The Arts!: Poetry

So I was supposed to do a literary contest because April is National Poetry Month but I got swept up in doing Black Witch events – which, by the way, did you know Ka-Ra-O-Ke! Is next month on May 5^th? – so here’s what we’re gonna do. I’mma hand pick poetry that have always stuck with me throughout the years.

Let’s start!

A poem that really caught my attention and even got me into doing spoken word poetry was Saul Williams “Om Nia Merican”

om nia merican born of beats and blood
the concert of the sun unplugged, i’m the
om nia merican born of beats and blood
the concert of the sun unplugged

o say can you – 20,000 negro leagues beneath
the sea foamed clouds laced with ink that stains
when rains. makes books of trees at once
upon a dawn’s early light, pawn bishop knight
children of night, may queens take kinds
hereafter, thereafter the trickling sands
demand that our decisions be timely i’m the

om nia merican born of beats and blood
the concert of the sun unplugged, i’m the
om nia merican born of beats and blood
the concert of the sun unplugged, i’m the

offspring of spring reborn, pledged, and
sworn – the risen ash of a flag burned and
torn, i’m the blood of the womb, the risen
tide of the moon, the dark side that the
light cannot hide, i’m the pages of history
read between the lines, the shining truth
behind your symbols and signs, i’m the son
of a minister, love a teacher, my mother
taught me well so i rebel, i’m the bell retolled
yet a story untold, the hidden force behind
a rock that was rolled. i’m the om nia
merican born of beats and blood, the concert
of the sun, unplugged, i’m the om nia
merican born of beats and blood the concert
of the sun unplugged

lift every voice and sing
til earth and heaven ring

There is an audio version but you’re gonna have to look for it but totally worth it.

That’s one of many poems! Another one I really love, the author is unknown and is a folk secular:

“He Paid Me Seven” (Parody)

“Our Fadder, Which are in Heaben!”-
White man owe me leben and pay me seben.
“D’y Kingdom come! D’y Will be done!”-
An’ if I hadn’t tuck dat, I wouldn’ git none.

I believe it was recited by Mos Def for Def Poetry, very well done!

Another piece I find memorable is “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away”. 

What I find so memorable about it is its truth. Nothing can stand the test of time, not even the most famous or the most feared, it all falls to the sands of time until it is nothing but a relic of eras passed.

I’ve always found Wanda Coleman’s super on-point poem, “Wanda Why Aren’t You Dead” astounding.

wanda when are you gonna wear your hair down
wanda. that’s a whore’s name
wanda why ain’t you rich
wanda you know no man in his right mind want a
ready-made family
why don’t you lose weight
wanda why are you so angry
how come your feet are so goddamn big
can’t you afford to move out of this hell hole
if i were you were you were you
wanda what is it like being black
i hear you don’t like black men
tell me you’re ac/dc. tell me you’re a nympho. tell me you’re
into chains
wanda i don’t think you really mean that
you’re joking. girl, you crazy
wanda what makes you so angry

wanda i think you need this
wanda you have no humor in you you too serious
wanda i didn’t know i was hurting you
that was an accident
wanda i know what you’re thinking

wanda i don’t think they’ll take that off of you

wanda why are you so angry

i’m sorry i didn’t remember that that that
that that that was so important to you

wanda you’re ALWAYS on the attack

wanda wanda wanda i wonder

why ain’t you dead

As you can see, I’m a big fan of free verse and a really good poet to exemplify that is E.E. Cummings.

“It Is Funny, You Will Be Dead Some Day”

it is funny, you will be dead some day.
By you the mouth hair eyes,and i mean
the unique and nervously obscene

need;it’s funny.  They will all be dead

knead of lustfulhunched deeplytoplay
lips and stare the gross fuzzy-pash
—dead—and the dark gold delicately smash….
grass,and the stars,of my shoulder in stead.

It is a funny,thing.  And you will be

and i and all the days and nights that matter
knocked by sun moon jabbed jerked with ecstasy
….tremble (not knowing how much better

than me will you like the rain’s face and

the rich improbable hands of the Wind

Poetry. It ain’t that boring Shakespeare we’ve all had stuffed down our throats.

There are many different types of poems out there, the types shown here is not all there is. There are many great collections of poetry regardless the era or the background. I highly recommend you go to your local library and ask for various collections.

And that’s The Arts! for this month, huzzah. Next week is Ask Black Witch, send in your submissions using these methods below!

Submit to Ask Black Witch

Ask on the Black Witch Tumblr

Tweet a question to @thisblackwitch

Ask on the Black Witch Fan Page

Remember, karaoke event is on May 5^th! Be there!

BW Series: “How Much Do You Love Me?” The Arts!: Books! Videos! Sites!

Alright, the very final post of the Black Witch series, The Arts! This will have plenty of resources for sex and sexuality starting with books. And check out the end! Black Witch events!

Books
The Wandering Womb: A Cultural History of Outrageous Beliefs about Woman
(Lana Thompson)
Western history has had a long stand about the body of woman and how society should perceive it, which has transformed over time. This book talks about those beliefs from the beginning and, as the title states, how outrageous and perverse they are. From the theory of the uterus and hysteria to medical theory about women and how their bodies work. Lighthearted, filled with imagery and informative, this book is quite something.

 Virgin: The Untouched History
(Hanne Blank)
This book is incredibly awesome. It talks about the history of virginity. Did you know that our concept on virginity is a fairly recent thing? Also, it talks about the hymen, which was not always the determinate of virginity. In addition, there are wild misconceptions about hymens (there is no such thing as “destroying” or breaking/popping a hymen) and this book talks about it in detail the social obsession with virginity, hymens, culture and how the world interacts with the existence of women and their bodies. It’s a really cool book and fantastically written, I highly recommend reading it.

 Body Drama: Real Girls, Real Bodies, Real Issues, Real Answers
(Nancy Amanda Redd)
This book. This book right here? Prepares you for life. Like, life, man. Life. This is the best book I had ever under-appreciated in my liiiiiiiiiiiiiife. Oh my gods. This book is a must read for all girls, especially if you are a minority because this book has it all and most importantly…it’s not a book that’s targeted at White girls with some tokens scattered throughout the pages like the vast majority of them are. It actually reflects girls and all their problems and backgrounds. It talks about more than just puberty but the body and how it works and develop from ashy skin to hair to embarrassing questions such as weird smells and skid marks. It’s a great book to learn that as a girl, your body is normal, no matter what the tv and the magazines and the ads tell you. So many girls, especially girls who aren’t White, have such concerns about their bodies and nowhere to go because welp, most books about girls bodies are directed at White girls pretty much exclusively and go to other sources which can provide misinformation such as “Coca cola is an effective spermicide”, “bleach is useful to stop pregnancies in the morning after”, “pulling out is 100% effective” and “can’t get preggers at all through anal sex”. It is body positive, sex positive, real life positive! It helps with all the body and emotional stuff that girls (and growing women) go through that if it had a section on how to write resumes and pay taxes, all bases would be covered and have to be re-titled Book o’ Life, How to Be Alive.

 The Teenage Guy’s Survival Guide
(Jeremy Daldry)
This book is for the fellas. When I was growing up, I read books for both guys and girls because hey, if I wanted to learn real facts about boys, why not go to the source, right? I’ve discovered that this book is fantastic to explain bodies, puberty and girls to boys. It’s really a great book and I highly recommend it. It talks about masturbation, fantasies and relationships in a humorous, non-complicated way. Just like Body Drama, it tells guys about their bodies in an unabashed way and that it is okay to not match the depictions of masculinity in media today. It’s a great book for boys to learn about themselves, feel secure in who they are as boys and how to separate fact from fiction.

Videos!
These vids are fantastic for those who do want info now, now, now!

Chescaleigh is pretty nifty! I like her videos! She also has several that are on point with the theme of this series!

“How Slut Shaming Becomes Victim Blaming” is a great video for those who are still fuzzy on the first piece of the How Much Do You Love Me series where I talk about slut shaming and how harmful it is.

“Cat Called”, shows why it is never cool to do street harassment (yep, cat calling is one strong and definite example of street harassment. Don’t do it.)

“No Mo’ ‘No Homo’”, which is a fantastic example of why it’s really stupid to say “no homo”.

Although Laci Green can a bit iffy when it comes to discussions of race, she did make this informative video, found through Chescaleigh’s “How Slut Shaming Becomes Victim Blaming” video that does have good explanation of slut shaming and why it is bad for everyone.

And another video titled “You Can’t POP Your Cherry! (Hymen 101)” of hers that provide information on the reality of the hymen and how virginity is depicted around it.

“Our Hidden Culture” goes in depth with street harassment (such as cat calling) and rape culture

And “The Gender Box”! As explained by LinzerDinzer and Miles Jai, cramming yourself inside a gender box is not very fitting.

Sites
This is really great for those who may be impatient, a bit embarrassed to get the books (and that’s fine), lack access to the books or simply want all the information right then and there. Here are some great sites!

Condom Depot – Y’all should have seen this coming. Best safe sex product site I’ve ever come across. They have everything from condoms (with rating system, rolled out visuals, measurements and customer reviews). Ordering is discrete – it won’t say “Condom depot” anywhere on the box so it’s easy to fly under the radar – and very affordable! Also there are articles and other writings on sex health, politics and culture around the world. Even if sex makes you squeamish now, just keep this site in mind for later.

Bedsider – This site is fantastic for learning about different types of birth controls without the scary or inaccurate sex ed. lessons! It comes with insightful videos, interactive guides and even a guide on which birth control to choose from abstinence to IUDs. This is a great site, even for the squeamish and easily squicked out about sex and bodies.

Rape Is Not Your Fault – This is for those who have endured sexual assault and rape, both guys and girls. Remember, no matter what happened, it is not your fault. You didn’t lead them on, it wasn’t what you wore, nothing that you said, you are not at fault at your own demise. It is the rapist fault because they are the rapist, they attacked you, not the other way around, end of story. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying and blaming the wrong person, you, and not the person who committed an act of rape. It does not matter if you know the person, if you trusted them or how close you were to them, they had no right whatsoever to dupe you and then persuade you that you’re the criminal of your own crime when really it was them all along. They are the criminal and they should suffer the repercussions because of it and there is no excuse in the book that should save them from it. Again, it is not your fault. The site is meant to serve Baltimore City but can be used by anyone affected by rape and sexual assault. There is also an “Escape” and “Clear History” bar if you are triggered.

And that’s the finish of How Much Do You Love Me series! Normal posting resumes next week! (I promise, I have everything ready and all) And here are two events where you can hang out with me, Black Witch:

Black Witch Meet and Greet (April 14; Baltimore, MD):Let’s hang out and meet each other! This is the Black Witch Meet and Greet, where you can meet me, fellow readers and have fun. Located at the Washington Monument, (if it rains, we’ll be at the Central Library) this event is open to any and everyone. I’ll also be bringing my BW merch, especially the marimos (they’re so popular!) so if anyone wants to buy but duck the shipping, this is the best way to go. The meet and greet will be on April 14th starting at 1 PM EST and going to 4 PM. Be there! If this one is really successful, there will most likely be a monthly BW meet and greet.

Ka-ra-o-ke! Music Time With Black Witch! (May 5; Baltimore, MD): I love singing and I especially love karaoke! So let’s do some karaoke together! We will gather at Rainbow Music Studio on 2126 Maryland 2 and have a room to sing the night away! Rooms prices are $35/hour for up to six people and increases by $10 when up to six more people show up (Ex: $45/hour for 12, $55/hour for 18, so on and so forth) so depending on how many people come, the price could be really small ($5.83 per person if up to six, $3.75 per person for up to twelve, so on and so forth) or bigger than that so although I will keep everyone updated, be sure to bring at least $15.

The Arts!: Merlin’s Realm, Smooth E, Nikki Lynette, Black Women in Rock

Here is The Arts! that I should have made last month but was too sick to do.

Merlin’s Realm/Red Oak Wands

I have been looking for this wand for years. I first saw it at Mystickal Voyage, a now gone metaphysical shop and it was such a lovely looking wand I had ever seen, and I’m not even really the type that does wand magick. I usually prefer hand magick but these were so stunning, I thought about getting one. Seriously, look at it!

I love its streamline shape from pure wood that still reflects the natural knobbliness of wood but isn’t some usual “rock tied to a stick and sold for a fortune” that is usually spotted practically everywhere wands are sold. And the copper wiring holds down the stone so beautifully. It’s not over done, it helps streamline the energy and the stones picked are fantastically displayed.

I managed to snatch up one of of the few Ironwood wands left (I think there’s only two Ironwood wands left) and the package it is sent in is fantastic. You get a guide on how to take care of the wand, it is shipped very securely and it is simply worth the price, which is quite minimal. If any witch or magick practitioner wants a wand, I highly recommend these guys. Plus, as of this writing, they’re having a sale too on all their wands, including their Ironwoods. Also they have other things besides red oak wands such as staffs, pendants, various styled wands and more!

Website

Smooth E

This comedian has kept me laughing for years with his parody comedies and stand ups. Usually I don’t watch parody music videos because they seem to be nothing but potshots at the original performers and since a lot of pop artists are Black, there are stereotype potshots usually being made, too. What I like about Smooth E is that he puts himself in the parody and avoid the potshot to the original performers. Even when the performers are the subject of his parody (such as “Milli Vanilli”, as posted below), he keeps it clean. That, everyone, is how you perform a good parody. A good comedian should make everyone laugh, not just a select group of people at the expense of another.

One of my favorites is, actually, Milli Vanilli. Again, note how although Milli Vanilli is the main subject of this parody, there are no wicked remarks and low blows and o hai, he managed to seamlessly parody Lil Wayne without touching a can of brown paint. We could still tell it was Lil Wayne through his gait, iconic looks and even voice and it was a mock on only Lil Wayne and the rapper alone, not the fact that he’s Black or anything else that would be making fun of what he is and not who. And the result? A hilarious parody.

I also like his song “Psycho” because it’s so hilarious. A day or so late for Valentine’s but ‘eh, no1curr.

One of his more recent works is with LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem”, renamed to “Baldilocks Anthem”. It’s really well done and funny!

And to finish it off because I have got to show it, “I Can’t Afford It”, it’s hilarious!

Youtube channel
Website
Twitter
Facebook fanpage

Nikki Lynette
I came across her music on Afro-Punk years ago, which does come to show that despite sometimes AP can grate my nerves just a tad, they are very useful in showing a part of Black culture that even Black media wouldn’t touch itself.

The video that struck me most was “The Beautiful People”, which her rendition from Marylin Manson’s song of the same name (which I love).

Now, watching her music vids, though as dynamic as they were, didn’t really pull me in as much as her vids about herself, which were funny, well made and made you learn more about the artist as a person than simply something that talks into mics and such. She actually lets herself become a pictured as a person instead of a product, which is great because it give her the appearance of being hard working and down to earth rather than the usual, “Yo, I’m an artist. All I do is grind. Make ‘dat paper, get that flow, y’know?” which is boring and still constructs the artist as just a product (poorly) instead as the multidimensional person they actually are. Which can enhance the product by allowing such a personal insight.

The series is called “The Other Nikki” and here’s ep. 1

It is incredibly humorous, I recommend watching them all. You’ll probably want to anyways.

Nikki Lynette came from Chicago and, just like me, saw a lot of very problematic things in her life which effected her. I can really connect with that and pretty much convinced me to welp, be in touch with her because huzzah, someone who understands. (Which is how me and my wack social self works: Me hear music → Me like music → Me find out musician is amiable and relateable → Me talk to musician, turns out they’re not a douche and still amiable and relatable → Me goes into “Zomgz, cn we b frandz?!” mode. Yep.) A really good vid she did was “Live and Let Die”

If you would like to listen to her music, go to her website where there are mixtapes, more videos and also she is coming out with a new album titled “Respect My Disrespect”. Plus she writes neat articles for RedEye, which are really cool. I really like the piece she recently wrote about her experience going to the Grammys for the first time and how they really work from voting to the live show.

Website
Twitter: @nikkilynette
FB fan page
Youtube

What Are You Doing Here? Black Women in Metal

I’m late, I know, but I still want to post this neato book up for those who don’t know about it. What Are You Doing Here? is a book written by Laina Dawes about Black women in Metal.

This is the cover, which is really neat and I think that’s Alexis from Straight Line Stitch.

Ms. Dawes expresses what the book is about perfectly:

“I wanted to find other black women like me: metal, hardcore, and punk fans and musicians that were rabid about the music and culture and adamant about asserting their rightful place as black women within those scenes. I wanted to find other women who put aside the cultural baggage that dictates that we must listen to certain musical styles, and simply enjoy the music that influenced us, not just as black women, but as individuals who grew up in an era when, thanks to technology, a large variety of music is accessible and available to everyone. I found many black women and have shared their stories, but I also realize there is still a lot of work to be done.”

The foreword is penned by Skin of Skunk Anansie and I highly recommend everyone get themselves a copy. Buy from Bazillion Points and you’ll get a signed copy with a neat little button to come with your book.

Website/Store
Twitter: @lainad

And that’s all for The Arts! for this month and next week is Ask Black Witch. Please send me your questions now! Remember: good questions are appreciated, bad questions are eviscerated!

Also, March is the start of a new Black Witch month long series. It was a tie between the subject of mental illness, creativity and society and sex and sexuality but I feel its best the mental illness subject will be next year. More on this next week, just send in your questions!

The Arts!: KRS-One X Lupe Fiasco Christmas Battle, Rolling Jubilee, EddsWorld

It’s the holidays! Huzzah, happy Yule! Buy stuff from the BW Gift Shoppe (Use the 25% coupon: ThankYou25)!  Let’s get into it!

Christmas Battle: KRS-One x Lupe Fiasco

Too cute! Found this on Mike Shinoda’s blog and now played it since BW has begun!

W00t!

And here’s some omake: DMX singing “Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer”. I was waiting for one of these.

Rolling Jubilee

Being in debt sucks. Occupy has adopted a new strategy about this: buy up the debt and abolish it! Right now they have scratched off medical debts, credit card debts (I wonder when they’ll get to student debt) and decided to make many seasons bright for countless Americans. Please support them in their endeavors as they wipe countless slates clean.

Rolling Jubilee

Strike Debt

EddsWorld

I have watched Eddworld for years, it’s a fantastic series! It’s truly a shame that the show’s creator, Edd Gould, has passed away due to leukemia. The last short he made was Space Case but he couldn’t complete part 2 fully due to his passing but his friends pulled it through

I have many personal favorites. I really liked “Matt Sucks”

They also make film shorts. The one I like most is “Ambulance”

Subcribe to EddsWorld, fill your world with teh happy.

And that’s Black Witch for this week. Next week is Ask Black Witch so send in your questions! Tweet them, email them, use the submission form, ask on Tumblr, just get them in! And remember, good questions are appreciated, bad questions are eviscerated. Get em in!

The Arts!: Bea Gaddy, Straight Line Stitch, Zen Writer

Bea Gaddy
Every year I feature Bea Gaddy because she is such a great woman and around this time of year is the annual Thanksgiving dinner for the homeless and poor which she started.

Although known as the Mother Teresa of Baltimore, Bea Gaddy is originally from Wake Forest, North Carolina. Born in 1933, she and her family suffered from the strains of the Great Depression and domestic violence. Her alcoholic father would toss her and her brother out of the house consistently, leaving them to scrounge for food in garbage bins behind various grocery stores, and her mother lived in fear of being beaten.

Bea Gaddy couldn’t really escape her bleak reality until she married her first husband simply so she could leave home. Gaddy remarked that he was “good but without means or dreams” and though this man was a way out, it also became a trap for worse living. They moved up to New York City where they lived on welfare and move monthly because they could not make rent payments. Sadly, Gaddy’s husband was killed by an acquaintance and this left her in a further dark situation. Once, she simply abandoned an apartment because she knew the sheriff was going to throw her out and cast her belongings onto the street.

By her mid-twenties, Gaddy had already been married twice and was a single mom to her five kids. She came to Baltimore through finding a longtime friend from North Carolina who lived there. Working countless jobs to keep her children fed, she would come across Bernard Potts, a local attorney and business and wait in his office to warm up in the chilly weather. Potts saw potential in Gaddy and wanted her to finish her high school education so she could get a college degree and do more for herself, which she did. She enrolled at Catonsville Community College taking in mental health classes and finished up with a Bachelors of Arts in Human Services from Antioch University.

In the 1980s, Bea Gaddy used the pain she endured all her life and the recent successes to help those around her. Though she was very poor still, she would try to feed her neighbors as well as her own family. She started with simply asking store owners for leftover food and due to the overwhelming success, she started to use a garbage can to collect food from local vendors. Things truly took a turn for the better when Bea Gaddy used fifty cents she found to buy a lottery ticket that turned out to be be a winner for $290. She used this money to feed 39 of her neighbors, which started her emergency relief work in Baltimore.

Bea Gaddy chose to help the homeless and poor because of her own personal experiences of the feelings of humiliation and self-worthlessness that accompanies poverty and homelessness. “Hunger was my constant childhood companion,” she remarked. In 1981, Bea Gaddy opened the Patterson Park Emergency Food Center, which feeds between 50-150 people and since 1981, over 100,000 families have been fed.

The most outstanding event that Bea Gaddy would be remembered for is her Thanksgiving dinners. Just like her other works, the Thanksgiving Dinners rely on donations and volunteers and once was carried out in her home. Once it got bigger, the event had to be moved to Dunbar Middle School. It still continues to this very day.

Besides creating the Emergency Food Center and the yearly Thanksgiving dinners, Bea Gaddy also was involved in running a furniture bank, renovating and refurbishing abandoned row homes, running summer youth programs and was a vocal supporter of voter education. Shortly before her death, Bea Gaddy became an ordained minister so that she could marry and bury the poor at no cost to them. Her home, which ran all these operations, worked under the name of the “Bea Gaddy Center for Women and Children”.

Bea Gaddy has done so much to aid the people of Baltimore , even far more than the people who run it. She is a stunning person, simply who selflessly gave. If you want to read more about Bea Gaddy’s story, click here. If you would like to visit or donate to the Bea Gaddy Center, click here. Here is her listing in the Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame.

Straight Line Stitch
Yay, SLS! It’s always great to feature Straight Line Stitch, a metal band that I first learned about on Afro-Punk. Although Straight Line Stitch has been around since 2000, we’re mainly focusing on SLS since lead vocalist Alexis Brown, which is around 2003.

I really like this band, it’s perhaps one of the only other metal band that I have taken a strong liking to, besides Blindside. There’s a Black female lead vocalist, their sound doesn’t hinge on that as a gimmick and their music videos are fantastic.

Check out the video, “Black Veil”. I love the headbanging, the braids Alexis wears just adds a fiery look to it all.

The first video that I saw them in was “Conversion”, I really like the video, especially the imagery of the child watching the television and the dynamic with the riot officer.

An older video that I have recently seen, “What You Do To Me” which is very good, I highly recommend you see it.

If you want to see more SLS:

Straight Line Stitch Facebook (/straightlinestitch)
Straight Line Stitch Twitter (@SLSBand1)
Straight Line Stitch MySpace (/straightlinestitch)

Zen Writer
November is National Novel Writing Month, better known as NaNoWriMo. Through Tumblr I have learned of a text editor called Zen Writer. It allows the writer to be immersed in a creative world filled with simple, soothing backgrounds, gentle music and even the sound of the typed letters can be customized. Check out the sample below:

Using it myself, I found it to be very relaxing and easy to write creative works on because the customizable atmosphere that can fit pretty much any writer. There’s no annoying squiggle lines of spell check (it’s a button on the side), the fonts are engaging and all that is presented is a blank slate with a stunning background.

Check it out for yourself here

Welp, that’s all the Black Witch for this week. Next week is Ask Black Witch, get your questions sent in using the “Contact Me” page or ABW Submission Forum on the side of the site. Remember, good questions are appreciated, bad questions are eviscerated!

The Arts!: Let’s Take a Vote/Samhain Edition

Alrightee, folks time to continue the very last American election coverage on Black Witch and get something for Samhain underway. And don’t forget Samhain Pickers and the Ustream chat on Halloween, that’s at the bottom!

Let’s Take a Vote

Alright, American readers, things are going down to the fine line as the election is less than two weeks away and man, is it starting to show. The debates have really been something (as some of y’all could tell from my Twitter) though I don’t like how Third partiers like Dr. Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala have been locked out of the debates. They should be allowed the floor to talk about how they plan to fix America just like everybody else. Instead, they get arrested for something that should have been so basically granted to them:

Since creating such an election info dump the last time around, I notice the one I touted the most was Vote Smart. It’s their Vote Easy, simply stunning. I have used both their presidential and congressional election sections and suggest everyone to do the same. It is fantastic, if you haven’t used it, do so.

So to keep this one even more brief than the last, here’s what you need to know and use:

Vote Smart/Vote Easy: Best way to find how out who you stand with and who stands most for you.

The Debates: They are quite entertaining. Watch them here if you haven’t. There’s one more for the major parties on Monday and then there’s the Third partiers debate on Oct 23.

Samhain Edition

Woot, Samhain/Halloween is around the corner! I’m very excited. It’s my favorite holiday, I’s love it muches. So here are some books and sites for Pagans and those curious about joining the faith:

Where To Park Your Broomstick (Lauren Manoy): First book I ever started out with and will always recommend no matter what. Great with the basics and even teaches about other religions so you can make a sound choice in what faith you really want to follow.

Elements of Witchcraft (Ellen Dugan): Another book I started out with as a noob. The guided meditations are fantastic and everything is so thorough in the book with some writing exercises in there, too.

The Crystal Bible (Judy Hall): Great book for beginners in crystal work and other forms of Earth/Green magick. The visuals are stunning, the information is simple and easy to use, great for beginners.

The Watkins Dictionary of Magic (Nevill Drury): Great resource book for those trying to figure out the magickal world and simply curious alike. Very well written and I refer to it all the time.

The Complete Book of Incense, Oils & Brews (Scott Cunningham): This book is a late add but useful in its basics for those that want to get into potion making. The recipes are pretty nice, some entries are a little dated but this is a good book overall for noobs and experts alike,

Candle Magic for Beginners (Richard Webster): Great book for those getting into candle magick. It teaches how to work with colors, fragrances, different types of candles and with spiritual beings (even angels).

A Witch Alone (Marian Green): I’ve just picked this book up but it seems pretty decent so far. It’s very strong in information and for all Pagans, not simply Wiccans and great for solo practitioners.

The Temple of Witchcraft series (Christopher Penczak): There are several books in this series, such as The Inner Temple of Witchcraft, The Outer Temple of Witchcraft and more. I used these when I was new and they’re great and very thorough.

The Magickal Life (Vivianne Crowley): Great book for beginners that covers on just about everything Pagan from her beginnings to her discoveries and learnings. Very entertaining read, too.

Amulets & Talismans for Beginners (Richard Webster): Another flawless book from Mr. Webster, he’s just that great an author. This book is to teach you about, you guessed it, amulets and talismans. And it is spiffy.

Pagans & Christians (Gus Di Zerega): This book pretty much came from a roundtable discussion between Christians and Pagans in the comparisons and contrasts between our faiths. It’s a pretty good read to see where we’re the same and where we’re not.

Shades of Faith (Crystal Blanton): This book is about Blacks in Paganism and through various essays, explores those personal experiences in the Pagan faith and the cultures they lived in. I have written two pieces in the book, “Missing in the Picture” and “Why Don’t You Like Me?”

A couple sites that practitioners can use:

MysticWicks: This message board has it all and is great for noob Pagans and the experienced alike. They have a section for everyone.

Alabe: Natal chart drafting site, I use it all the time when I’m creating natal charts for anyone. Fantastic and free to use but their software is also stunning.

AAWiccan Society: This is for all Black Pagans, don’t let the name fool you. On this site is information about other Black Pagan blogs, the AAWS blog, twitter and Facebook group. Definitely check it out.

God Checker: Fantastic online checker of the different deities in the world with a hint of humor. Very much fantastic.

That it for this week, folks! Next week is Ask Black Witch! Send questions! Good questions are appreciated, bad questions are eviscerated.

Don’t forget though, I’m announcing the winners of Samhain Pickers next week! Be sure to submit! Send an e-mail to thisblackwitch@hotmail.com with “Samhain Pickers” in the subject line and in the message, provide:

Name

Email

Type of divination: (Tarot, cartomancy, basic natal chart, dream interpretation)

Click send and you’re done! Also, there will be an Ustream chat on Halloween at 4:30 PM EST with me, Black Witch! I want to interact with you guys so I’ll be taking questions through Ustream and Twitter (@thisblackwitch) so ask some good questions, okay?

The Arts!: Let’s Take a Vote – Part 1

Le w00t! Here in America, the presidential election is around the corner and things are mighty fierce. There’s drama, passion, fire and a whole lotta talky talkin’. But who to vote for? Well, here at Black Witch, all the info about all candidates, Democrat, Republican and Independent as well as voting info for your area. It is very important that regardless of who you’re voting for, you’re very well informed so you may make the right choice. No one should simply vote for their party, they should vote for what’s right for the country, whatever that may be. And Black Witch is not officially endorsing anyone, I’m an Independent!

Now, let’s look at the history of voting first and the pro/cons of each method, this vid is quite funky…eh you have to watch on the site, sorry about that folks. It’s called the “Brief History of Voting”. I’ll have a version posted to the BW Tumblr.

Now that’s out of the way, I posted that because as a Black blog, it would be really incredibly stupid for me to make the assumption that things in this election are being played fair and square. There’s a whole vibrant history this country has about voter suppression and we’ve got to counter-act that as much as possible so everyone who wants to vote and can vote may do so on November 6. That’s why the next two The Arts will be about voting and making sure you’re aware of all your options and no matter what, make sure you have your voter card in hand. Let me tell you a story:

When I was a wee young lass back in high school, they passed out voter registration forms in my African-American Studies class. Everyone in school was supposed to have one passed out to them by then end of the day, regardless if they choose to fill it out or not. I filled mine out annnnnnnd, nothin happened. For months. I filled out another voter’s registration form at the local NAACP. Nuffin. I filled out another one at a local college. Nada. It wasn’t until I went down to the main voter registration center of Baltimore City a couple days after my birthday to straighten it out and all of a sudden the woman working the desk said that I was registered since ’06 but it was awful odd how I never got my official card until that day. See, I was ready to go over the desk and give my “I’m Black, I’m Educated and I’m Gonna VOTE. I will channel my inner Rosa Parks, man” monologue, maybe knock over a cup of pencils, but the lady completely understood. She was Black herself and gave me a look that said, “I wonder how many folks are like her and still don’t know?” She wished me a happy belated birthday, gave me my card and I have had it in my wallet since.

I shared that story because I’m just one of many, many people who have registered to vote and didn’t hear back from anyone. My card said that I registered Oct ’06 but I never got a card in hand until July ’08, just months before the presidential election. That means I waited nearly two years to get my card and that itself didn’t happen until I went to the Registration & Records office in my city.

It is very important to have that card in hand when you vote because otherwise, they will try to discount your vote and trust me, every vote counts so let’s start with showing you how.

There are several sites to aid you in registering to vote. There’s:

- TurboVote
- GottaRegister
- Rock the Vote
- Vote 411

So register and check! Don’t get caught up like me, okies?

Here is how the US Voting System (should) work, thanks to the BBC:

Elections:
The United States holds elections every two years. Once every four years there is a presidential election, with congressional elections held at the same time.

Mid-term elections take place in-between presidential elections, in the middle of the presidential term.

Elections for the House of Representatives are held every two years. Senators have six-year terms, with one-third elected every two years.

State governors serve four-year terms with about half up for election every two years.

Primaries:
Voters also get to choose their party’s candidate in the main election. Voters register which party they support, and can then participate in primary elections.

Before he became the Republican candidate for president in 2000, George W Bush had to beat Republican Senator John McCain in primary elections.

Primaries are sometimes quite close to the general election, and once they are over, candidates must turn quickly to the general election.

Now we all know that it simply isn’t that easy here in America, nope. We’ve got quite a history when it comes to Voters Rights, the effect of the Electoral College and things like that so let’s get into it.

Voters’ Rights
This is our right to vote. Every American citizen over the age of 18 should have it in theory but it wasn’t always that way. When the country first started, only White men over the age of 21 and owned property were considered capable of voting. It took decades, centuries actually, to turn the tide and let women and minorities as well as those who did not own property to be let in. The Civil War made it so that the average White guy could vote but Blacks couldn’t vote until the 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870 (and we all know it didn’t really end there), women couldn’t vote until 1920 with ratification of the 19th Amendment, and the voting age was dropped to 18 due to the 27th Amendment, ratified in 1971. If only problems were this easy to solve, though. Again, this is a Black blog so I am going to include this: The country didn’t really get its act together on justifying whether Blacks such as myself ought to really vote until the Civil Rights Movement and they couldn’t bs us anymore (Jim Crow still had some sodium in his system about us getting the fair right to go to the polls). Not saying these folks don’t still make attempts to, they just have that pesky writing that basically translate to, “Okay, knock off the literary tests, property ownerships and poll taxes. And no one needs to guess how many jellybeans are in a jar to determine if they’re fit to decide who should run the nation next,” that stands in their way. And here is where we talk about Voter ID Laws and why you need to know about them.

Voter ID Laws
Y’know how the Voting Rights Act of 1965 made it so you wouldn’t have to jump through loops just to vote? Voter IDs are those loops, just redefined as “Happy Patriotic Circles of Exercise and Happiness” if you asked the folks who back them.

Voter ID Laws are to stave off voter fraud, something that has happened a very small number of times. According to a New York Times analysis from 2007 found through ProPublica, only 120 identified cases over the past five years, according to the Justice Department. Most of these cases came from erroneously filled registration forms or misunderstandings regarding voter eligibility. 86 convictions came from that but usually when election fraud happens, it’s not from the people but the election officials who want to swing the results or wonky absentee ballots, which voter ID laws can’t help anyways.

These laws come in the form of presenting some sort of identification such as a birth certificate, bill of some sort (electric bill, gas bill, etc), a photo id or something that basically let officials know that the person before them is indeed who they are. This marginalizes the elderly, minorities and low-income groups because they are the ones that are usually lacking information such as this and this information is just like guessing how many jellybeans are in a jar: Absolutely no determination of whether or not the person is fit to vote, it’s just an additional and unnecessary obstacle to separate potential voters from the polls. There are variations of strict and non-strict voter id laws and this site will let you know how with a handy map and easy to read charts. Rock the Vote also has something on Overseas/Military voting, Felons Rights and Student Rights, something affected by these laws.

These laws are important to note, as well as our voter rights as a whole because it affects our electoral college, what really determines who wins the election.

Electoral College
America has a two tier election system, and it especially comes up in the media around the presidential election. What basically happens is the popular vote fuels the electoral college, which determines the outcome so a candidate can win the popular vote but still lose the election because they lost the electoral and vice versa. What happens is the popular vote is summed up by districts and representatives so a tiny district with a lot of people will probably have a lot less pull than a bigger district with not a lot of people in it. The Idiots Guide of voting explains it effortlessly:

Every state (and the District of Columbia) has a number of electoral college members equal to the number of representatives and senators in that state. There is a minimum of 3 members, in states such as Alaska and Montana, and a maximum of 54 members in California. Securing a majority of 270 electoral votes (out of a possible 538) ensures that the candidate will go on to the White House. Therefore, a candidate can actually become president by winning the electoral contest but losing the popular vote—which is what cost Grover Cleveland the 1888 election, and more recently resulted in George W. Bush becoming president in 2000.

The electoral college was originally created to keep the vote in the hands of the people and downplay partisan politics. Ironically, modern critics find the winner-take-all approach of the electoral college unfair because it takes the vote out of the hands of people and may fail to reflect the popular national will by unfairly skewing the importance of individual votes in certain states. The electoral votes are won wholly, county-by-county then state-by-state, regardless of whether a majority is decided by one vote or one million votes. This process has resulted in extremely close presidential races in the election years of 2000, 2004, and 2008.

And that’s how the Electoral College is le done!

Who’s Running?
Alright, now, we’ve got all this out of the way, you’re informed! Now on to the candidates vying for your vote! Just wanna let the world (well, the American readers) know that there are various sites to help you make that choice as well. I’m just going to list who is running and the sites to help inform you below to keep it all simple.

Now, here are the US Presidential Election Candidates, nabbin the info from Politics1!

Democratic Party: Barack Obama (Pres)/Joe Biden (Vice Pres)

Republican Party: Mitt Romney (Pres)/Paul Ryan (Vice Pres)

America’s Party/American Independent Party: Tom Hoefling (Pres)/J.D. Ellis (Vice Pres)

American Third Position Party: Merlin Miller (Pres)/ Harry Bertram (Vice Pres)

Constitution Party: Virgil Goode (Pres)/Jim Clymer (Vice Pres)

Green Party: Jill Stein (Pres)/Cheri Honkala (Vice Pres)

Justice Party: Rocky Anderson (Pres)/Luiz Rodriguez (Vice Pres)

Libertarian Party: Gary Johnson (Pres)/Jim Gray (Vice Pres)

Objectivist Party: Tom Stevens (Pres)/Alden Link (Vice Pres)

Party of Socialism and Liberation: Will not be listed on Black Witch due to not meeting constitutional qualifications to serve as president/vice president

Peace and Freedom Party: Rosanne Barr (Pres)/Cindy Sheehan (Vice Pres)

Prohibition Party: Lowell Fellure (Pres)/Toby Davis (Vice Pres)

Reform Party: Andre Barnett (Pres)/Ken Cross (Vice Pres)

Socialist Party/Liberty Union Party: Stewart Alexander (Pres)/Alejandro Mendoza (Vice Pres)

Socialist Equality Party: Jerome White (Pres)/Phyllis Scherrer (Vice Pres)

Socialist Workers Party: James Harris (Pres)/Maura DeLuca (Vice Pres)

Oi! That’s a lot of people! You can click on their names to go to their websites and check ‘em out but here are some sites to help you decide as well:

- Vote Smart: They have coverage and information for both presidential and congressional elections so it’s a one-stop shop with a great site that is informative and interactive! Read about the various candidates listed above, their stances on various subjects and most of all take the Vote Easy test! This test is pretty rad as it asks your opinion in 13 subjects from Abortion to Social Security and will determine which candidate best match you and your beliefs. It’s super cool! Try it out!

- Presidential Candidates: This site is okay, but informative. It doesn’t have the bells and whistles of Vote Smart and sometimes a little confusing to navigate but what is really useful is their issues section on the side which list from Abortion to Trade Issues as they outline what the issue is and what various candidates feel about it. Also there’s a Profiles section that tells you the information of the candidates such as their age, their ancestry, military service, books, siblings, things like that. Definitely worth a look.

And that’s that! Remember to check out Vote411 to know where your polling place is and get informed! If I missed anything, lemme know in the comments and we’ll touch on it next month.

Next week is Ask Black Witch, submit your questions! Check out the Contact Me page or submit to the Ask Black Witch submission page, link is on the side. See you next week, or at the Baltimore Book Festival!

The Arts!: Afro-Punk Festival Features (And Lupe too)

Tomorrow is the Afro-Punk Festival! Huzzah! I haz excite!

Janelle Monae

Who I am most excited to see is of course Janelle Monae. I love her music, I can hang with my friends Kellindo and Nastassia, all is spiffy all around. And did you know she recently became the new spokesmodel for CoverGirl? Here’s the video for that:

Ain’t it neat? She is very adorbs! Also she is coming out with a new album called “Electric Lady”  Annnnd here is a performance of “Electric Lady”

Straight Line Stitch

Aw man, I automatically liked them because there’s a Black lead vocalist and they’re metal so it’s ultra rare. Their music is great! Alexis, the lead vocalist, is super nice and so is the rest of the band when I had the opportunity to interview them for Afro-Punk. This time I shall not be as derpy as all get out.

I really like their music video “Conversion”

“Black Veil” is ridiculously outstanding, and has been the best use of braids for headbanging, ever.

Erykah Badu

Dude. Dooooooooooooooooood. Everybody grew up to Badu on the radio. She a Black music staple and a legend. This is the first time in my life I’m really seeing her and it’s not through a medium such as the radio or a magazine cover. I still remember hearing the song “Tyrone” back in middle school.

Lupe Fiasco

Now, that’s outta the way I’mma feature Lupe Fiasco’s newest video, “B*tch Bad”.

Now, I have words about this. This vid is probably why Lupe will possibly be the only well-known emcee I actually like. Look at the site for the video! I’m very happy with the video, absolutely ecstatic. It’s no secret that Black Witch leans heavy towards womanism/feminism. I wouldn’t feature some of the works I have such as Busty Girl Comics or writing the piece I did about sexuality if I didn’t strongly feel that gender equality is important. I mean, Ida B. Wells is my hero, much more than Susan B. Anthony ever will – dude, Wells stunted heavy on Anthony when it came to race and women’s rights. To hear a rapper – a Black, well-known, male rapper who was raised in the hood – to speak actual womanism*, to actually go, “Eeeh, there’s something very wrong with this picture. Lemme illustrate,” and do a good job at that is exceedingly rare. Nas has tried but even he has dropped the ball through the floor a few times and occasionally left it there whereas Lupe has been rocking it like nothing at all. Lupe did show me that not all rappers are interested in being the 21^st century Mantan after all with just his first album Food and Liquor (oh, and F&L II is due out in September) so I knew that this was going to be good. And it was.

Lupe is very much on the right track with this video because mainstream hip hop has this thing about women that is pretty degrading, which does in turn speak on itself. The video displays what can be easily described internalized racism that are traced from pretty bigoted theories that date back to the 1800s – wait, no further than that, 1600s – that does affect the freedom of sexuality and self perception that Black Women still don’t really have today. I mean, the video vixen is just the late 20^th/21^st century reboot of the Jezebel/Jungle Bunny stereotype.  Slave masters used that stereotype to justify raping their female slaves: that they’re already hypersexual creatures so it doesn’t count as rape and since they’re not really people, it’s not really cheating on the wife, who is going to unleash her own special hell on the Black female slave for being a “threat” even though she isn’t really a threat, more like a captive victim in a very jacked up situation. Colonizers did the same, believing it would render what they’re doing as having harmless fun. Internalized racism means that the Black woman is seen through a hypersexualized lens, regardless if she is Mrs. Obama, Gabby Douglas, the random lady walking down the street going to the market, etc etc. The assumption is that that the Black woman or girl in question is overly kinky, not really a person and her buxom body isn’t that way because of genetics but because she’s a natural slut (and if she doesn’t have one, just imagine it or say she’s not “Black enough”), she’s got to have it and she won’t be vanilla about it. This idea is mega amplified in mainstream hip hop through the video vixen, the woman who is supposed to represent a female body but objectified. She can be a teacher, doctor, nurse, politician, anything but operates on “rap music video logic” in that she’s somehow always horny and it’s usually due to the rapper, or simply because men exist period, even if the woman was gay (which is another trope, the lesbianism trope). According to this logic as well, a mini skirt or booty shorts means the woman is an avid kinkster and she’s giving automatic sexual consent – y’know, like how Travyon totally showed automatic racial consent to Zimmerman about being stalked and murdered through his hoodie.

The hypersexualizedtrope is problematic because of the basic saying, “You can’t be it if you don’t see it” and if your image and self-perception is related to your sexuality constantly and not within your control at all (the Jezebel stereotype wasn’t created by Black women), it forces Black men and women who simply just wanted to watch media that featured them and not White people for once to consume and believe these hateful and minstrel stereotypes. And trust me, they are minstrelsy at their finest, hence why Lupe Fiasco put it in the video.

Ah, the minstrel show. White readers, this is one of the reasons why minorities get rightfully pissed, rightfully fast when your folks think slathering tanning lotion or motor oil on their face and a curly wig on their head is a good idea. Everyone else, this is why we ought to be rightfully pissed, rightfully fast when Whites think Brown/Black/Yellow/Redface is a good idea, especially for movies. The Spike Lee movie Bamboozled is about minstrelsy and how the effects still live on today, it’s similar to “B*tch Bad” so if Lupe got you scratching your head, I highly recommend that movie.  For those who are familiar with the minstrel show, you can see it soooooooooooo vividly in mainstream rap. Good god, it’s so vivid. Even Nas pointed that out in a parody rap video starring rap duo Shuck and Jive.

So, you could see it coming heavy in “B*tch Bad”. Why, the chain the rapper is wearing, if you look closely, is a minstrel blackface character. It’s all so similar to how the mainstream rapper and the women around it are depicted. How they pose is similar, act is similar, dress (in accordance to the times) is similar, everything is so similar, you sometimes wonder if a Klansman is running all this. At least see a little “Paid by Mitt Romney for President” stamped on there somewhere. I mean, geez. And this is for a genre of music that is so strongly defined as “Black Music”, like rock is supposed to be “White music” though Blacks created that genre too.  You could google “Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers” – man, just trace the history of Rock back and you’re going to run into us. This also shows the racial alignment of musical genre is problematic in itself.

Music is a pretty big deal because you can learn about different cultures and perspectives that way. Hip hop was supposed to be the verbal newspaper of the people, so to speak. It was the only way to talk about what was actually going on in the hood because our voices are so heavily marginalized in media. We’re not all fatherless gang bangers on the fast track to the jailhouse because we don’t know no better due to not listening to White folk. Nope, that’s not the case at all, I can attest that from personal experience and so can Lupe. We’re living proof, if anything. Hip hop gave us a voice, theeeeeeeen record execs got to the genre. Rough on their White cultured ears, they figured they could package all that Black rage, shine it up pretty , insert Black stereotypical plots so it can be “crossover friendly” like drug wars and broken homes and all they have to do is sit back, collect checks. Granted, that’s pretty different from what usually happens, which is when Black folks create a genre of music, White folks like it but know they’d like it better without the negroes in it, apply White-Out and out comes a genre that looks removed from its roots. Examples: Rock, blues, jazz, pretty much whatever we get our hands on and sounds good. With hip hop, it’s too strongly Black. Very hard to White-Out, the Blackness would still bleed through. Since kids in the hood are already looking like the bad kids that America was so busy telling everyone about, why not just make them stereotypical so it would be easier to sell to the wider (and Whiter) audience? White kids don’t want to hear about how they’re oppressing and ruining lives of children in the hood through their privilege, nah, they want something like The Arabian Nights where in some off distant place is the Hood, where there’s fast money, fast women, fast living. To feel so “gangsta” though having zero idea what that means and that it’s not a very cheery thing to experience while growing up. At all. And this is hip hop, which rap is a part of, displaying a fragment of Black culture and that fragment wrought through every super racist idea that the Western world has about us and then displayed as if this is all the culture is and has to offer, not just hip hop itself. In turn, this is consumed by everyone, Black, White, Latin, Asian, everyone, and creates a cycle where people, namely Blacks, become what they see because it’s almost they only thing they can see which stars them and thus consume it. The cycle for everyone else is that it fuels their culturally-induced belief that this is actually how Black people are and thus justifies their racism and fear. So here you have a race acting out because someone who looked like them for once was doing it and all these other races who are believing they are not at all wayward in their thinking because look! They really are like that! Wow, what porch monkeys, the other races think and express.

Yeah, you can see how problematic that is. I mean, a 17 year old armed with only snack foods is dead because of this cycle. Zimmerman was fed all his life through media and his experience that Black is evil so even a harmless kid with snack foods seemed like a King Kong threat. And that’s ignoring the fact Trayvon also consumed some of the same media and thus showed that while he was alive. No ,Trayvon wasn’t thinking of being a thug but I can bet that he has acted out some of what he has seen simply because that’s the media he watched, no conscious thinking. So both have experienced pretty racist media painted as general entertainment, consumed it roughly the same but interpreted it differently because of their racial and cultural backgrounds and boom, one is dead and the other is awaiting trial after a chance meeting.

Also, it’s problematic because “Black” music seem so limited in subject matter where as “White” music seems to be about as broad as the ocean when you judge what plays on the radio. “Black” music/mainstream radio stations just talks about guns, drugs, phony oppression and misogyny whereas “White” music/mainstream radio stations seem to be able to talk about that too but among other subjects and is looked on pretty favorably. That pushes the stereotype that Blacks are sub-humans that don’t know anything except how to rape/have sex with everything in sight, how to only be violent about base matters and not have significant thought forms whereas Whites are simply well-rounded and fully developed human beings perfectly capable of complex thought and theory.

Lupe Fiasco’s video “B*tch Bad” is a video very sorely needed because honestly, this kind of nonsense needs to stop. I left hip hop a long time ago because of it, it’s simply offensive when it says it’s the voice of the Black people when really it’s just the voice of straight Black misogynists. Misogyny, and hypermasculinity as a whole, is bad for everyone all around because how can there be solidarity if I can’t even be respected as a human being? It makes the concept of Black solidarity seem incredibly fake and an absolute joke. I mean, it sounds like a good idea, can’t wait to see it applied but it never will if Black women aren’t seen as equals and if we keep practicing the same tropes just to save media execs money on the burnt cork.

 

Next week is Ask Black Witch! If you have questions, please send them in!

Ask Black Witch Submission Form

There are various ways to ask a question besides the submission form, just send them before next Friday. Good questions are appreciated, bad questions are eviscerated. See you at the Festival!

*Womanism is feminism with the more realistic intersections of race and class included.

The Arts!: Boobs Don’t Work That Way, The Undertaker/The Backwater Gospel, Miles Jai

Before I begin! I would like to direct your attention to this raffle post! Win a copy of Princeless! Winners are picked on July 27^th!

Annnnnnnnnnnnd, another thing! I found this awesome vid via FuturisticallyAncient on tumblr called I, Pet Goat II. It’s really cool and full of symbolism. Watch and behold!

Now on to the rest of the features!

Boobs Don’t Work That Way

If you’re a comic book fan like me, you’ve probably have noticed one thing that a lot of comic book women characters have in common – They’re stacked like towers and their suits don’t provide a whole lot of protection. And if you’re a comic book fan and a girl, it’s easy to feel a bit weird seeing women looking like this:

This is not even…this does not make sense. Boobs that big on a decaying corpse would have fallen off a long time ago given the lack of elasticity a dead body in that state of decomposition, I believe. And importantly, they would not be pert and buxom while the rest of the body looks like it had all its innards taken out with a super suck vacuum.

And then there’s the fact the artist is trying so hard to show both the boobies and the booty:

I have the strongest feeling that this lady’s super power isn’t stretch and I’m also sure at some point at her life she owned a spine.

That’s what the tumblr Boobs Don’t Work That Way is for! To point out how inaccurate and even misogynist these drawings are. Nothing is wrong with appreciating the female form but the female form is more than just t&a.

Y’see, the female form, unlike the male form, isn’t treated so fairly and as if a walking weapon in and of itself like the guys are. For example, it seems even if there is a female version of a male super hero, she is going to lack some pretty important features such as protection for major organs or just look like she had balloons stuff down her shirt and pants. Google Iron Man and Iron Girl/Woman if you don’t believe me.

Everytime I look at comics, I see them more than through the eyes of a fan. I see them through the eyes of a person who sews, a martial artist and most importantly, a girl. Here are the greater offenders.

- Outlined boobs in clothing: No. Just no. Nooooooooooooooo.  Clothes, unless molded in something, does not outline breasts as singular spheres. It just does not happen because fabric does not press down in the middle by itself. I imagine that would be uncomfy anyways. Even if the clothing was made out of metal, it still wouldn’t do that, it would just curve out to accommodate the breasts, becoming a functional and practical breastplate. Plus if it were made of metal, the curve would be better because it would take a pretty half-baked shot to the chest to knock the wind out of the fighter if she had individualized cups since all the force would be focused right on the sternum, causing it to fracture or break.

- Barely-Holding-on-Clothes: Case in point: Catwoman in Arkham City. Boobs, being sacks of fat and mammary glands, cannot stay in place in all anti-gravity glory. Newp. If Catwoman’s suit was realistic, she’d be zipped up to her neck (or the zipper would fall) or her boobs would fall out while somersaulting or climbing buildings. I’m sure the last she would need in a fight is to say, “Wait, wait – WAIT! I gotta readjust.”At least they didn’t make her boobs too unrealistic, just her clothes. And I don’t know many girls who would fight skillfully in heels long term and remember, I’m a martial artist. Not saying it’s not possible, it is, but if you’re a crime fighter, fighting in heels constantly would probably be problematic.

- Dipped in oil/water: What is up with the shiny boobs? It makes me think of carpet burns, owwie. Animes and mangas are the greatest offenders. It’s just like watching movies or music videos that have women waking up from what appears to be a deep slumber with complete make up on – it’s totally unrealistic. Same with the shiny. Boobs, just like the rest of the body, is covered in skin, which isn’t very reflective. You shouldn’t be able to burn an ant colony or blind a random driver just by turning a particular angle on a sunny day. Please see a doctor or scientist if you can.

- Big Enough for Own Orbit: Bigger isn’t always better. A busty crime-fighter would not have thin strings or dinky things holding her down lest she wants to be knocked senseless by her own endowment. Plus, she would definitely pass on anything that creates support from behind her neck because that would feel like a total guillotine since the weight of her own chest would put all the pressure on the back of her neck – and this is saying nothing of the back! And no need to make them so big it looks like the girl could put them behind her and sit on them with ease. Make her something besides a walking sex object. Like a crime fighter.

- Underboob: Newp. File this under  “Barely holding on clothes”.

All this making fun of unrealistic drawing of women who are supposed to be fighters is wearin’ me out. Here’s a picture of a female warrior who’s dressed for battle.

Everyone, this is Aveline, from Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation.

And here’s a tumblr dedicated to realistic fighting costumes! Women Fighters in Reasonable Armor.

The Undertaker/The Backwater Gospel

I found this video through my friend Bill on Facebook (huzzah, social networks). And it turns out the film is called The Backwater Gospel. It tells the story of The Undertaker coming to visit a small God-fearing backwater town. If The Undertaker comes, then someone is going to die, drawing tensions within the community as they wonder who is going to be the (un)lucky one.

Miles Jai

I’m sure many of you have probably seen the “Like Mah Status” video that he did a while back”

Since seeing that, I saw a few more of his videos and found them to be remarkably funny, such as “How to Get a Boyfriend”. The cinematography is pretty skilled and the animations are hilarious.

His most recent work I really liked, such as the video about his gender and how people reaaaaaaally should stop questioning him on it as if it were as important as the health of the American economy. (Something I agree on, gender policing sucks)

Here’s where you can watch more of his works:

Miles Jai Youtube

Miles Jai Tumblr

@milesjai

Miles Jai Fan Page

Annnnnnnnd that’s all! Next week is Ask Black Witch so send in your questions! Good questions shall be answered honestly, bad questions I shall eviscerate happily.

Oh and if you’re in the Baltimore area, three things:

1) I’m going to be at Artscape this weekend. As per usual, I will most likely be watching short films. It’s free to everyone and I believe Brian McKnight is going to be there on Saturday.

2) I’m going to Otakon next weekend. I’ll be in lolita all weekend (I wanted to cosplay Lil’ Slugger from Paranoia Agent but that’s not happenin’)

3) There’s a precious little kitty that was taken to BARCS shelter named Janelle. Black as night and a total sweetheart. I found her during one of  Baltimore’s nasty heat waves, kept her for a night and took her there because I’m not well enough for an animal yet. So if you want a little kitty, please adopt/foster her! Here’s a picture:

The Arts!: Busty Girl Comics, Princeless, Afro-Punk Festival

Busty Girl Comics
This comic I found on Tumblr is one I have grown to love so much. Instead of the average comic or modern media which usually oversexualizes breasts and dehumanize the person who has them, busty comics looks at the perks and strifes of women who are considered “busty”. Showing breasts as a natural part of the female body instead of something that’s there for guys to stare at (which dehumanizes because it removes true ownership of the body part (the woman) and assumes that it is the ownership of the public, which is very wrong), it re-humanizes women and make them into whole beings like they should be. Busty comics is very crafty at not necessarily desexualizing breasts but normalizing them as body parts, which is what they are.

What I also love is that the comic is actually diverse. Not “Oh hai, I’mma chuck a Black person in there once in a while so no one’s gonna call me racist, tokenization is a lifesaver,” but actually diverse. This is what really makes me love the comics because I can show it to friends and they’ll take to it easy, not go “Eh, if I wanted to see an online White out, I’ll download a snowstorm app.” To see yourself is important, especially since breasts are sexualized differently due to race so it’s important to show the faces of various women having the same problems/successes because all women need to be re-humanized in opposed to be involuntarily desired simply for body parts.

Look at these below:

 

What I also like is that the tumblr is also used as a place for women to celebrate, not hide or slut-shame, their bodies. They can talk about what they like about their chest, what they don’t, the reactions that they get, the reactions they wish were strongly outlawed (cat calling, street harassment), how to manage their size and everything in between to make lives better for them. Some women are busty, some are flat, some are in between but it’s great to have a site for women to be able to not have their bodies seen strictly as if it exists for men and taken apart, derided, humiliated and dehumanized for that exact reason. If a girl has a big chest, it doesn’t make her a slut or “easy” no more than is it okay to assume a Black person must be nothing but a criminal or servant simply because they’re dark. That would be nature (and yeah some girls get surgery on their chest, you can also change your skin color, too thanks to the wonderful world of racist and sexist bullsh- I mean the wonderful world of science and medicine.) but culture, which is usually pretty androcentric (male-based gaze) likes to blissfully ignore that part. Busty Girl Comics flips the idea on its head and brings back the discussion to the group usually silenced the most on it, the women who have them.

Busty Girl Comics
BGC FB Fan Page
BGC Twitter
BGC Store

Princeless
A common complaint in the world of comics is how so stereotypical it is. White, male, heterosexual, doesn’t think strongly on minorities and women. Even I have made the complaint because it is very true: for example, think of all the advertising for The Avengers and try to remember how many times you saw Black Widow in comparison to the rest of the guys. Try the Justice League, think about Wonder Woman. Alright, movies. Name any popular or well known female superhero lead film. Actually, name five. There’s just a drought of anything that ain’t a White guy running around.

Also, it’s not every day to find a comic book that has a Black female lead and one that is not drawn as if by 14 year old boys. I came across Princeless on Tumblr and pretty much tracked it down until I managed to read a sample copy. I have to say, it is definitely a story any Black girl could relate to for once. From the Queen doing the lead character Adrianne’s hair to Adrianne setting a prince straight about how Whitewashed all princess tales are.

What I like about Adrianne is that she’s witty but not obnoxious. She’s rational but not an emotionless robot. She’s a realistic character with a strong personality, something that I like immensely. On top of all that, she responds to the stereotypes that women in comic books and fantasy are often held to with a fighter’s realism and outstanding humor.  Princeless is a story for all ages. It doesn’t fasten to silly gender stereotypes and lets the characters be themselves instead of be idyllic.

So, what is the gist of the story about? Well, it about a princess named Adrianne who becomes trapped in a tower thanks to her parents on her sixteenth birthday. They force her to stay there, protected by a dragon, until some prince can come along and save her to be awarded the prize of becoming the next heir to the throne. Adrianne doesn’t really dig that so she decides to set off on her own and rescue her five other sisters trapped in different dragon-guarded towers across the land.

Here, read the first issue! Keep your eyes peeled for a Princeless giveaway!

Princeless (Action Lab)
Action Lab Comics Twitter
Princeless Tumblr

Afro-Punk Festival
It’s that time again! The Afro-Punk Festival is coming ‘round again! Last year’s got canceled by hurricane Irene (and NYC prolly being shook about the earthquake that happened earlier that week)  but this year seems to be a go! It’s August 25 – 26 and most importantly it’s free.

The AP Fest. will be in Commadore Barry Park in New York, free to the public and here’s some of our line up:

Erkyah Badu
Janelle Monae
Toro y Moi
Bad Rabbits
Gym Class Heroes
Ninjasonik
Straight Line Stitch

There’s plenty more! There’s also going to be BMX riding and skateboarding so if you like to live life on wheels, this is for you. Keep checking Afro-Punk for information. I’ll be at the AP Fest most definitely.

APFest – For all your updating needs

That’s all The Arts! for this month. Next week is Ask Black Witch so send your questions in!