"Naturally the common people don't want war: Neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country." - Hermann Wilhelm Göring
Ready for some heartfelt neo-soul goodness? Check this guy out…
Blessed with roughhewn, down-home vocals that hark back to when rhythm and blues repped for both those components, influences ranging from hip-hop to gospel and songs that are nakedly emotional and truthful, Noel Gourdin states his case on his refreshingly heartfelt debut CD. Featuring production from Kay Gee (Jaheim/Zhané), Raphael Saadiq (D’Angelo/Angie Stone), Mike City (Brandy/Sunshine Anderson), Dre & Vidal (Jill Scott), Butta (Usher), Eddie F (Heavy D), RLES and Trackaddix, Noel’s debut release is soul at its best. Speaking to the vibe he offers, Noel divulges, “It’s about the emotions of the average man. My intention is putting my feelings on the track and leaving everything I’ve got in the recording booth. I want people to think; this is a man that you can feel. That you can slow dance with, have a drink with and cry with. It’s real music that affects your life.”
Definition: Adj. 1. busted - out of working order.
2. A way to describe a very ugly female, who can barely be described as female. A “busted” female is not even considered for Mercy Sex simply because they are so ugly.
Creating a passion for reading is one of the greatest gifts you can give to an African American child. The African American Child book can be the key to enabling enthusiasm for reading in the community. I came to this conclusion not from formal training in any the educational sciences (as matter of record my background is in technology and project management) but as a parent who just happened to be a Sci-Fi fan. Science Fiction opened my eyes to the cross synergies between the African American reading gaps and African American images.
In today’s world media comes at you from all directions. The internet the PC, cable TV, Video Games, IPODs etc. The exposure to all of this media for today’s African American Child is a given fact, you can not avoid it, the fact that is not so obvious is how this impacts African American reading gaps.
CASE IN POINT
I am a Sci-Fi media fan. One day while I was enjoying a episode of Star Trek – The Next Generation on TV with my then 6 year old in my lap when she turned to me and said,
“Daddy why do the black people on the show look strange?”
Before I tried to explain to my daughter that Worf was a Klingon and he hailed from a different planet and that Geordi was blind and his funny looking glasses allowed him to “see” I paused and asked myself
“Why DO the Black people on the show look strange?”
I then tried to look at the screen from the point of view of a 6 year old African American child.
I see 2 black faces and 1 white face on the TV screen:
* The African American character named Worf has the physical facial features of an animal and is from a race of warriors that loves to fight (violent) .
* The African American character named Geordi job is to “fix” and maintain things on the ship (the maintenance man)
* The 2 African American lead actors do not look human (see picture).
* I see the whitest face on the show (character Lt. Data the android ) is the strongest and most intelligent character on the show.
* The android actor who is not human “looks” human.
