RealMy man is everything a woman could dream.Dedicated, hard working, strong.I bear my soul to him.With him I have no reason to fear anything.My rock, strength, fortress.He is my protector.The love in his eyes exsists only for me.Sensual, penetrating, yet vunerable.I am his Queen.He is the epitome of what a real man should be.Masculine, loving, faithful.His spirit is beautiful.His love is real.
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Inside I feel the walls closing in.Rapidly. A tragedy. Loves made at me.Emptiness Resides where love used to be.Put my soul at ease. I can't conceive you with out me. We're meant to be.But you don't see.The pain inside is consuming me.And suddenly what used to be is a memory that's haunting me. Love's taunting me.I don't beleive you want to leave.I realize rejection has chosen me.It's controlling me. Showing me Vindictiely.I toss and turn in dreamless sleep and wake to think that you should be here holding me, consoling me.But instead you see, you chose to be away from me.
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Beautiful you were.Innocent and oblivious to the harsh world around you.Such a happy and carefree soul should never be made to suffer for one's wordly conflicts.But I, in a destructive rage,So unfairly deprived you of your lifeWhich was used only to beautify this cold, dark place.So it is with much remorse that I pray for deliveranceFor the Soul of the Yellow Butterfly.-Gabrielle Thompson
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A little morning bondage.I've been collecting BDSM images to finish a new draft of my "Bitches Brew" script. Whenever I work on a story, a script, or a poem, I collect images that I put into my scrapbook. It's kinda like creating my own one sheet/movie poster/book cover. I then put together a sound track of music that reflects the soundscape/tone I'm trying to create in my work. As I write, the music and images transport me, and then I become the characters I write about.I tend to write about things that interest me, and I realize that as aggressive and assertive as I am, in the BDSM world, I would actually be a "bottom". And since I am naturally a voyeur (because I am a writer), I find myself torn between being a true "top" (rather than bottom). I don't think there is a half and half in the BDSM world. My best buddy Taj thinks I'm a closet dominatrix. Maybe.But I do have a growing rope fetish. Honestly, I just like the artistry of the rope work, and actually think I could get away with wearing rope over my clothes in public because I think it looks hot. The baddest chick in the game is Midori (in all her black latex glory), and she does the most beautiful rope-work I've ever seen. I was thinking of having photos done for myself. I've done tasteful professional nude photos before back in the day. But the wiser I've become, I've embraced all facets of my personality. Especially the darker, shadow side of myself. There's just something Sci-Fi'ish about the look of the rope to me.I'm not saying I want to be hog-tied and whipped, I just like the look of rope-work over my clothes, no different than my nose ring, or the belly piercing I had years ago before it was a fad for teens. Maybe I'll wear rope for the San Diego Comic Con. No one would notice me there.Okay, maybe I have said too much.
Retro-Km: Land of the Landlords presents a future landscape not very common in science fiction. As a huge fan of the genre, I have absorbed science fiction in all of its formats, from print to television to film. Let's face it, the science fiction we grew up with, that we still love, is overwhelmingly white. In Star Wars, mostly white humans and their alien allies squared off against a white human male dominated tyrannical regime.Battlestar Galactica, original and remake, tilted heavily on the lighter end of the monochromatic spectrum. Star Trek envisioned a racially diverse future for humanity, but until Commander Sisko reached centerstage, a strong black authority figure was a rarity in this universe. The youth utopia in Logan's Run was populated by a sea of healthy, vigorous, under-30 whites.The profusion of white extends to the books I've read. The heroic figures fighting against alien invaders, taking on the might of oppressive interstellar empires, commanding powerful space ships, travelling through time, making first contact, using and creating super advanced technology, unravelling mind-boggling scientific concepts...those endeavors have long been the sole province of white males and a few white women. The same has been true of the fantasy genre. Fantasy writers Charles Saunders, Milton Davis, Nnedi Okorafor, Sharise Moore, and Gregory Walker, among others, have added a splash of color to fantasy literature with their own unique visions, where black people are prominent, not relegated to the periphery.Edward Uzzle's science fiction offering is an explosion of violent action, fast paced adventure, hi-tech hardware and hard nosed heroics. Set in a near distant future, Retro-Km focuses on the exploits of Kashta, an elite soldier fighting for Ta-Amenta, a black nation carved out of what used to be the United States. Ta-Amenta is truly a black utopia, peopled by black folk who not only enjoy the benefits of a techologically advanced, ecologically sound society, but are deeply proud and rooted to their heritage and tradtions. The story's frequent flashbacks to the 21st century reveals to the reader how Ta-Amenta came into existence...or rather how the idea of such a society was born. Both past and future inter-relate in the story without taking away from the overall narrative. The protagonist is dedicated and well meaning, though sometimes conflicted and rash. The usual ingredients for a hero. Retro-Km is epic in scope, unaplogetically Afrocentric in direction while adhering to the formula that make for exciting, compelling action adventure science fiction.
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Posted by Penelope on February 27, 2009 at 12:41am
Miriam Jacobs writer and president of publisher Chaklet Coffee Books banters with Penelope & Otto regarding the erotic anthology EROS369 and the thrilling sexually charged and suspenseful "The RestStop: Jeff and Jeanine" on In Like Flynn starting at a new time - 11:00pm CST!!Call in at 718/508-9683 to discuss writing and publishing with Miriam Jacobs!
Hey Dolls and Guys I've been having problems with my lulu storefront. It's not working although Immortal and Immortal II are still listed for sale there.Anyway it's all good because both Immortal end edition & Immortal II: The Time of Legend at are www. amazon.com.& www.blacksciencefictionsociety.com StorePeace ya'll:)
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Destination FutureDescription: Science Fiction anthology to be edited by Z.S. Adani and Eric T. ReynoldsPublisher: Hadley Rillie BooksSubmission Guidelines:We are looking for Science Fiction stories, particularly Hard SF, Space Operas, Alien Worlds, Alien Encounter, Exploration, and Quest Stories. (We prefer not to receive alternative and historical fiction, fantasy, steampunk, or horror for this anthology, but other than that it's pretty open.Length: 3000 – 6000 wordsElectronic Submissions Only. Send as an attachment to an email message. Microsoft Word .doc file is preferred, or .rtf is okay (please contact us if you need to make arrangements for another format). Please virus scan your document before sending.Email Your Story To: submissions.future [at] gmail [dot] comImportant: Place Destination Future in the subject linehttp://www.hadleyrillebooks.com/DestinationFutureSubs.htmlEXTREME HORRORDEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: FEBRUARY 28, 2009Comet Press is seeking short stories for an extreme horror anthologyto be published in the summer of 2009 (trade paperback). We arelooking for the most gruesome, disturbing, and scary tales imaginable.Dark humor is acceptable.UPDATE: 1/26/09 - It is not a requirement, but we would like to seesome stories set in various times of past history. Including ahistorical or notorious figure, or legendary beast connected with thatperiod would be a bonus. Old West, WWII Nazi Germany, Ancient, Pre-Columbian, Biblical Era, Medieval, Pre-civilization, etc. Moreimportant, however, is that the story is extreme horror.Reading period: From December 15, 2008–February 28, 2009 (or untilfilled).Word length: 3,000–10,000 words.Multiple submissions: Up to two stories per author can be submitted.Please send as separate emails.Payment: 1/4 cent per word, $25 max. (negotiable for establishedauthors). Payment will be made upon publication.Reprints: We may consider reprints, please send previous publishinginformation with submission.Return Time: Rejections will be sent as soon as possible. Stories thatmake the first cut will be kept until the end of the reading period.Authors will be notified right away if their story makes the firstcut, then the final stories will be selected at the end of the readingperiod.Artwork: We are accepting submissions for cover art for this book.Either email your artwork in .jpeg format (300 DPI) as an attachment,or provide a link to the art online. Put "ARTWORK SUBMISSION: HORRORANTHOLOGY" in the subject of the email. Payment is $25.00. Email tothe address at the bottom of this page.Attach the entire manuscript as an rtf attachment. First page ofmanuscript should include your name, pen name if any, address andemail address, and word count. Please include that first page info inthe body of your email along with a brief blurb summing up the storyand a brief bio. Manuscript should be in a standard format—doublespaced, standard font and size. First line of paragraphs indentedusing word processor function (not tabs), no extra spaces betweenparagraphs, except for scene breaks. Italics should be italized, boldin bold. No headers or footers are necessary. Put "SUBMISSION: HORRORANTHOLOGY" in the subject of the email.Email to Comet Press.(Email links are encoded in javascript to protect against spam. If youhave javascript disabled, the email address is contact [at] cometpress[dot] us. Replace [at] and [dot] with the appropriate symbols.)http://www.cometpress.us/guidelines/horroranthology2009.htmlRead more…
11:30pm CST Saturday nights Penelope and Otto embark on their weekly review of the best and worst in TV News and Entertainment. When we began the show we had an interview component which we hadn't pursued in recent months. That's about to change. If you have a book, event or artwork you'd like to promote...contact me here or at penelope@penelopeflynn.com to fill your slot on the upcoming interview calendar.If you're not quite sure what In Like Flynn is all about, then check out our recent interview of Gayle "Delicious" JohnsonOr review some of our previous shows!We are happy to interview creators of any subject any genre and look forward to hearing from you!
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Penelope and Otto interviewed novelist Gayle "De-Licious" Johnson who spoke candidly and in graphic detail about sex, relationships and betrayal - the focus of her recently published novel What's Past Is Not Forgotten.Enjoy the thought-provoking discussion as Gayle takes us through the complexities of the mindsets of the main characters who deal with lost love, sexual expression and repression, and emotional trials and tribulations on the road to self- awareness.Take the opportunity to listen to our previous shows by clicking on the Player!
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This was a thought-provoking article on my novel The Shadow Speaker from a Muslim feminist website called Muslimah Media Watch."The Shadow Speaker” features Muslim protagonist of 2070Who says young adult fiction about Muslim girls can only be contemporary or historical? Nnedi Okorafor’s 2007 novel shows that Muslim teen lit can venture into the realm of the future. Young adult novel The Shadow Speaker explores science fiction and fantasy with a story that plays out in a futuristic, magical universe with worlds beyond Earth. It does so starring a Muslim protagonist, 14- to 15-year-old Ejii Ugabe.In Ejji’s world, it is 2070. And instead of a futuristic Britain or America, Ejii lives in Niger. She is black, but this is not a “race novel.” English is but one of the many languages she speaks, which include the more useful Hausa and Arabic. Ejii lives in a world post-”Peace Bomb.” Nuclear war led to the release of these bombs, which aimed to spread peace by causing mutations in the human population. (The goal to make people so different they wouldn’t be able to unite against each other.)What the bombs did was release magic into the world. This is a world of desert magicians, screaming storms that intend to kill lone travelers, and talking camels. And Ejii, as a “shadow speaker,” has a special talent: She can tap into the thoughts of feelings of anything or anyone, from plants to murderous chiefs...http://muslimahmediawatch.org/2009/02/10/the-shadow-speaker-features-muslim-protagonist-of-2070/Read more…
bill bilichik(or is it billicheat?)has the playbooks of other teams and uses them to win superbowls and nobody says nothing about stripping him of his titles or tainting his legacy. could lovie smith,tony dungy or mike tomlin get away with that? a white cop kills an unarmed,facedown black male(while another cop has a knee on his head)who's fully surrendered by shooting him point blank in the back. could a black cop get away with murdering a white man like that? george bush LIES under oath about weapons of mass destruction in iraq and sends american troops to iraq on the basis of a lie and it's not made a big deal. could barrack get away with that? holla back.
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My 3D Prototype of Earth Squadron Game Is Ready For Download and Testing. It's been about 10 years since my last video games so I'm ramping my skills back up for the Earth Squadron 3D Shooter Video Game. This is just a one room demo. Right now it's PC only. The faster your computer the better. To Check it out go to www.EarthSquadron.com
Let us return to W.D. Griffith's Birth of A Nation: one of the racist movies of all time, as well as one of the biggest money makers in film history. Birth of A Nation was the slavery ideal come to life; and two families: the Cameron and the Stoneman were pivotal to its plot."Dr. Cameron and his sons are gently benevolent "fathers" to their childlike servants. The servants themselves could be no happier. In the fields they contentedly pick cotton. In the quarters they dance and sing for their master. In the big house Mammy joyously goes about her chores. All is in order. Everyone knows his place. Then the civil war breaks out and the old order cracks."Danny Bogel Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films 1973 p.12The war years are terrible! In the South there is [title card/Birth of a Nation]: "ruin, devastation, rapine and pillage!" Lions, and tigers and bears --oh my! Reconstruction begins and now a band of uppity Northern darkies and low life Yankee carpetbaggers enter the picture. They corrupt the former slaves -- who then turn on their good and loving masters.Who will save the South?Into this conflict, Griffith introduced Lillian Gish: as "Flora Cameron;" of the first -- if not the first Silver Screen virgins. As Flora Cameroon, Gish played a frail, blond teenager menaced by Griffith's next creation: "Gus," the "brutal, Black buck." Gus was the Southern nightmare of the Black rapist come to life. Of according to Southern mythology, the only reason Black men wanted freedom was so they could rape White women -- picking cotton 16 hours (and without pay) had nothing to do with it. Cast beside Gus, Flora became an icon: a blond symbol of virginity.Copyright Valjeanne Jeffers-Thompson 1997, 2009 all rights reserved
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Between the mid-1890s and 1915 movies became America's most popular form of entertainment as film mythology gradually took shape. Black characters in this early motif were portrayed in Black face. Mammy made her debut around 1914. And American theaters introduced the tragic mulatto to the pantheon of Black mythology. She would become the darling of the dreamweavers: my word for filmmakers. After all what do movie makers do but sell dreams?The stage mulatto served to reinforce popular notions about white superiority.The merest drop of Negro blood was a taint from which there was no redemption:...[Yet] a character's white blood was [also] responsible for any positive features heor she might have. A mulatto in these mixed blood plays avoided a tragic end onlyif, just before the curtain rang down, it became clear that he or she was really all white.Daniel Leab. From Sambo to Superspade,pp.10-11.In these early films the mulatto was likable -- because of her White blood. Thus audiences were sympathetic to the poor creatures plight -- she would have been happy but her cursed Negro blood!Of course the symbolism of the tragic mulatto myth is paper thin. She (most tragic mulatto were women) is a mythic being fight a battle between good and evil with herself. Her "good" side is obviously her White side: the side with Caucasian blood. But look closer: her white persona is also her goddess or virgin persona. In contrast, her Black persona is her "evil" (whore) side. And tragic mulatto were often depicted as promiscuous, cold-hearted creatures.Thus, Black women when not portrayed as Mammies became Jezebels on screen: just as they had been portrayed by the slave master; and just as filmmakers continued to portray them well afterslavery's demise.Copyright Valjeanne Jeffers, 1997, 2009 all rights reserved
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Monthly Harlequin, a manga-style magazine for girls http://tinyurl.com/8b5znn********************************************Baen Books and The National Space Society have announced the third annual Jim Baen Memorial Writing Contest. The word limit: 8000 words. Near futuristic. No space opera or paranormals. Deadline April 1 http://williamledbetter.com/contest"Tir Na Nog [Press] will be launching a new incarnation of 'Fantastic Stories' as a quarterly magazine, with Warren Lapine as the editor. The first 8.5" x 11" issue will have a January 2010 cover date, andshould be available in September 2009...Fantastic Stories will start reading unsolicited submissions in March or April of this year, and will be paying, on acceptance, 4-10 cents per word for new fiction (2 cents per word for reprints of storiesthat first appeared on the web). Checks will go out with contracts. While Lapine, personally, prefers hard sf and magic realism, he'll be reading all sorts of sf/f/h for the magazine."http://sfscope.com/2009/01/warren-lapine-returns-to-sf-wi.htmlcommunity.livejournal.com/specficmarkets
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Now, in Fisherman’s Alley at the Salty Dog, Citizens sat in booths lining the walls or perched on bar stools. Among the laughing crowd were Mark and Layla, sharinga drink at the bar.Mark was thin with short, unruly blond hair and green eyes. His companion Layla had skin the color of cocoa beans, with full lips. Her kinky, brown hair was twisted into two braids.He smiled into her eyes. “How’s your Mum doing?”“Alright…tired of working double shifts.”“What time’s she going in tonight?”“Midnight.““Want me to come over?”Layla grinned over her beer. “Yeah.”“I’ll be there about 12:30.”Layla was a skin popper -- a placid addict. She shot up between her thighs, so that she didn’t have to wear long sleeve shirts. She thought Mark didn’t know.Beside them sat Joan, a woman with burnt sienna skin and slanted, brown eyes, staring morosely into her glass of juice.Across the room her lover Toki grinned up at Keith, another activist, then cut her eyes over at Joan to see if her flirting was making Joan angry. It wasn’t.Sitting in a booth behind them was José, slender and tan, with hazel colored eyes. Beside him was his mate Consuela, a buxom, sepia colored woman, with a heart shaped face and curly, shoulder length hair. Petite Estella and her heavily muscled lover, Parco, shared their booth.Two enforcers walked into the bar and the crowd tensed. Both were Fuchsia. The older officer had a reddish complexion, his ample stomach hanging over the waistband of his trousers. But his companion had the scrubbed, fresh face look of a rookie.“Take the back,” the beefy officer said to his partner, “I’ll start up here.”“Ok, searg.” The rookie approached Toki and Keith’s table. “Papers!” he ordered.Keith and Toki reached into their pockets and handed him two black booklets.These identity papers listed their personal history, including their legal right to live and work in Topaz. Yet Keith’s ID had something that Toki’s didn’t. His draft status.Every male citizen, sixteen and older, was required to carry a copy of their military record. This record always listed a citizen as ready for service, ready but declined, because of mental or physical handicap or discharged.If a man’s ID didn’t list one of these categories, he was, in the eyes of planet law: “a draft dodger.” A man hiding from his required duties as a soldier.The peacekeeper glanced through the booklets and handed them back, moving to the female Citizen at the next table over.His partner had already inspected The Salty Dog’s first booth, and was now standing before José and Consuela’s table. “Papers!” the enforcer barked. They hastily complied. “Papers!” he said again to Estella and Parco.Estella handed the man her ID. But her burly man hesitated. “I don’t have mine with me.” Parco grinned, exposing a missing front tooth. “I -- I left ‘em at home.”“Then you might as well come with me now!” The enforcer flashed a nasty grin. “It’s illegal not to carry identity papers -- and you know it!”Reluctantly, Parco handed over his ID. The officer flipped back to the service record section. It was blank.“Just like I thought!“ he exclaimed. “Alright, let’s go!…I said, let’s go!” As Parco stood, the beefy man hit him in the mouth with his fist, drawing blood, “Stinkin’ draft dodger!” and Parco staggered back against the table.“Parco!” Estelle cried. “You ain’t got to do that!”“Shut up! Or I’ll take you in too! Come on Cecil!” he called to the younger officer.They strutted out, their prisoner walking stiffly in front of them. “Try to run,” the older man said, “and I’ll shoot you in the back!”They left the grill and the crowd followed.“Pigs!” Estelle spat. “You’re not takin’ my man!”As they stepped out into the street, Keith called out: “That far enough!”The enforcers whirled around to face the mob. “Who you talking to, boy?” The older one snarled.“He’s talking to you!” a redheaded, Fuchsia man shouted.“You should know better!”“And you should know better than to come down here, and try to drag one of us outta here to send to that rich man’s war!”“It’s a noble cause!” the younger enforcer yelled.“And you’re a damn fool!” Keith shot back. “You’re not takin’ him!”“I can have a van here in under a minute!” the older man bellowed, his face turning a deeper shade of red. “I can identify all of you!” But he was trembling.Estelle stepped forward, pulling a metal box from her dress. At the touch of her thumb, a knife popped out. It was six inches long and very sharp.“Not if we cut your stinkin’ hearts out!”Mark stood behind the crowd, his hand resting on the small of Layla’s back. This is about to get real ugly. They’re gonna kill ‘em, and there’s gonna to be hell to pay -- for all of us.He glanced over at José and Consuela. They stood to his right, at the edge of the crowd…out of the enforcers’ line of vision. Mark locked eyes with José, then Consuela. The Bronze man nodded, and they inched away from the group.José blurred behind the older enforcer. There were gasps from the crowd as -- in one smooth motion -- he snatched the enforcer’s taser from his belt, and struck him between the neck and shoulder blades. The officer collapsed in a boneless heap.At the same time, Consuela wrapped her arm about the younger man’s throat, and the other about his forehead, holding his head immobile.They had to change to do this. It took superhuman control to let only a little of their power come forth -- to stop hair from covering their bodies, their muscles fromswelling.Both were sweating from the effort. José kept his head down until his eyes were hazel again. Until he could speak without growling. Consuela ducked her head behind the enforcer’s.But not before she looked into Parco’s face. Not before his jaw dropped, when he gazed into her yellow eyes.Estelle pushed through the crowd and wrapped her arms about her lover.“Popi --!”Parco stood frozen unable to believe what he’d just seen.José inclined his head to the right. “Go!”Hands clasped, they took off running up the street. By nightfall, the enforcers would be searching for Parco. The lovers would have to go into hiding now, melting into the homeless underground of draft dodgers, and homeless squatting in Topaz’s castoff buildings.“I’m going to let you go,” Consuela whispered into the young officer’s ear. “Don’t turn around for fifteen minutes. If you do, I’ll kill you!” She released him…and released her gift.José took her hand. They turned their backs to the crowd and raced away.Behind them, their warriors whistled and applauded.She felt herself traveling at a great speed, into a wide tunnel, bombarded with colors, textures, images… She was seated upon a throne…Dancing in a lush jungle……Chased by fanged dogs through a snow covered wood…Girded for battle, axe in hand…Then, in a plume of smoke, the images faded…They stood before a heavy oak door, exquisitely carved with the shapes of wolves, cats and other beasts. Karla opened it and they stepped out...Behind them, the doorway vanished.The two gazed up at the black and gray buildings towering over them. In the distance, smoke escaped from the tops of rounded towers. Vehicles rode past them, belching fumes from their tailpipes.To their right, an entire block had been flattened into debris. The air had a foul odor, and both recognized the stench of pollution that was illegal in their own time. They’d traveled 400 years into the past. To the most violent era Tundra had ever known.The Time of Legend...excerptCopyright 2008 Valjeanne Jeffers all rights reserved
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Formerly a Purple Magazine blog article.The Power of Self Affirming Imagesin the Edutainment of Childrenlit:PurpleZoeI am currently fawning over a regal barbie doll, named Nichelle.Her skin is like darkest chocolate before any additives are infused, and you can see in this barbie doll, the image of beauty which many young girls of color have been socially engineered to struggle recognizing.Image is powerful.Yes, progress has been made, but there is still a ways to go, before the pseudo-narcissism of racist culture, and the poisons it has dropped are outshined by the “bling” of enlightenment.In attempting to wipe out or subjugate a race, the techniques of psyching out an opponent by attacking their confidence have been employed. Children however innocent, have been targeted by this treatment, and the images of their likenesses have not been set up before them as heroes.Their heroes were hidden, stolen and painted over, leaving them with unbefitting likenesses which told them that they were less, and even… criminal in nature.The power of archetype is strong.We emulate our myths. So where then are the beautiful myths of the displaced Kush/Kemetian descendant (African) in the mainstream market? Why do we not see more anime that bears an accurate likeness of Asian culture? I’m all for unity, but I’ve seen most anime created in the likeness of Europeans. How is that unity, when other cultures barely have a moment to enjoy what's beautiful about their own culture?When caring for your child, be sure to expose them to many cultures, as unity is the prime objective, but also keep in mind (especially in the case of children of color) that their image should be seen in Angelic representations, fantasy heroes, and in loving communal representations, as image has been used as a tool of psychological warfare and it’s now time to restore the empowered images for the generations here and those to come. The way to rebirth is with healing images.Casting Storm (a black woman) for X-Men as a treacherous skeezer who betrayed Rogue by swinging more than one ep with her boyfriend Gambit behind her back, as well as casting a white women in the role of Elektra who is an obvious Hispanic character, while making the only movie to date with a comic book ‘black’ heroe who is in essence a dweller of hell, in the Spawn flick, tells us everything we need to know about what our children are being told about themselves.Let’s fix that.Truth always comes out. It has to happen sometime.Let it be now.Interesting links for artistsof underrepresented culture:attisgarden.com (Brand Epps is mindblowing)http://www.myspace.com/mantatakhan (Mantatakhan's art is meta-level)ghettomanga.comscritchandscratch.com
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Miriam Jacobs writer and president of publisher Chaklet Coffee Books banters with Penelope & Otto regarding the erotic anthology EROS369 and the thrilling sexually charged and suspenseful "The RestStop: Jeff and Jeanine" on In Like Flynn starting at a new time - 11:00pm CST!!Call in at 718/508-9683 to discuss writing and publishing with Miriam Jacobs!
Formerly a Purple Magazine blog article.The Power of Self Affirming Imagesin the Edutainment of Childrenlit:PurpleZoeI am currently fawning over a regal barbie doll, named Nichelle.Her skin is like darkest chocolate before any additives are infused, and you can see in this barbie doll, the image of beauty which many young girls of color have been socially engineered to struggle recognizing.Image is powerful.Yes, progress has been made, but there is still a ways to go, before the pseudo-narcissism of racist culture, and the poisons it has dropped are outshined by the “bling” of enlightenment.In attempting to wipe out or subjugate a race, the techniques of psyching out an opponent by attacking their confidence have been employed. Children however innocent, have been targeted by this treatment, and the images of their likenesses have not been set up before them as heroes.Their heroes were hidden, stolen and painted over, leaving them with unbefitting likenesses which told them that they were less, and even… criminal in nature.The power of archetype is strong.We emulate our myths. So where then are the beautiful myths of the displaced Kush/Kemetian descendant (African) in the mainstream market? Why do we not see more anime that bears an accurate likeness of Asian culture? I’m all for unity, but I’ve seen most anime created in the likeness of Europeans. How is that unity, when other cultures barely have a moment to enjoy what's beautiful about their own culture?When caring for your child, be sure to expose them to many cultures, as unity is the prime objective, but also keep in mind (especially in the case of children of color) that their image should be seen in Angelic representations, fantasy heroes, and in loving communal representations, as image has been used as a tool of psychological warfare and it’s now time to restore the empowered images for the generations here and those to come. The way to rebirth is with healing images.Casting Storm (a black woman) for X-Men as a treacherous skeezer who betrayed Rogue by swinging more than one ep with her boyfriend Gambit behind her back, as well as casting a white women in the role of Elektra who is an obvious Hispanic character, while making the only movie to date with a comic book ‘black’ heroe who is in essence a dweller of hell, in the Spawn flick, tells us everything we need to know about what our children are being told about themselves.Let’s fix that.Truth always comes out. It has to happen sometime.Let it be now.Interesting links for artistsof underrepresented culture:attisgarden.com (Brand Epps is mindblowing)http://www.myspace.com/mantatakhan (Mantatakhan's art is meta-level)ghettomanga.comscritchandscratch.com
