear view of reality and has been unafraid to let everyone know when he feels he has been given a raw deal. My comparison of the two artists in no way diminishes my respect for Gaye. I just can’t help but wonder why we lose some of our most brilliant too soon. While I know that each of us follows our own separate path, for better or worse, perhaps we can learn something from both of them and apply it to our own lives.

Chandra Adams
Author
Shades of Retribution
www.AdrolitePress.com
www.ChandraAdams.com
www.NorthBayMediaReview.com

On Racism

On Racism

I just came from watching Freedomland starring Samuel L. Jackson, and Julianne Moore. It was really pretty good. I’ll leave it at that, because this blog entry is not a movie review. I’ll let you go see it for yourself, and maybe we’ll get a chance to talk about it one day.

Anyhow, one of the main themes of the movie is racism. I have been hearing so much about racism in the past couple of weeks, I just don’t know how to process it. Oprah did this show the other day where she had these two families, one ‘black’ and the other ‘white’ dress up to be the opposite. It was most interesting to see the white folks done up as black folks. The mom was the least convincing for me, but the father and the girl were dead on. I guess I have gotten so used to seeing Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence and Marlon and Shawn Wayans dressed up as Caucasians that I wasn’t totally convinced with the white-face makeup.

These days, everybody throws around the term racism. African-Americans are even sometimes labeled as racist. Just so that everyone understands (who’s reading this) what racism is, I’d like to establish some meanings. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, racism is: The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.

Now, let’s compare the term racism with prejudice: An adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts. Let’s also take a look at bias: A preference or an inclination, especially one that inhibits impartial judgment; an unfair act or policy stemming from prejudice. And last, but not least, bigotry: The attitude, state of mind, or behavior characteristic of a bigot; intolerance. And what exactly is a bigot? Bigot: One who is strongly partial to one's own group, religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ.

Are you still with me? Good. To sum it up, racism is a belief, prejudice is based on judgments and opinions in the absence of facts. A bias is a preference, and a bigot is partial to one’s own group and is intolerant of others. I believe in each and every one of our every day lives, we are challenged to rise above our own biases, prejudices, and bigotry. If we encounter a person who is different from us, often we initially rely on what our parents, friends, media and entertainment tell us about that different person. And, if we are fortunate, we take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about that different person and begin regarding that other as a human being worthy of kindness, compassion and mercy, if we haven’t done so already.

I can only speak from a ‘black’ American perspective when I speak of racism. I know that it is something that undermines the sanity of the racist individual as much as it does his or her victim. African-Americans definitely have suffered unaccountably from systematic oppression, but what happens to the heart of the racist? What happens to the person, and I’m not just referring to white people, that look at my dark skin and kinky hair and decide that I’m not worthy of kindness, compassion, mercy, and respect? Many people already feel that they know black people and how they think, act, what they value and how they behave. Television is their guide, and that seems to be enough for them. I am used to people becoming uncomfortable when they cannot easily assign one of many readily available stereotypes to me and my life. I hate it when non-black people tell me that I am ‘articulate’. I hate it even more when some individuals are so disturbed that I am not poor and ignorant that they feel the need to go out of their way to treat me as if I am. Sometimes I take it all in stride, sometimes I want to and do go completely off on folks.

One thing we must all understand is that we all reap what we sow. It may not seem like it to some, but it is true. What goes up, must come down. What you put out comes back to you. One cannot oppress another without poisoning one’s own heart. Nowadays, racism is casually observed, and seemingly accepted as ‘just the way things are’. It’s the topic of talk shows and movies, yet it plays out in the same way every time like a broken record as it has for the past hundred years. And unfortunately, it won’t change until it ceases to be profitable. One man’s pain is another man’s gain. We poke fun at it, get angry at it, throw money at it, go to jail behind it, but as long as it works, it won’t change. People who don’t know their history in this country and don’t take time to examine their reactions toward people who are different tend to cry ‘reverse racism’ and ‘reverse discrimination’. Wouldn’t it indeed be nice if we could just reverse racism and reverse discrimination?

I’ve probably ranted enough, but I want to leave everyone with this. Life is not a zero-sum game, where someone has to give up something for another to have more. Oppressing other people is a lazy man’s game. It requires very little creativity, and lets a few individuals sit back and relax while everyone else suffers. Think about it.

Chandra Adams
Author
Shades of Retribution
www.AdrolitePress.com
www.ChandraAdams.com
www.NorthBayMediaReview.com

Portal to Hell

Portal to Hell

One of the hot items in the news today, most likely sparked by the Oprah show, is that of child predators on the internet. One young man sat on Oprah’s couch today and explained in fairly graphic detail his victimization over the internet. As this youngster gave his account, I could see flashes of innocence lost, pain, and a lingering numbness in his eyes.
The shocking part for most of us, I would presume, was in hearing that many of the people that victimized him were pediatricians, teachers, and others who are constantly exposed to and responsible for our young children in some fashion. The seduction, and subsequent molestation of this young boy was easily achieved through the technology that has helped so many of us thrive in so many ways in our daily lives.
E-mail, Pay Pal, instant messaging and websites are the tools many people use to build online businesses. I am an information-seeker by nature; anytime I want to satisfy my curiosity about anything from jellybeans to the war in Iraq, I can consult Google and find the answers to my most burning questions. I have only had one experience with a web cam. An old college friend of mine convinced me to access his while we chatted and caught up on old times, and sure as the sun shines, he showed me his moon and every other part of his anatomy I wasn’t interested in viewing. Needless to say, our reminiscing ended and I still try to put that most recent shock of my life behind me.
The possibilities of how the internet can be used are endless, but one thing I have said about it and now know for certain: the internet can be the portal to hell.
One never knows what darkness lurks in the hearts of men, but if you were ever curious, just cruise the internet for a little while and I’m sure one can find out more than they ever hoped to know. The prevalence of predators poses a difficult dilemma for parents and children alike. It is so easy to sit back and ask why these parents aren’t monitoring their children’s activities. I honestly don’t believe that any child should be allowed to spend hours in his or her room alone with the door closed because I sincerely doubt that anything productive would be going on inside. On the other hand, with the stiff competition to get one’s child prepared for college, it is important that the child have a firm grasp on technology and its workings. With online encyclopedias, newspapers, and new technologies sprouting up everyday, I can’t imagine a child not understanding how to use the internet at this point in time. The more technologically savvy the child becomes, however, the harder it is to monitor their activities short of looking over his shoulder every second that he is logged in.
The portal to hell is there, beckoning each and every one of us on a daily basis. How do we go about protecting our young children and our impressionable teenagers who don’t have the maturity and emotional resources to resist its call? I think that’s a tough one to answer for many, unless those who allow the internet in their homes understand the exact nature of the beast and are capable of effectively communicating its dangers to their offspring.
I hope that everyone who could tuned in to Oprah’s show and considered how the information presented applies to their own situation. It’s so easy to say, ‘not my child, not in my household’, but that’s usually exactly when it happens. I applaud Ms. Winfrey for finding ways to continually expose child predators on so many levels. Children have the right to be children, to experience innocence, and learn about and learn from technology without being seduced and assaulted. We have to become better gatekeepers and protect those who can’t protect themselves.

Chandra Adams
Author
Shades of Retribution
www.AdrolitePress.com
www.ChandraAdams.com
www.NorthBayMediaReview.com

No Smiles Cheney

No Smiles Cheney

Cheney really scares me. It’s not because of Halliburton, or the fact that he shot a 78 year-old companion while on a quail-killing excursion. It’s not because he’s a part of one of the most questionable administrations to plague the White House in a while, either.
And it’s not because he’s had serious heart trouble himself since 1978. Well, alright, the fact that he scares me has a lot to do with all of these things, but that’s still not exactly it.
The truth is, I get a cold chill that runs from the top of my head and all the way down my back every time I see Dick Cheney on television.
In all these years in the public eye, I have never once seen Dick Cheney smile. It could be that his non-smiling is more noticeable in contrast to the uh, let’s say, boyish grin that George W. Bush always seems to have planted on his face. I dunno. But I’ll tell you, images of Star War’s Anakin as he made his descent to the dark side override my senses every time I see that plain mug of his, void of any real human emotion.
I’m sure that everyone is raking him over the coals today for shooting that poor old guy and giving him a heart attack. I know it was probably an accident, albeit a strange one and one that could have definitely been avoided. But what does it mean when one doesn’t smile, not even for the media?
Let us give him the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps no one ever taught him how to smile, or never defined a smile for him. Maybe, just maybe, he is actually giving us a Cheney-smile as he trails Bush around from building to building, from Air Force One to press conference after press conference. Now that’s a scary thought, isn’t it? Well just to be sure, I looked up the meaning of the word smile in The American Heritage Dictionary. Smile is categorized as follows: A facial expression characterized by an upward curving of the corners of the mouth and indicating pleasure, amusement, or derision. So, I guess that theory didn’t work.
Then, I’ve considered the notion that if I had experienced heart trouble for the past twenty years or so, would I be all smiles? I’m not so sure, so I’ll give him a little credit. But don’t they say that laughter is the best medicine? If it is, and I believe that it is, wouldn’t the virtues of a simple smile be akin to that old saying? I obviously have a lot of questions on the matter. But for the life of me, I just don’t get the no-smiling thing. I understand that he probably feels like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders, and now that he’s being portrayed as an irresponsible, untrustworthy liability to the president, I doubt that we’ll ever see one. And what a shame, because it probably is quite a pretty smile. (I don’t believe that I just wrote that either).
The last consideration to the question of no-smiles is dental health. Is he toting around a few wooden teeth? Or, maybe he has a penchant for gold teeth and has gold fronts, which we all know wouldn’t go over too well with his White House crew.
Although I’m sure the lack of smiles was the last thing on Cheney’s list today, one wonders if all of his troubles began with the absence of them. Smiling, even if it just a show to the world, is a positive affirmation of hope, of good days ahead and good days in the past. If one is having a bad day, when you can find even the smallest thing to smile about, half your battles are over. When I see him walking around numb and lifeless, I feel like the world is full of trouble. Either his demeanor is a reflection of the reality he has created, or a sign that his own world is void of any happiness. If he makes it through this latest media trial, I hope he can go somewhere, take a seat in the sun, and just smile.

Chandra Adams
Author
Shades of Retribution
www.AdrolitePress.com
www.ChandraAdams.com
www.NorthBayMediaReview.com
www.AdrolitePress.Blogspot.com

Do We Still Need Black History Month?

Do We Still Need Black History Month?

I’ve heard that question come up a few times so far this month (and the month is still fairly young). Some feel that it is divisive, that people in America whose ancestors were kidnapped from Africa and enslaved should stop thinking about the past and just move forward like everyone else. Others believe that it is an insult to black people to relegate their rich and diverse history to the shortest month of the year.

I believe that what most people, black, white, yellow, red, or whatever have failed to realize is that so-called black history is American history. The descendants of slaves from Africa are as American as cotton, sugar, rum, sweet potatoes, jazz, rhythm and blues and hip-hop.

I could go on about the numerous inventions and patents contributed by those slave descendants to our modern society. Yes, I could go ahead and maintain a defensive stance about what I see as blatant disrespect for a group of people who were forced to be here and given very little in return.

As far as statistics go, black Americans make up 12 percent of our population. This group of people percentage-wise also represent frighteningly well in the number of people in this country who: have contracted HIV and have AIDS, are victims of homicide, are likely to be incarcerated, and the list goes on, hardly any of it good.

The good news? Black Americans, those descendants of slaves, are still here. Despite the racism, discrimination, and stigmas placed against their skin color, they are still here, and are here to stay. But instead of being praised and supported, often our society continues to treat them as if they don’t belong. If they don’t belong here, then where do they belong?

Black History month is for everyone here in this country, to seize the opportunity to learn more about our precious, yet little known history. Perhaps it should be renamed the Real Deal American History? Maybe that would make it clear that this segment of our rich American history is worthy of being noticed and well recorded in our minds and our hearts. It is difficult to comprehend, understand, and embrace what you do not know or understand. It’s even easier to go ahead and continue to ridicule, discriminate against, and distance one’s self from this highly misunderstood group of people.

As a slave descendant myself, truthfully, I used to feel uncomfortable pledging allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. I just didn’t feel like, in my youth, that ‘black’ Americans were regarded as true Americans. But as I studied my own family history and continued to resolve for myself some of the inconsistencies in what I was taught in school, I realized that I am as about as American as they come. My ancestors came here as slaves, picked cotton, lived among native Americans, were African, native American and European, became sharecroppers, owned land, freed slaves, some migrated from the south, some stayed. My parents, as their parents did, lived, loved, paid taxes, owned land, raised families, and served in the military. My siblings and I carry on their legacy as we also live, love, pay taxes, vote, own land, go to work, run businesses, and generally thrive. As a true-blue, real-deal, red- blooded ‘black’ African-American, my history is American history, which makes it every American’s history. Happy Black History Month!!!

Chandra Adams
Author
Shades of Retribution
www.AdrolitePress.com
www.ChandraAdams.com
www.NorthBayMediaReview.com

Press Release for Mixed Matters

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Chandra Adams
Writer/Publisher
PO Box 2332
Vallejo, CA 94592
(707) 332-8961
(707) 643-1115 (fax)

ADROLITE PRESS LLC LAUNCHES MIXED MATTERS INTERVIEW SERIES

Vallejo, California
February 8, 2006

Adrolite Press, LLC has produced Mixed Matters, an author interview forum via podcast. The interview show, featuring up and coming writers and authors, will be distributed every other week beginning the week of February 5, 2006.

Mixed Matters will feature published poets, writers and authors. Chandra Adams, the author of Shades of Retribution will host the show. Adams states, “We want to provide an opportunity for published authors to share their work and their insights with their audience. Literature is, and always has, been very important to me and I will continue to do my part to promote it.”

Adams published Shades of Retribution in 2004 under Adrolite Press LLC. Since 2004, she has come into contact with several talented authors while promoting her work. Book signings, author discussion panels, workshops, and bookstore appearances are all vital aspects of marketing and promoting, but securing the all-important interview has proven to be far and away the best marketing tool for the writer who wants to get noticed. “Podcasting drew my attention immediately with its potential,” Adams says. “Once I realized that we could provide a platform for authors to share their voices and their work, I knew we had something special.”

Mixed Matters distributed its first podcast on February 7, 2006 featuring Charles Chatmon Jr., a poet and author of The Depths of My Soul and The Voices of South Central. The Chatmon interview is available at http://www.NorthBayMediaReview.com


For Information: http://www.NorthBayMediaReview.com
Contact: Books@AdrolitePress.com
Phone: (707) 332-8961

Please check out my other blog

I've decided to move my ongoing blog to a new address. To view my posts from the past, visit www.adrolitepress.blogspot.com, where I've added my interview show, Mixed Matters, which is an audio blog.

Chandra Adams
Author
Shades of Retribution
www.adrolitepress.com
www.chandraadams.com
www.northbaymediareview.com
www.adrolitepress.blogspot.com

The Year Is Still Young

The Year Is Still Young

Are you taking care of your money? That’s something I ask myself every time I reach into my pocket now. The answer to that question for me is, I am, and I’m getting better at it everyday. But there’s always room for improvement.
I’ll tell you where I’ve improved – I’ve trimmed the fat off my cell phone bill and regular telephone bills. There’s nothing nicer than opening either bill up and paying a fraction of what I used to carelessly dish out. No call waiting on my home phone, and I purchased an answering machine instead of dishing out the seven or eight dollars monthly for voicemail. I would eliminate the phone service at my home period, but I send and receive faxes quite a bit and I have DSL. Plus, I guess I just can’t get used to relying on solely on a cell phone as a means of communication. Now, as for the cell phone, I’ve slashed those minutes like a stalker slashing some poor celebrity’s tires. I have to watch how much I talk, which can be inconvenient and even more costly if I go over my allotted minutes, but I have a smaller cost and less gossiping to show for it.
I stay out of Marshall’s, Ross, the outlet malls, and anywhere I know I could potentially go nuts with the cash. When I think about all of the clothes crammed into my closet, I get a little sick and dizzy when I think about acquiring more and often have to leave the mall as quickly as possible. I drive less (no oil addiction here), eat less, and cut back on cable service. I’m becoming more and more mature financially; yet, some things still need to receive some attention.
I do invest, and have become more creative with it as of late. I realize, though, that it is high time for me to step it up. I mean, I’m not getting any younger here and I’m not sure I can see myself ringing up shower rods and trash bags at Target at seventy years of age. I’m kind of spreading my little pennies here and there between the credit union, this company and that, and a savings account. One thing I’ve been interested in since business school is stock option trading. I learned a lot about it theoretically in my finance classes, but now I’m ready to broaden my horizons and really do some trading. At some point, when I actually can spare fifteen percent of my earnings, I will devote some time to investing aggressively, or identify someone trustworthy who can do it for me. When you work for a company, you invest (or divest, depending on your perspective) a little more than 7% toward social security, and your company matches that amount to total 15% of your earnings that are contributed to social security. Depending on what you believe, that money is available to you upon retirement. To keep up with what I’ll need to retire, I’ll need to invest an entire 15% of my earnings from now until I retire. There are so many ways to do this, and as I learn more, I will do more, and share more. Whatever you or I do, don’t despair. The year is still young, and we can do what we need to do to establish our financial independence.

Chandra Adams
Author
Shades of Retribution
www.AdrolitePress.com
www.ChandraAdams.com
www.NorthBayMediaReview.com

Exercise Your Right of Way

Exercise Your Right of Way

I was driving through San Francisco about a month ago, looking for parking and got caught up on several one-way streets just trying to get where I needed to go. Expecting it, and used to it by now, I just sat back, trying to remember the street I needed to turn on to put me out of my temporary misery. As I drove through one city block and onto another, it struck me that pedestrians just walked out into the street, many without looking.

Now, everyday I read the San Francisco Chronicle online, and every week, it seems, some poor pedestrian has either been struck by, dragged by, or dragged under some vehicle, usually a public transportation vehicle. And, whenever I am a pedestrian in the city, I stay far away from the curb when I’m waiting for the signal to walk, and even when I’m venturing into that crosswalk, I wait to see if anybody is going to come flying around the corner in their automobile. Unlike R. Kelly, I don’t believe I can fly, and I’m not interested in finding out if I can or not. I’m especially careful when on foot because I know how hard it is to see people darting out from the sidewalk in the best of circumstances.

But there they are, many wearing colors that blend into the concrete and the surroundings, just walking out into the street, either on faith, or sheer stupidity. You realize that it doesn’t matter which mind state, right? Because once a moving car takes a chunk out of your behind, there’s no turning back. Had it not been for one man’s hot pink hair, one particular afternoon in the city, my car’s bumper and his uh, bumper if you will, would have merged to become one. I had never seen any body with hot pink hair jump so high, and as much as it frightened us both, I apologized and made sure to keep a closer eye out for folks.

Lawyers in San Francisco must make a killing, I suppose a lot like ny lawyers. These two cities, like many other large ones, are all a-buzz with pedestrians, taxi drivers, bicycle couriers, and traffic, traffic, traffic. Lots of incidents, small and large, are sure to jump off every hour on the hour. Everybody is interested in exercising their right-of-way, and some even take it a step further and just believe that it’s their right-of-way in any and all circumstances. I wouldn’t exactly risk my well being just to get to the other side of the street, but I realize that not everyone thinks that way. So in the meantime, when I’m braving the streets of San Francisco, I’ll have to keep my third eye for jaywalkers peeled.

Chandra Adams
Author
Shades of Retribution
www.AdrolitePress.com
www.ChandraAdams.com
www.NorthBayMediaReview.com