DISQUS

congrats again, and i completely support you on the weight loss effort, mainly because you aren't doing some wacky diet but trying to make lifestyle changes. (don't scowl at me) but I promise i am a weak of bad meals away from swinging back into bad habits. one of my favorite articles about weight loss was "think like a thin person" and thin people think like weight watchers (though i've never done it myself). sure i can have this birthday cake at work, but that means less dinner or cutting out my afternoon snack. so when latonya wrote "no dinner tonight" i totally related because i've done it.

also, walking is apparently the hot new "ish," particularly with helping get rid of the belly, which is very difficult, and especially lower abdomen!! so even on days i don't work out, i try to get a 30 min. walk around the neighborhood. it's good for my inner peace, too!

so ROCK ON, babe!!!

"their good came to them." I apologize if I wasn't clear who won. I felt the bent of the article suggested that, but I shouldn't have guessed anyone who read it would already know or that they would pick it up. I've made an adjustment. Thank you.

i don't think it matters whether the music can be called "good" or not. i don't think it matters if a consumer thinks the "buying experience" is enticing or enjoyable. i don't think it matters that a generation may think it's ok. for me, the bottom line is, is the practice of taking someone else's work and using it without giving credit or compensation a practice that i would like to see more of in the world?

a stunning achievement

Travis, I think you are absolutely right about the "whys" of how the music industry has changed and the music companies have fallen behind.

However, there are two sentences I would like to address:
"People will buy music legally when its produced right, marketed right and the consumer kept in mind, people will respond, just look at Apple and the Ipod."
"The bottom line is that people are not buying music because there is not a lot of good music to buy, and the methods of buying are no longer in the hands of the media kingpins."

If a consumer illegally downloads Rihanna's "Umbrella" they have made the judgment that it is produced and marketed right. And, since Rihanna's "Umbrella" is available on iTunes and numerous other legal, pay sites, that consumer has made the choice to profit him or herself over the rights and entitlement of another.

As to the second, I don't know that I would say people are not buying music because there is not a lot of good music to buy. Whatever music we want on our burned CD, iPod or mp3 player is "good" in our eyes. If we have deemed it "good" that means it has a value to us. If we then seek it out, and we have the choice to download it illegally or purchase it legally, many are choosing to download it illegally even though the market suggests that current pricing and availability meets with the expectations of consumers (see the rampant success of iTunes and Walmart as you mentioned). So there are consumers who are finding music "good," but still foregoing legal, fair methods of obtaining it.

That the methods are no longer in the hands of the kingpins should encourage and relieve the consumer that since he or she has been given more choice and freedom, many, if not ALL, of the arguments for downloading illegally are no longer relevant, and the shift you mention with Madonna, Jay-Z, and the industry as a whole is proof of that.

I am all about changing our thinking and believing in the vision of who we can be. I hear that message loud and clearly from Obama. But, it's not enough to think unity, think hope and think change. There has to be action, and I have not heard a lot about what he is going to actually do. See, if I could just hope the country out of war or economic crisis it would be done. But the thinking has to be followed by action, however incremental, and I don't hear that. OK, so you didn't vote for the war, WE ARE STILL IN IT! I remember being for the war at one point, but many of us were duped. It was based on faulty intelligence, hunger for justice, and an atmosphere of fear. It was hasty, and we are paying the price. But what now? Withdrawal is negligent. We undertook a duty (to borrow from tort law) when we took action and it is in part our responsibility to stick around for the repairs. So please, OB, help me help you by telling me how it's going to be different Day One. Don't offer healthcare without mandates so I still have to pay for those who didn't "opt in" until they experience some disaster. And please tell me you're going to do something for gays other than parade around with Donnie McClurkin. I mean really, WTH? Is that "unity?"

Thanks for the debate. Very insightful. We need to be prepared for Republicans to have a field day with Rezco and his relative inexperience. And, please tell me the "present" voting thing isn't true. That's like not going to vote in the general election then complaining about whose elected.

Asha a lot of commentators have mentioned that this is more likely a lifetime achievement-type recognition. I didn't see the movie so I couldn't say. I do remember that Judi Dench won a supporting actor Oscar for being in Shakespeare in Love for only 8 minutes. So it wouldn't be the first time someone was honored for a brief time in a movie. I'm with you, though, I'm glad she got it either way! On to the Oscars ...

well said!

anytime i have needed medication it has been helpful to know my medication history. know your allergies, know what medications and side effects you have experienced before. i believe showing that you are knowledgeable about the process puts doctors at ease when it comes to prescribing narcotics and other potentially abused and addictive medications.

can't wait to read more.

i'm all for the new switch. don't love the results page (not as readable in my opinion), but worth it. small price for big change.

Toni, I must clarify. I did not offer an opinion on "This Christmas." In fact, I specifically disclaimed any knowledge of the actual representations. Like you, however, I did make a pre-judgment based on the trailer.

I also made no specific mention of positive v. negative images in that film, though I alluded to what I perceive as negative ones in Soul Plane and Trois.

We do not disagree that more positive images of black families, professionals, or what have you are good, appropriate and desirable. Maybe one point wasn't clear, though, which is I think there should be a constant push for more nuanced depictions of our community in movies (music, literature and any art). What I am concerned about is assembly line scripts and movies. We already have it in music and we can see what "good" that has done.

I am also not as concerned about mass appeal as has been suggested. What I am concerned about is our movies being dismissed critically because NOT ONLY do they lack mass appeal, but they do little more than pander to undiscriminating tastes.

AMEN! We have to see the link between increased consumerism, increased violence, increased rates of STDs (esp. among our people), increased divorce rates, more international aggression, civil rights infringements and a breakdown of the fabric of love, community, and Oneness. Please, someone, come remind us.

... and that's a lot to be thankful for!!! Happy Thanksgiving!!

interesting. but, i disagree. what prosperity preachers are selling is a new idea. for so long we were taught we were unworthy and barely deserving of God's goodness. Constant and perpetual sinners who only by the Grace of God are spared utter damnation and suffering. The new "teaching" represents a paradigmatic shift in the approach and reading of scripture. If we think victimization we will live victimization. if we think "barely get by" we will live barely get by. If we think and do God's work and his abundance, that is what we will live. No, it doesn't have to mean a Bentley. But, what it will mean is we have a recognition that God is a God of abundance and not lack. Meaning there is enough for everyone. I don't have to begrudge Creflo his Bentley or Willie Gary his private jets. Why? Because as long as I focus on the Kingdom, and not somebody else, I will have the abundance due me. That may translate in many different ways, but I can be at peace knowing it is coming.

The world cannot define bounty for me. Scripture already has. Food, clothing, desires - all these things will be added unto me, it's already been written. So that's why I am not surprised when I see it "added unto" those who in thought, word and deed I see doing Kingdom work. I just don't see why that can't be an outward example of God's light?

yay for live trees. that add to the atmosphere and the spirit of the season, I think, too. great info!!!

few things. Martin, thanks for that info - mucho informative. and UMO, you touched on something critical for me: perception. That is the precise reason i mention us evaluating our feelings about money.

that someone perceives a wealthy minister as distasteful, extravagant, etc, is that person's issue. no one else. that perception reveals what they feel about money and the abundance of it. David was a King of a mighty empire. And, with his wealth was able to invite others to the table. Eddie Long reportedly helped several members of his congregation open small businesses with help from his own money and contacts in the community. He has ministered and done charity work in Africa. One day I plan on having a lot of money,too, so that I an provide comfortably and easily for my family, and so I can do even more in my communities.

And in terms of the secular world, what is a minister to do? The "secular" world doesn't have a problem with it's athletes, CEOs, Senators, and celebrities making money. But, they have a problem with ministers, who, we assume, are children of and have inherited the Kingdom of God enjoying what it means to live God's glory? For me that again highlights perception. Why can't a man or woman of God be wealthy? In order to be credible a minister then has to dumb-down? I think it a misperception that anyone should have to do that (see Marianne Williamson, "Our Greatest Fear," "Your playing small does not serve the world.") or that experiencing abundance and victory has to go to committee and be tailored to fit what someone else thinks or perceives a man of God's life should look like.

Down in the Delta is awesome (Ndegeocello, Janet Jackson, Luther, Sounds of Blackness, Chaka Khan).

I agree with you there are more things at play than just the need for cultural/psychological change. There are still institutional impediments to not just having the opportunity "every one else has" but the capacity. So, it's no coincidence the number of articles that appear here and similar places about financial planning, independence and security. That's another relatively new area for us in terms of savvy and strategy.

See, we don't yet have the history of family estates nor legacies, generations and broad spectra of professionals in our family lines. Such that when one of us enters law school or business school, we have tens of family members who have done it before. I think that leaves us at a disadvantage just on the preparedness level. I think that's when we'll be truly equal and I think that's why social programs and things like affirmative action can't yet end. Sure access and opportunity appear equal, but there is a foundation that is missing.

In my opinion, that's missing in the example of the housing market you gave. And, we will probably be disproportionately affected by this crisis, too. So yes, something else is going on. But, that's where my angels comment came down. Politicians nor our government are going to shift on a dime to doing more responsible, fair things for this, or any other disadvantaged community. This society is still "us/them." And, that's what we have to step out of. For me, that's the beginning. If we remain victims of the system, victims of the market, victims at the hands of our own family or community, it doesn't change the fact that a victim mentality tends to wait and blame. We have to latch on to something else. It is proven: blaming and waiting doesn't and hasn't worked. It's time for something different. And, the only way I see to do something right now to change our outlooks on the future and ourselves is to change the mind. Change the way we think.

See, we're not going to have better market participants until we have more educated ones. We are not going to have more educated ones until we have the structure and discipline of going to school. We aren't going to have the structure and discipline of going to school until we have willing, giving and present parents. We can't have present parents until they aren't immersed in street violence, absent, or imprisoned. We aren't going to reduce those things that render these parents incapacitated until we disincentivize a consumer culture, blind acceptance of the way capitalism keeps us separated, gangsta culture, and the status quo. We can't change what is until we change ourselves and how we approach what "is."

I recognize that this argument still may seem not to address the more practical realities. But, it's what I believe. I have seen the change in myself that comes from recognizing that there is no reality, only how I perceive reality which gives me the power to shape it. That's daring, I think. Some call it crazy. I call it the way. See public policy is outside of me. I can't affect public policy the way we might like to (legislation) because I can't change all "the public" involved at any one time. I can only change me. And, I can only hope that small acts and being an example will shape the public policy of those around me, and they start changing their mindset and behavior, and they start doing what they can to improve our communities, and all us changed people start finding themselves in the position of power and raising families that prove what we already know: we are powerful beyond measure, and fully capable of realizing our greatest potential right now.

Ok, I'll do my best. Interestingly, I work in dependency court and very often I see what could be said to be some of the effects of what Cosby and Poussiant say is going on. 80-90% of the parents in Dependency court here in Miami are black even though blacks make up only 10-15% of the population. Admittedly, there are several reasons for this, all of which aren't related to lack of education, motivation or things of the like. Even with that said, 60-70% of the mothers in these cases either aren't sure who the fathers are or the fathers do not show up. 95% of the families we see, black or not, tend to be poor, poorly educated, on some form disability, and/or have a mental and substance abuse problems. These are everyday facts for me. In that regard I don't know if I have to imagine something of that magnitude. I think I live that magnitude everyday.

So what is the solution? Well, I live by the notion that the spirit of hope is that I can't do everything, but I can do something. Part of that something is choosing a job like this, where my role is to represent the best interests of children in these cases. Alongside other professionals in court, we make sure they get in early headstart, that developmental delays are addressed, that they see dentists and doctors regularly, that if they are victims of sexual, physical or mental abuse that they see therapists as soon as that is appropriate. Parents are placed in evidence-based parenting, anger management and substance abuse programs. They, too, see therapists and often end up in family therapy. They sometimes go to dyadic and play therapy to teach them healthy interactions and tools for raising and supporting their children. We can suggest places that will help with housing, job training and attaining everyday goods. These are things that can change their mindsets.

I have heard it said that the mind is the new frontier. Controlling the mind and realizing how our thoughts are related to what we experience as reality is of critical importance. We can no longer be victims. And, those of us who have been given the opportunity, resources and capability to step outside that victim mentality I think have a responsibility to help those who may, understandably, find that difficult.

This does not require everyone to quit their current job and do social services. But, it does require us to start doing things differently. A new definition of insanity I often hear is doing things the same way over ad over and expecting a different result. I think Cosby and Poussaint do us a great service just by suggesting we take a second look and try something different.

Now, one of my co-workers constantly gets on me about this whole "The Secret," law of mind action pseudo-psychic, psychobabble. And, I understand why. It's easy for me with my two degrees, decent job and free time to explore some of these loftier notions of existence. I don't have mouths to feed, fear violence in my neighborhood (too much), nor have I lived in the cyclic pattern of socio-economic distress that can result from growing up poor and poorly educated. But, I can do small things, like outreach with my New Thought (read: law of Mind Action-believing, Metaphysical Christianity) church. I can be a Big Brother with the specific intention of giving one little boy a bigger vision of what his life can be. This is one of the reasons I LOVE prosperity preachers. Because they bring a message of abundance and victory, not victimhood and indesert. Today is about changing visions. Shaping minds. Revising stories. Our story does not have to be about defeat, but how we continually rise to the challenge of injustice and lack. And, we do it by building up ourselves. We should call each other victors instead of niggers. I dare us to try that for a while.

So these, I find, are the solutions I can offer. Day by day things. Speak blessings and victory into the lives of children. As often as I get when one of the kids in my cases comes to court I tell them how proud I am of them and how I believe in them. We can do that in the grocery store with a child we've never seen before or will again. Get involved. Get on the Foster Care Review panel in your neighborhood. Find a way to be an advocate for just one black child or one struggling parent. If you can, work for a social services agency. Be a teacher. I tell you, when you do those small things that you know one day, even if just incrementally, will have the long-term effect of improving the lives of just one person, hope continues to spring eternal. That's where I live. That's where I need to live. In a place that believes that just I, even me, have the power, day to day, to help bring about change in this world. That takes thought and a choice to believe in the best possible outcome and I have to take that message "out there" where it's not always believed.

Neither the solution nor the revolution will be flying down on wings of angels. We are the angels.

this is too much work. can someone post about how to win the lottery? just kidding. It's encouraging. A kick in the pants. VERY necessary.

Yes he was vile and inappropriate, that doesn't mean he shouldn't be able to do what he loves or earn a living anymore. To say so would mean he is not able or allowed to be remorseful or to change. If I got fired for all the bad stuff I've done or said I'd never be able to get a job again.

Coldplay (check out the song and video for "The Scientist"), Regina Spektor (listen to the song "Fidelity"), JuniorSenior, and for just pure fun, Kylie Minogue!

keep 'em coming! that's hot and we can use a few more chuckles.

If you have, or want to have children, how do you/would you treat them? If they do their best to pursue peace, learn, be tolerant, loving and giving, that gives you, as a parent, glory. And, if you have anything, let alone a Kingdom, wouldn't you want to give it all to that child who honors your word and gives to those less fortunate than he? Wouldn't you want to give your child more so they could give more? When your child rested, wouldn't you want him to have the finest sheets? When she drives, a comfortable car? When she eats a savory meal? When he goes out, dressed in a manner that brings respect and honor to your parentage? We are children of God. He has set a place for us at His table should we accept it. Enjoy! Dine! Scripture says, "seek ye first His kingdom and righteousness and all these things will be added unto you." All these things refer to the creature comforts. If we handle the righteousness, we can rest assured He'll handle the things, and do so abundantly.