InkogNegro 2.0

The first thing I observed was silence.

Deafening silence.

I have never been deluded into not acknowledging that I have a fear of silence. I have always been of the belief that background noise settles my mind and focuses it, first on whatever I am listening to and then onto whatever else I deem important enough to think about. I grew up in a home that had something on at all times. My mother had either a TV or a radio on wherever she was. After thinking about it, I realize that this was something I took from her.

I didn’t struggle with disconnecting from Television very much at all. Of all the things that I was giving up, I found television to be the one item that I was LEAST bothered about. My most enjoyable experience of the day was replacing Random TV Viewing with a morning perusal of my local Newspaper, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (a McClatchy owned Newspaper, a fact I will pontificate on at a later date). Granted, there are several Documentaries that I have been meaning to watch along with my daily diet of talking head blather, but I know very well what a timesuck television can be. I will add that the primary reason that I am starting this project so much earlier than my classmates (it is due to be turned in on Tuesday, March 24, 2009) is because I knew that I didn’t want to deal with my lack of television overlapping with any meaningful part of March Madness, the name used to denote collegiate athletic conference championships and the NCAA Basketball tournament. While I will miss a few of the minor conference championship games, I will end my Media Blackout just in time for the Big East Conference Championship, which is where my favorite team growing up, the University of Pittsburgh Panthers, will play for back-to-back conference championships. Everything else that I find myself watching can be delayed or just plain old forgotten about. I didn’t even bother to adjust my DVR to see if there was anything I needed to record while I was away.

Unplugging from the Internet will be far more difficult (I say as I blog using a technical loophole as we speak)

I was slightly late to the phenomenon of the Internet, Joining AOL on Christmas Eve, 1997. It wasn’t until 1999 that I began to use the Internet for something other than chatting with other people and exchanging emails. As broadband connectivity became available, I found the internet becoming a more and more functional part of my life. Now, There are very few parts of my life that aren’t impacted by the internet, chief among them, my online banking and billpaying.

While I have long since soured on the radio, as someone who finds himself driving an average of 1500 to 2000 miles a month, it is an invaluable source of background noise. Whether it is the entertainment masquerading as information that is Talk radio, or the information masquerading as entertainment that is public radio, or the useful idiocy of sports-talk radio, It can always feed my never ending yearn for background noise in the event My ipod and my FM modulator are not playing nicely in the car. Easily the hardest part of this experiment will be avoiding the instinctive reach for the radio dial the instant the engine roars (or in the case of MY little four cylinder, putt-putts) its approval of the Starter. Driving in silence is going to be the most painful part of this experience, by far.

So, after several months of casually tinkering with Twitter, I have gone all in.

I spent this weekend twittering frequently and just as I figured, it’s highly addictive.

Yeah, just what I needed.  something ELSE to keep me from blogging.

Shout out to all the folk I have picked up and met over the past several hours.

Now If you will excuse me, I have Two finals tomorrow and a bunch of Make up work for Wednesday’s final.  Almost done though.

For the many times I’ve fallen
And yet You forgave me, thank You,
Lord, I thank You
For unmerited favor,
And Your brand new mercies
Thank You, how I thank You
For wakin’ me up this morning
For letting me see one more dawning
Thank You, Lord, I thank You,
I thank You, Lord, Oooooh

For life, health, and strength
For food and for shelter,
thank You, Lord, I thank You
If I had ten thousand tongues
It just wouldn’t be enough to say
Thank You, how I thank You
For wakin’ me up this morning
For letting me see one more dawning
Thank You, Lord, I thank You,
I thank You, Lord, Oooooh
For saving my soul, for making me whole
For calming my fears, for wiping my tears
And letting me know that I’m not alone
For wakin’ me up this morning
For letting me see one more dawning
Thank You, I thank You, Lord

I have been tossing around a lot of possibilities as to how to bust back into this piece. We are cracking open the final can of whoopass on one amazing year.

But before we can wrap up 2008, we have to actually finish it.

Instead I want to take this weekend of Thanksgiving to ponder the wonders of gratitude. When I’m not getting my disgruntled former baptist on Me and the Most High are quite tight.  Of Course, it’s when I get out of pocket and forget my foundation that I tend to spiral out of control.

Nothing like a week devoted to giving thanks to get a handle on how blessed I have been this year.

Last year I spent getting my inner self together and growing up in preparation for the challenges I have faced this year.

In this year I have managed to finally turn the corner on a number of my personal issues.  I was able to tighten up my relationship with my sons and my wife and my ex-wife.  I watched my mother grow as a college student and complete her Associate’s degree.  I was so inspired by her that I woke up one day and went and enrolled my behind in a full load of classes.

Then two lovely lil kids end up on my doorstep and I am thrust into informal Foster parenting.

Mrs. Ink is wrapping up the bow on her Master’s Degree, Im getting my 38 year-old freshman and we are both playing Mr. Drummond to Arnoldette and Willis Gandara.

And here we are…One week to go in this semester and I was able to swing a small vacation to the Mountains with The Mrs.

Meanwhile the whole time I was listening to and watching news reports on the radio and tv about how bad things are for people all over the world.

Better to me than I have been to myself, I tell ya.

Now lets get back to church, shall we?

Yeah, I’ve been gone a minute.

I was breaking down my section last night and getting ready to go home when I realized that my Blog vacation coincided with my return to Okaplayer. (shout out to OKP, mind you)

That ain’t right, so I came to apologize for my absence.  (not like anyone around here misses me, ya non commenting mofos) and announce that at the midway point of semester one, I am maintaining my goal of 3.5 to 3.7.

I am going to have to finish strong though…

And I am going to have to up my blogging game, because I realize now that i NEED this in my life to maintain a sort of balance.

I know a Black woman who is completely infatuated with Sarah Palin.  Personally.

(pauses to let that sink in)

I know her personally.

I used to know her really well.   Today?  not so much.

Can’t speak  on this topic anymore…but I FULLY INTEND To get back to this.

Yes, I stopped what I was doing JUST to type that sentence.

ownwanna – from the lazily articulated “I don’t wanna”

Post on what I remember about 911?  ownwanna.

Tuesday Morning Quarterbacking the NFC North and AFC North? ownwanna

Post on Is Obama doing the right thing?  ownwanna.

Post on the new children in my life?  ownwanna.

The world is getting smaller, things are getting more and more pivotal and I am accumulating more and more thoughts and ideas, so much so that I have started my own site and purchased the domain to host this one.

But at the end of the day, after 16 credithours of classes, 50 hours at work, fatherhood, husbandry, and the normal bumps and bruises that come with having a plate that full ownwanna do none of that.

It is all I can do to finish this post.

I am tired, folk.

I’ll be back to try again soon.

I think it is vital, especially given the tumultuous times we are in
as a community(despite Gov. Plain’s  (sp) assertion that communities
apparently don’t need organizing anymore) and as a nation, that we
never lose sight on acknowledging that behind all these dynamic blogs
and movements are real people with real lives.

(Cross posted from my Afrospear Google Group)

Because the vast majority of us conduct our online activism on a
volunteer basis, on top of everything else that we do, “real Life” has
a tendency to encroach upon our ability to fulfill our passion for
activism and community uplift.  (a fact that makes Gov. Plain’s
cutdown even more infuriating).

On August 24, 2008 I flew my sons back to Maryland to accompany them
to their first day of school.in Fifth and first grade.  I then flew
back to Texas, for MY first day of school in 15 years as a freshman at
a junior college taking a full load while continuing to work full-time
plus at my job at what I affectionately call the plantation.

Wednesday Night, my wife and I found ourselves in custody of two young
children who we didn’t even know 5 months ago, probably permanently.
They weren’t literally dropped on my stoop, because that would have
required the minimum effort of actually BRINGING them to my house.

To say the least, it has been a chaotic two and a half weeks.  Just as
it was getting truly hectic and I thought I was drowning…

A huge dose of help arrived from a member of this collective and
inspiration from another blogger who couldn’t have posted an item to
me directly, but it seemed to be done just for me.

Those two incidents, one done purposefully, one encountered by chance,
made my day and have re-energized me in all phases of my busy life.

So, on this Saturday, take a moment to look around you and offer
support and encouragement to someone around you.  This action is at
the core of our message in this group and will ultimately make the
group better.

Peace and Love,

The Ink.

(Cross-posted @ the AfroSpear Google Group)

PS…the movie was rather Meh.  This part here…was great.

You have been invited to join Inkognegro’s Private Group in Yahoo! Sports Pro Football Pick’em.
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Come join the fun..even if you miss tonight’s game….you can still get in by 1pm ET on Sunday.

I wonder how some of y’all do it.

I got idols role models in this game who bring it on the regular,  Posting regularly with insights and genius day after day.

Between my sons and the plantation and the wife, not to mention my own focus issues, I do well to get one or two real posts out a week.

It isn’t that I don’t have the time, necessarily.

but by the time I get my reading and my usual online banking and bill paying done, I am way past the time regular folk should be online.

The wife says to me that I am addicted and that something needs to change.

I don’t know that I need to start hitting meetings or anything like but something is going to have to give.

The wife has decided that I spend every non working waking hour online.

Of course, this is an exaggeration, but even Barack Obama will tell you that life is much more about what people THINK is than what actually is.

So, watch with amazement while I try to be online less and get more done online.

*sucks teeth and logs off*

As a nod to the serialized nature of this particular topic.

Previously on Inkognegro 1.75

Aside from that whole foolishness with Pastor Manning, Last night marked my most replied to thread.

In light of the intelligent answers and commentss I recieved, I thought a pulic response was in order.

As to the claim that we should clap for Dr. Fryer because he is trying hard:

If Dr. Fryer was 8, I might could roll with that.

Now while my wife is actively contemplating his death and dismemberment, I just said that the brother was off target.  I am not even saying he should pack up his ish and bounce.  I am merely offering criticism on his thesis.

As for this veiled notion that the whole community is sitting idly by watching Roland Fryer get his Don Quixote on is just nonsense.

There are MANY nameless and faceless academics out there trying to eliminate the achievement gap both privately and publicly.

One of them lives in my house.

This notion that pervades that all actions should be applauded is wackness of the most pure form.

All actions should be acknowledged and recognized.

Would it be better if I think Dr. Fryer is off track and I decide to wait until it doesn’t work and then rush in and say:

I knew it wouldn’t work all along.

(this here is typical negro behavior, btw.)

I merely chose to put out a letter to Dr. Fryer suggesting that he might be off track.

——–

Those of you who were less critical of Dr. Fryer said things such as the following:

Its no different than a kid getting a new book (like I did) or a special dinner when they bring home a great report card.

It is completely different.

New book = reinforcement of the value of education.  a Chance to make reading a lifestyle.

Nice Dinner = Cultural experience that allows for MORE learning.

Giving a kid money = Giving a kid money

Or how about programs like Upward Bound or College STEP? As a STEP alum, I got a $5,000 stipend every year I was in the program and did what I was supposed to do. I don’t hear anyone hollering about that–and Upward Bound is probably one of the greatest experiences a teenager could have.

I agree wholeheartedly.  Being a teenager is pricey and teenagers are fierce capitalists.  You NEED to show them the money.  But these ain’t teenagers, these are CHILDREN.  Puberty ain’t the time for symbolism and lessons.  THOSE children NEED money and have already developed some SENSE of the value of Education (or else THEY would be on the block somewhere making money).  Comparing the plight of 16 year olds and 8 year olds is like comparing the needs of an ipod and the needs of a transistor radio.  They are sponges and they WILL soak up whatever you give them.  This is your ONE AND ONLY chance to give them a love for learning.   You have to plant that seed before they get old enough to be influenced by other forces.  Paying children of this age only reinforces the very negative forces they will be bombarded with as they grow up.

Let me close by focusing on an issue that I alluded to yesterday.

Dr. Fryer is trying to hot-wire the system.  By paying children straight out, as opposed to giving incentives to teachers or parents he believes he is creating a neat synthesis.

inject money as a motivating factor and watch them fly.  Ok. Fair enough.  But what is REALLY being rewarded?

Acing a standardized test?  woo hoo.  Is THAT the goal here?  Think VERY carefully before you answer that.

I cannot remember the last time my SAT Score was relevant to anything.  Hell, I can barely remember my SAT Score.

It is one thing to deal with the Education Industry using their Standardized Test Fetishes as a guise for determining progress, it is quite another for those of us who have taken as our mission to deliver this newest generation to sip on that koolaid like that shit REALLY matters.  THOSE folk oughta know better.

If you want to save THIS generation,  You need to work them as hard as you love them and be the change you want them to become (Obama, 2008)

Making it rain on them will do little more than get them wet.