:: pours a little liquor on the ground ::

Ancestors are happier, but we at a loss.

The story in the story

...is what needs the attention here. This story, told better here, here and here, is about the scholar as much as it is about the scholarship. There is too much made of the language of the Sea Islands, an easy fascination even more easily taken to romanticism of pure folk roots, or maroonism, or something in between. We leave thinking more about the prodigious personal will of Lorenzo Dow Turner, who took an English degree and ,on the one hand, shaped it into an interdisciplinary knowhow and made sense of someone else's ways of knowing and, on the other hand, administered more than one university during the course of a career.

You Must Learn

We are all about the simple act of making more available. The worst happens in shortages of what we need most. It is hard, on the other hand, to fight what is true when there is abundant evidence.

In this spirit we say thanks to the effort underway in Chicago to make sense of the boxes of stuff people have been holding on to. 'Though they offer perilously little of their holdings on the internets, still requiring the fare to roll into the library to learn, there are some tantalizing glimpses here.

I’ve always liked my women book and street smart

For simple lechery, can't we all just agree that "Good Morning Little School Girl" is the most down low, wretched, cat chasing song written?

I'm'a buy me an airplane.

I'm'a buy me an airplane.

I'm'a fly it over this land.

I'm'a fly it over this land.

And if I don't find some loving,

I ain't gonna touch my airplane down.

j y e a h

The Problem w/ Analytic Thinking...

... is that you can't get everything into a single field of vision. Then, what's missing stands out. Please take this tomfoolery as Exhibit∞.

(*4-tons of vinyl, this is true.)

Can you see the edifice Otis Jackson Jr. is building from your side of the horizon? It should be visible even from your distance from the street.

We're crawling up the side like your friendly neighborhood spiderman. From this vantage point Brovah Otis is lookin like Anansi, jyeah. Make of this giant web what you will, you cannot talk bad about its size, or its relentless creolization of everything touched by it.

Soaking in the Fresh

Text stolen from yesterday's Observer. We're all up on Elephant Man, but there are plenty of leads to the island fresh worth following up on.

Other activities not directly related to the independence celebrations but taking place today include, the hip-hop dancehall show, Fully Loaded which takes place at The Old Coal Wharf Port Royal, and features Ricky Blaze, Tony Matterhorn, Bass Odyssey, Black Kat, Boom, Vertex, Sky Juice, Renaissance, ZJ Liquid, Bambino, DJ Shine, Flava Squad. Radio station, Fame FM hosts its Beach Fiesta at Sugarman's Beach, Portmore. For Jamaicans on the country's north coast, there is the party, Disturbia, Club Jamaica Jamaica in St Ann, featuring Elephant Man, Ishawna, Foota Hype, Bass Odyssey and DJ Pele. Lovers of old school music can also check out Yesterday, The Independence-Day Edition, to be held at Kingston's Mas Camp.

Need to Re-Read This One

It's been about 20 years since we worked through this. It's time to return. We are remembering when the thoughts were fresh in our head.

The Ancient Art of Stand Up

We were happily reviewing the output of the mighty Ed Lover, and we realized that he was biting deep into the tradition.

We have nothing but love. No use in hating. But we'll wait 'til the judge gets here before we say we're done laughing.

Of All the Fats, One's the Fattest

Well alright. Let's beat it out like you know something.

What We're Hearing

The epitome of sweetvoice and sweeter melody. Can I Change My Mind makes blue blue.

"I would like to start all over again..."

I Need a Light

Actually, quite the bluesman.

I need a light (light)
so I can smoke away this pain
I need a drink (drink)
so I can drink away this rain
maybe a wife (wife)
somebody to share my name
I need a song
a brand new song to sing

:: p o u r s a l i t t l e l i q u o r o n t h e g r o u n d ::

And another son of Sun Ra passes. It cannot be Afrofuturism when so much is in the past.

Noz, one of our role models, has begun to build the real shrine here, here and here. we will make no attempt to exceed that.

Grandgood has a fine effort up here.

There's also an official NYT obit here. Makes us laugh to read "an early graffiti writer" in the lede.

When we read effort by our boy Noz to make a record of how the 'ZΣΣ talks, we have a different reaction, though. Take this in:

I don’t really do music. I never ever really did music. I build tanks, I design letters to fly, I was building my dolls, building my masks. I now have 21 different masks and I go on tour with Death Comet Crew and go on tour by myself. But I mostly do paintings.

:: p o u r s a l i t t l e l i q u o r o n t h e g r o u n d ::

We keep the chronicle of mortality up to date, sadly. But for each loss there is a homegoing long overdue.

Bennie Powell, here.

Reminder: Politickin' Is More than Running Your Mouth

Teacake story? International oppression? We are not close to any of these facts, so we are just going to remain observers, but we invite any and all to remember that the stakes is high.