I am excited to announce that I updated the e-book cover to my first children's book. I am finally brave enough to share my children's book and it has been quite the journey. I'm sorry that this blog post is so short, but I don't want to stretch it out with ramblings.
I hope that you all like it!
 |
| Image source: Science Mag - 2D Walk Simulation |
New Journal of Physics:
Discrete Lorentz covariance for quantum walks and quantum cellular automata
 |
| Source: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center |
"The range of his scientific achievements is impressive. In 1750, Michell showed that the magnetic force exerted by each pole of a magnet decreases with the square of the distance. After the catastrophic Lisbon earthquake of 1755, he wrote a book that helped establish seismology as a science. Michell suggested that earthquakes spread out as waves through the solid Earth and are related to the offsets in geological strata now called faults. This work earned him election in 1760 to the Royal Society, an organization of leading scientists.
"Michell conceived the experiment and built the apparatus to measure the force of gravity between two objects of known mass. Cavendish, who actually carried out the experiment after Michell’s death, gave him full credit for the idea. The measurement yielded a fundamental physical quantity called the gravitational constant, which calibrates the absolute strength of the force of gravity everywhere in the universe. Using the measured value of the constant, Cavendish was able for the first time to calculate the mass and the average density of the Earth.
"Michell was also the first to apply the new mathematics of statistics to astronomy. By studying how the stars are distributed on the sky, he showed that many more stars appear as pairs or groups than could be accounted for by random alignments. He argued that these were real systems of double or multiple stars bound together by their mutual gravity. This was the first evidence for the existence of physical associations of stars.
"But perhaps Michell’s most far-sighted accomplishment was to imagine the existence of black holes. The idea came to him in 1783 while considering a hypothetical method to determine the mass of a star. Michell accepted Newton’s theory that light consists of small material particles. He reasoned that such particles, emerging from the surface of a star, would have their speed reduced by the star’s gravitational pull, just like projectiles fired upward from the Earth. By measuring the reduction in the speed of the light from a given star, he thought it might be possible to calculate the star’s mass." 1
Description and excerpt from 1, see also 2 and 3
Carl Sagan, Cosmos (book excerpt): Chapter IX - The Lives of the Stars
1. American Museum of Natural History:
Case Study - John Michell and Black Holes
2. American Physical Society:
November 27, 1783: John Michell anticipates black holes
3. IO9: The forgotten genius who discovered black holes over 200 years ago
Want a free Kindle copy of the novella Zombiephiles.com calls the 'Sickest. Zombies. Ever.'? Like my most recent post on my fan page and you could be 1 of 3 winners. I will be doing the Rafflecopter giveaway this Friday. Read for yourself what other people are saying about Fleshbags.
I'm doing this because I have a HUGE announcement to make. It's been some time in the works (actually going back to January), but I've signed a deal with the Simon and Schuster imprint Atria to edit my very first anthology titled Anything but Zombies! due summer 2015. I've assembled an awesome group of writers--as a matter of fact, I'm surprised I got them all. Armand Rosamilia, Jeff Strand, and Tonia Brown just to name a few. This comes in addition to my first YA novel coming in November from Permuted Press.
What's that you say? You'd prefer a printed copy? That actually has two stories. Fleshbags and The Zombie Show. One lucky winner will receive a signed copy.
This year is going to round out quite nicely with more stuff lining up for next year and beyond. I have other things in the works, but my two new babies come first. So get on board now, maybe win yourself a free book. Hurry, before I become a complete snob and completely ignore you.
Here's the Primary cover for the Dark God's Gift short story anthology season II. This work highlights the story 'The E.R.O.S. Device' but will be the primary cover. However, each short story will have their own cover art as well and will be unveiled just before the new tale goes online. Keep your eyes peeled, for the Dark God's Gift arrives September 29th!
Artwork by: H. Wolfgang Porter. © 2014 Dreaded Enterprises Unlimited, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
It didn’t rain much in the region Routh was a part of. But when it did on those rare occasions, it was as if a higher being had pulled out a stopper in the sky, releasing a century’s worth of pent up moisture.
Hooper stood in the port, oblivious to the cascading downfall that battered against his face and body like liquid lashes. If he felt any discomfort at all, the iron bound hand of purpose, augmented by imperturbable focus, muted it. Nothing was going to sway him from cracking the secrets of the SD suit in his possession. Neither man nor whatever the elements threw at him.
A Jumper-class sleeper ship descended from the rain-sodden heavens, touching down gently on a landing platform. Engines powered down, side door shuddered open, steps protruded and a half dozen passengers draped in water repellant hooded parkas debarked.
The engineers. The best armor specialists his money could buy and Hooper welcomed them with open arms literally and figuratively.
Dern moved openly down the settlement’s main avenue. The rain had diminished to a light drizzle and previously sheltered residents returned to the street to engage in their normal routines. The upsurge in activity increased Dern’s cover. At least for now. There would be no more anonymity once the alarm was raised about the guard he over powered and incapacitated. Of course Dern planned on having freed Alita and her crewmates by the time the guard regained consciousness. If he were lucky, they’d all be long gone from this place.
He stopped and surveyed a row of ramshackle structures on the other side of the street until his gaze settled on the tallest, widest building. Resembling a giant rusty lockbox, the building had no windows. The front entrance looked tight enough to give the place a hermetically sealed appearance. Dern had no doubt this was the detention facility the guard so cooperatively described. He briskly crossed the street, slipping into a narrow gap separating the facility from a closely spaced neighboring building. Taking a rearward peek, Dern saw that he hadn’t drawn any attention. At least he hoped he hadn’t. And if he did, he gambled on the denizens in this rogue’s paradise being more concerned with minding their own business.
There was a lot at the back of the building filled with terrain vehicles of various sizes, including three TVVs. He rounded the corner of the building and scurried toward its single back entrance. Pressing an access panel next to the door he darted inside. A shadowed corridor greeted him. He rushed to the end until he came upon a stairwell leading to a lower level. The isolation wing. That was where Alita and the crew were being held according to the guard. Fear of being killed had the effect of turning the most heartless scoundrels into paragons of honesty.
Dern harbored not a shred of doubt about the guard’s truthfulness.
The wing was a modest size space, accommodating a dozen or so cells. A glass enclosed security booth blocked an entryway that fanned out into a wider area. Through slightly tinted glass Dern glimpsed a seated guard facing the cell doors.
At this point Dern opted to forego stealth in favor of what the ancients called shock and awe. He sprinted toward the booth and leapt, bursting through an inch of reinforced glass. An explosion of glass fragments cascaded over the guard. Dern landed on his feet, delivering a hammer blow fore arm to the guard’s temple before the latter could react. The man crumpled into a dreamless slumber.
Dern quickly examined the circular console where the guard was sitting. Amid a simple arrangement of switches and buttons it wasn’t hard for him to determine the cell door controls. He flicked ten switches corresponding to the number of cells in the area and received a responding series of clacks. The cell doors automatically swung open.
“Everybody out!” Dern shouted as he emerged from the booth.
Heads tentatively peeked out of the cells, one of them belonging to Alita. She stared at the former SD soldier as if he were more illusion than real.
“Come on!” Dern urged.
Seconds later he was leading his fellow captives through the passage back to the outside.
“What now?” The captain asked warily.
Dern paused, at a momentary loss. A well thought out plan, combined with a healthy dose of luck had gotten him this far. Now, he needed to add a dollop of improvisation to the mix.
“I appreciate you freeing us,” Alita said, resignation sinking into her expression. “But it looks like we’ve reached a dead end.” She lowered to her haunches, drained. “A dead fucking end.”
Dern surveyed the ground vehicles parked nearby. An idea seized him. He gave Alita a reassuring pat on the arm. “We’re not down, yet. Follow me.” He walked toward the vehicles.
Seeing where he was heading, Alita’s brow furrowed. “You think we can just drive out of here?”
“That’s what I’m counting on the enemy to think,” Dern replied.
The comm chimed softly beside his bed. Hooper flinched awake as if the sound were decibels higher than it actually was. Late night revelry kept him up well past his usual hour of retirement. It had been that way quite a bit as of recent. The prospect of incalculable wealth and power had put him in a celebratory mood. The suit was his ticket out of this backwater region of space. The wealth he’d squeeze from its replication would be enough to turn his equally disreputable peers into supplicants.
The thought was enticing enough to soften the edge in his voice when he responded to the comm. “What is it?”
“Boss…we have a problem. Lowtower escaped.”
Hooper shot to his feet, brushfire rage burning away vestiges of sleep. “Find him!” He snapped. “Heads will roll if he slips through our fingers. Literally!”
September 29th, the Dark God's Gift returns with new dark Adult tales of Tech Noir, Sci-fi, Fantasy and more! Start off and ride the Halloween season with 5 of the most prolific authors here at the BSFS! K. Ceres Wright, William Hayashi, H. Wolfgang Porter, Ronald T. Jones and Thaddeus Howze will take you to the far corners of Earth, the Galaxy and the Multiverse with exciting short stories of those condemned to encounter the 'Dark God's Gift!'
Follow the episodes as each story is featured weekly on the Dark God's Gift group page here at BSFS. Don't miss a single moment of suspense, action and terror as each tale unfolds. Power, Sex Appeal, Immortality are but a few of the many things the Dark God's Gift may bestow. But beware ye mortals and would be gods, for no good can come of too much of a good thing!
I read the book Ghosts of Koa and I completely fell in love with it. I don’t think I’ve had such a strong reaction to a book since reading Flowers in the Attic. I loved the book so much that I tell anyone I know that likes fantasy that they should read it.
I thought the book was going to be about ghosts in a fraternity or something like that, but of course I was mistaken. Yeah, I bought the book based on the cover and didn’t read anything about it. **SPOILER*** But, I was hooked by the time someone gets their face punched off. Yes… Punched Off… I remember saying out loud What the F*&#!!! ***END SPOILER***
I love the name of the main character. Ezekiel it’s strong, masculine and Biblical, and it’s given to a strong but still feminine female character, it’s even shortened in a feminine way to Zieka. Nice touch.
I was also extremely intrigued by the relationship that she has with her mother and the relationship that she has with her sister. I think the mother feels like she is caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to what she feels she has to do for the sake of her children.
***SPOILER*** I think Zieka is young enough to see things in black in white and even though she’s living in hell pretty much, she doesn’t see or understand the gray areas. Her mother’s choices to deal with an evil person, so Zieka really doesn’t have to face those choices herself, are truly a mother’s sacrifice. It’s obvious that Zieka doesn’t see it that way and attempts to shame her mother but her mother quickly puts an end that. However, choosing to deal with the devil, as it were is what leads to her drug addition and that drug addictions costs her dearly. ***END SPOILER**
I think Zieka feels the burden of filling in for her mother and father in the life of her sister. But, Zieka is still a kid herself. So, I often felt very frustrated that they didn’t have anyone else to turn to. Their father provides enough for them to take care of themselves… but still. They’re just kids.
I do love the way she uses children in this book. I think the way she focuses on children in this book is what makes it feel truly apocalyptic. In the book the children are “protected” by the laws, but these laws make the children extremely vulnerable as well because there is war going on.
*** SPOILER*** The children in this book range in perspectives. Her sister is the quintessential child, full of innocence and goodness. You just want to love and protect her. Then there are the older children who are on the cusp, standing at that fork in the road… they can become good people or bad people, or good people that make bad choices… whatever the case may be. And then there are the children that are made into weapons… literally. The first time baby ashes are presented I just shuddered. But, I just couldn’t stop reading. ***END SPOILER***
If you cannot tell, I LOVE this book. I’ve already read the second one and I am so looking forward to the third.
GREAT JOB COLB R. RICE
If you want to read this and other books in The Fantasy Portal Bundle visit us:
There was this guy who made a yearly pilgrimage to Yellowstone Park and 7 years in a row his camper was ransacked and his Coleman cooler decimated. This year he drove a semi-trailer and a 20ft cargo container into a clearing next to his cabin. He parked the container and hid the rig behind the cabin. He then spent the summer painting the container orange, with a white roof and "Coleman" in large white letters. On top of the cooler with solar powered fans he places peanut butter sandwiches, blueberry pie and leftovers.
You could hear the grunts for miles and see the trees disturbed by the tree line. Then they came, bears of every shape and size, hundreds of them. Like a rock concert they filled the space with their noses in the air, the scent of picnics and old garbage cans. When they lowered their noses to see the bright orange cargo contained and the huge letters spelling out "Coleman", they let out a collective sigh of sublime serendipity and fainted. Hundreds of bears laying prostrate from emotional exhaustion and ecstasy.
Of course the guy was arrested for inflicting an unbearable atrocity on park animals by damaging their natural inclinations. The bears to this day have not recovered well. They beg snacks at a distance, some so embarrassed have resorted to carrying bag lunches (nuts and berries of course) when around camp grounds.
The good thing is that campers can now have Coleman coolers without bear intervention. And please note a bear in the city is illiterate, all bets are off.
The sci fi vibe continues...
He's a mercenary and freebooter in Outer Space.
A lot of his missions are personal assignments
from clients. Here you see him in a solo adventure
called Green Eyed Monster... classic sci fi.
Like a wild bunch cowboy... Space Wolf gets the
job done. I already have his first story slated for an
upcoming anthology, soon to be announced.
All of this and more in...
Aura- The Art of Winston Blakely
I think he had more of a military patch in mind.
I studied several Marine badges from different countries and somehow this popped into my head ... looking NOTHING like the badges I was looking at, lol.
Onto wrapping up the next book :D
Hello BSFS *Update* Fated by Chain on Wii U *EXCLUSIVE*
I would like to update BSFS on the development of Fated by Chain for the Nintendo Wii U! Incus has worked very hard on this application, and we would like to give new information with story and images. Incus Interactive Productions LLC were inspired by the designs of action/rpg games of the past like Final Fantasy, Zelda, others. These games were great in design, imagination, and scale. But there were primarily in Japanese only development perspectives. Leading to odd characters designs of black people that sometimes just doesn't make any sense sometimes.
Incus Interactive Productions LLC is made up by founders William Smith Jr.(Myself/Technical Artist) and David Smith (Brother/Concept Artist). Others have helped with development of this game as well. The story goes like this; Servantu Fatum is famous Bioenginer of a place called Lux Spatium, a Sci-fi fantasy city that Servantu builds biolife androids to protect. The problems comes in with his own creation.
And her name is Quo, Servantu most powerful creation that controls time and space! Quo is the Antagonist of Fated by Chain in rebellion over Servantu. The balance of power between Lux and the wild of biolifes is going to clash as Servantu learns of chains that he's made and how to balance them as he gains the the power of nature it self.
Servantu will meet others on his mission to stop Quo and save Lux like Erlideau Thack below. Where aiming for a tight battle system for the Wii U's unique Gamepad controller.
Finally, Fated by Chain will be released in Europe first, and then the U.S. in two months there after on Nintento's eShop for Wii U. For more information on Incus and Fated by Chain check out this podcast and links below.
P.S. This will be a Nintendo eshop exclusive only!
http://www.incusinteractiveproductions.co/
Freaky Physics Experiment May Prove Our Universe Is A Two-Dimensional Hologram
Everyone knows the universe exists in three dimensions, right? Maybe not. For some time now serious physicists have been pondering the seemingly absurd possibility that three-dimensional space is merely an illusion--and that we actually live in a two-dimensional "hologram."
And now scientists at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois have launched a mind-blowing experiment to show once and for all what sort of universe we live in.
"We want to find out whether space-time is a quantum system just like matter is," Dr. Craig Hogan, director of Fermilab's Center for Particle Astrophysics, said in a written statement. "If we see something, it will completely change ideas about space we've used for thousands of years."
According to quantum theory's uncertainty principle, it's impossible to know both the precise location and the exact velocity of a subatomic particle. If the same uncertainty principle applies to space as well as to matter, space too should have built-in fluctuations--a.k.a. "quantum jitter" or "holographic noise," according to the statement.
The 21 scientists involved in the experiment will look for the jitter with the help of an exquisitely sensitive device known as a Holometer. It produces laser beams 200,000 times brighter than a laser pointer and, with the help of an optical technique known as interferometry, measures jitter in the beams as small as a few billionths of a billionth of a meter.
"If we find a noise we can't get rid of, we might be detecting something fundamental about nature--a noise that is intrinsic to space-time," Dr. Aaron Chou, the experiment's lead scientist and project manager for the Holometer, said in the statement. "It's an exciting moment for physics. A positive result will open a whole new avenue of questioning about how space works."
The prospect of making a discovery that would not only defy common sense but also overturn centuries of scientific thinking has Chou thinking in philosophical, almost mystical terms.
"I have always believed that if indeed there is a creator, then the mechanism by which the world was created is not necessarily unknowable, and if we delve deeply enough we might reach some very interesting and inescapable conclusions," Chou told The Huffington Post in an email. "This topic brings up all sorts of interesting philosophical and theological questions which are perhaps better discussed over a beer or a nice cup of tea. In the meantime, we scientists have a job to do."
The short answer of why I decided to make the female heroine of my fantasy/romance novel The Last King really dark and really feminine is because such a woman is a rarity to see in literature, film or television.
I mean, even if a heroine is black, she’s likely brown-colored or light, and she is most certainly going to have straight hair and not her natural curls.
Not so with Emmy Hughes – I decided to make her everything this world insists should not be considered beautiful, lovely and worth persuing – dark-skinned with kinky hair (okay, it’s BIG kinky hair for sure, no teeny weeny afro’s I admit, but that’s because I like BIG hair).
The main reason I did this is because I’m tired of seeing the same images played out in the media of what’s attractive. I specifically wanted to contribute, no matter how small, to the idea of black women being seen as attractive and feminine.
Why feminine? Because black women have traditionally been denied the right to be seen this way, and personally, I think this has hurt us in numerous ways.
Yes, Virginia, feminine women do benefit in a society.
You see, feminine women tend to benefit from the resources of masculine men. Heck,they benefit from society in general, and the fact is, black women have never really benefited from society or from men - be it black men or white men (I speak of benefits in a healthy way – I’m not talking about gold-digging here; because benefiting isn’t just about economics – there are also physical, emotional, spiritual and social benefits).
What do I mean by black women haven’t benefited from men because we aren’t viewed as feminine? Well, bear with me on this train of thought.
Take a moment and think of how you, dear reader, view black women. Go on and be very honest with yourself. It’s only you and I ‘in the room’ at the moment. Now, think of most of the images you have either seen of black women, or associate with black women: from books and films, to television and music videos, black women have more often than not been portrayed in the following ways— as mammies, Jezebels, gold-diggers, and sapphires. On the news you will see hyped-up images of welfare queens or single moms, or loud uncouth individuals (the Claire Huxtables and Michelle Obama’s are rarely given their due) and in modern society black women have even become viewed as independent or STRONG black women.
Yet the one thing you rarely see us viewed as is FEMININE and desirable – at least, not desirable in respectable way.
We have not been considered the soft types who are worthy of pursuit; or who – as Sojourner Truth once mentioned in her famous speech “Ain’t I A Woman?” – are worthy of being helped into carriages (“That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages,” Sojourner said, “and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud puddles, or gives me any best place, and ain’t I a woman?”).
I think this view of us, this view that we have now internalized, has actually done great damage to our psyche.
Because of slavery, and the white mentality that instigated that slavery, we have been seen as chattel and sub-human. And “chattel” does not reap the resources of men or society, because it is assumed that chattel has no needs.
Indeed, chattel, mammies, jezebels and STRONG women are seen as neither needing a helping hand nor as deserving of one.
Now, recall again how you tend to view black women; better yet, recall the images you often see of us. From Mammy inGone with the Wind to Aibileen in The Help, and from Celie in the Color Purple to Precious and her mother in Precious (all of which are Oscar nominated films by the way; don’t you just love the roles Hollywood likes to see us nominated in?), we have by and large been viewed in a variety of negative, or unattractive roles, but never feminine ( (I’m not saying all images of black women are like this; but a good majority are – you get the point).
Yes, let’s take a look at these images, in case you have forgotten them.
THE HELP….(Oscar nominated film)
We’ll handle the work: we can take it.
PRECIOUS…(Oscar nominated film).
No need to pursue us: nothing feminine here!
GONE WITH THE WIND…. (Oscar nominated film).
Whatever I can do fer Scarlett makes me happy! I got no needs of my own.
Now, consider their white or lighter skinned counterparts in each of these films.
THE HELP…
Even though I’m mean, I’m all dolled-up
PRECIOUS…
You poor, fat, black thing! Thank God I’m not you.
GONE WITH THE WIND….
My goodness! Don’t I, Scarlette, look delicate. Even when I’m distressed!
Continue looking at some of these images below. Which of these two groups of women, white or black, seem either unattractive, unfeminine and/or able to carry heavy loads? Be honest with yourselves now. (Ugh! The black women in these images, in these movies, don’t even get to wear make-up. Please. Women have loved prettying themselves up since the dawn of time – and that includes black women!)
But you wouldn’t know that black women want to be pretty too, at least, not from these pictures below.↓
PINKY…
Hair done. Check. Make-up on. Check. Too bad for the mammy figure though…
THE HELP….
You carry the load, and I’ll stand here in pink and look good.
An unrealistic image of a woman first thing in the morning. Gone with the Wind.
Meanwhile, white women have often been portrayed as dolled-up and feminine in situations where they shouldn’t be all dolled-up (like those old movies where the women wake-up first thing in the morning with all their make-up already on, i.e. the legendary Gone with the Wind. Meanwhile, the women in The Help can’t even get a little lipstick going on).
Now consider the show Orange is the New Black. I notice on huge billboards in New York that although everyone is in prison, the white female lead still gets to look like she just came out of a hair and make-up salon!
Even in jail, Hollywood is gonna make me gorgeous.
Meanwhile, crazy-eyes looks like something I have seen in old posters of black people that meant to degrade us.
Crazy-Eyes today.
“Crazy eyes” from yester-year. Crazy-Eyes, you seei, is not a modern view of black women, but an old repeated one.
Continue to look below:
Now, is it me, or does the blonde woman in OITNB look good, dare I say even feminine, in all of these pictures? Can’t say the same for the black woman – she looks JACKED-UP and freaky. Even the lady with the knife gets to wear lipstick!
Man,you look great! I look, well, crazy.
I even think the above picture ↑ reminds me of, well, this picture below ↓. Which characters look wild-eyed and a little insane and which ones look nice or sweet or calm and normal? You be the judge.
Look familiar?
Continue looking. Who gets to be feminine the majority of the time in film and television?
Count the feminine looking ones, and the ones who look jacked-up
No, seriously, I’m smelling some of the same-old same-old in depictions of us. Look below when the old “coons”of yesteryear ate watermelon. Thank goodness black women today only get to be degraded by eating pie and shoving it on their faces.
Last time we saw you, you were eating watermelon. Now, Crazy-eyes, you’re eating pie.
New era, same non-feminine, even coonish imagery.
Actually, I just want to take a break here and show some old photos of my grandmother and mother (ok, grandpa is in here, too). These were very feminine women that I grew up with. Yet I rarely saw or even see their likeness portrayed in books and movies in a healthy way – again, I’m not talking about rare exceptions. I’m saying I didn’t and do not see these images of black women the majority of the time.
My grandparents in1944. No cooning here. And man! Did they have style.
Gasp! Black women even liked dressing up their little daughters. My mama and my aunt.
My feminine mama: yep, she liked make-up. And her eyes weren’t bucked-out while throwing pie on her face.
Where are these black women in movies, books and films?
Who gets to be pretty and pursued?
Now where was I?
Ah, yes.
These are some of the reasons I purposely made my Emmy Hughes from The Last King very soft and feminine. It’s also why I put her in situations where she needed the help and resources of men – of her beloved father, and of her soon-to be love interest, Gilead Knightly. Both men are present in her life for a reason. (I also wanted to give her a life that was not filled with pathology – violence, incest, drugs, ghetto behavior, etc.).
And I did not make her a STRONG character; at least, not unnecessarily so. She’s smart for sure, and not anyone’s punching bag, but she does need assistance.
After all, why must black women be so STRONG that we take on burdens that are physically, mentally and emotionally crushing us? Has our strength stopped our obesity and health epidemic? Has our STRENGTH stemmed the flow of unwed motherhood (a problem that is wreaking havoc both in our communities and for future generations). Has our STRENGTH helped our numbers in marriage rise?
No.
And that’s a big NO.
Now, as a black woman myself, I am NOT here to put down other black women. I am here hoping to help change how we view ourselves, first and foremost.
Black beauty – soft and feminine
Personally, I think being soft and feminine and in need of help is great place for us to start. Other women need help. What’s wrong with us admitting we need it, too? Being strong in the sense of taking on everything, and helping everyone, while needing no help and love for ourselves is stupid. And it’s part of an image that was assigned to us in slavery. Therefore, it can’t be good.
Now I ask you, when is the last time you saw in a movie or film, a dark-skinned woman, pretty, made-up, hair done, being pursued as a romantic interest? When do you get to see us being soft and feminine and wanted? Think hard now. Because even if you do come up with one such movie, it will likely be, well, one movie (unless it’s an independent film; I admit I am not up to date on my independent movies.)
And when is the last time you heard someone say, “Wow, she’s a strong white woman. Look at that strong Japanese woman! You go girl!”
Nobody says that.
Now don’t get me wrong. Strength in a woman does have a place: after all, there is work to do in this world. There are families to care for and dreams to achieve. It takes strength to accomplish any of those tasks. But strength in a woman as her main character trait does not bode well. You see, it cannot be the defining characteristic when one thinks of a woman.
And if you do believe strength should be a woman’s defining characteristic, consider where it has gotten us. The black community is now a matriarchal community that has a 70 percent out of wedlock rate. This not strength. This is brokenness.
But, listen. I know that calling a woman strong first and foremost, sounds like a compliment. I get it. You mean well by it. But underneath that “compliment” lies the (sometimes) unintentional belief that since a black woman is strong she can handle suffering more. She’s all good, and is able to endure all kinds of trauma and strife, with no need to pour her heart out from the deep pain she truly feels.
Baloney.
All of this so-called strength is actually sapping us of our joy. In not being viewed as feminine we have lost an ability to be vulnerable and lean on others – particularly on men.
Yes, I said it. I said the word Men. They are NOT a necessary evil. Their strength is needed. And men, the masculine ones at least, tend to like feminine and vulnerable women as romantic interests (I’m not talking about stupid, blind vulnerability either; you know, the kind that allows a women to be a punching bag -um, no thanks!).
Delicate and vulnerable
You see, to be a STRONG black woman as opposed to a feminine black woman indicates no need for us to be vulnerable or open. But a woman, almost by definition, is more vulnerable in this world, simply because were are not physically stronger than men. That’s a fact.
Indeed, we have been led to believe such traits of vulnerability are weak (probably because vulnerability does lead to the possibility of being hurt; but being strong has done on a whipping on us, too). But in fact, we are hurting more because we aren’t open to admitting we need the help of others, of men in particular, in our lives. And yet, we have love to give and we have love that we need.
We need the resources of men, because men, when they use their strength in the right way, are wonderful!
This is where viewing ourselves as feminine comes in. Because, you see, feminine women are thought of as worthy of being the sorts of women that men want to rescue and offer a helping hand to.
Who wants to be viewed as The Help all the time? Ugh!
And this foolish thinking we have about ourselves won’t change until we stop seeing ourselves as The Strong Help – Able To Do It All, No-Make-Up or Soft Qualities Needed.
We are NOT the help and we are not masculine women. We are soft, feminine women who can get the job done when it’s needed, sure, but we want to be pursued and rescued, too.
So I think we need to cease singing that Aretha Franklin song “Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves” or the Destiny’s Child tune “Independent Woman.”
We have been doing it for ourselves all along. We have been strong, and we have been independent.
And frankly, it’s killing us.
BIOGRAPHY of A. Yamina Collins
The Last King is Yamina’s first novel, and it has already been in Amazon’s Top 100 Bestseller’s list in Fantasy, Science-fiction, Women’s Fiction Literature and Christian Women’s Literature.
A graduate of New York University, she lives in Manhattan and currently blogs at Yaminatoday.com. Her dream as an author is to help create new images of major African-American characters in literature.
She hates stereotypes. No, really. She does.
 |
| Source: Greg Laden's Science Blog |
Related sites:
Climate Central: Keeling Curve
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
NOAA: Earth System Research Laboratory
Scripps CO2 Program: Home of the Keeling Curve
Scripps Institution of Oceanography: The Keeling Curve
Well damn. I done fount this old thing. See, I had forgot that I subscribed to this site. Forgot the email attached to this account, even! But, the wells of memory are deep and something stirred within those depths and brought me back.
That something was my brand new podcast.
It is called BrownCoats, Black Magic. It covers Nerd Culture and People of Color and the interesting interactions between them. I am the black magic portion and my cohost is of Indian extraction and brings the Brown. If you would be so kind as to check out our blog and the attendant podcast in your spare moments, I'd love ya for it.
This week in particular could be of interest as we delve into the written word with focus on Comic Books and Urban Fantasy Novels. The New Ms. Marvel, Jeremy Love's Bayou, The Jungle Book and Ben Aaronovitch's Peter Grant Novels all get the once over!
The SoundCloud where you can hear my melodious voice!
Thanks in advance brethren and sistren! It's been a while, but its good to be black, er... back.
