Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Heading Home...a time to give Thanks

It's that time of year friends, a time to take stock of life, and set aside a few moments to give thanks and appreciate all of the blessings life has bestowed upon us. As I prepare to pack my bag and load up my car, I feel compelled to stop and reflect on how far I have come since this time last year. The daily hustle n bustle of life can often cloud one's judgment and miss the bigger picture and great joy of subtle and meaningful progress made on this journey called life. I am in a better place mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally and responsibly than I was last year and many years before now. There are some really great people in my life who help keep me sane, hopeful, feeling loved and accepted and ready for whatever is 'Next' in life. It is what we all want and seek from life and those beautiful people know who they are, they're my best friend, family, school buddies, fraternity, colleagues, all those that have taken the time to try to understand me as best they can, contribute to my progress & well being, and I in theirs as well.

It can be said that Jamar is a difficult person to get close to, and that could be for good reason; life is fraught with setback & disappointment, just as well as hope & opportunity. In these last few months I've met someone whose breathed new hope & life into me and reminded me to believe in possibilities. Sometimes my ideas of hope & possibility may seem strange or unrealistic, but when we lose that then truly what's the point of life? During this time of Thanksgiving make sure you take time to appreciate life, and love, and peace and hope in the possible; I think it would help us all continue to 'Live our Best Life' as Oprah says!
"To those who've loved & toiled & strove, for me in other years…" I thank you for letting me be me, for accepting me as I am and moving forward with me to craft our own future!

Happy Holiday,

J. Kelly

Monday, November 23, 2009

Death of an Industry....

So while print media dies a slow death, I feel compelled to do a short post about my Newsweek subscription. Now anyone who knows anything about me will tell you that I'm well informed on all the issues of the day (unlike Sarah Palin), they'll also tell you that I read anything that you put before my eyes. Now I'm writing this post because I have my Newsweek magazine delivered here at work and a good friend (hey Irving) recently bought me a Newsweek subscrption for my bday [which is delivered at home]. Now with 2 friggin copies of the same magazine, why do I have such a hard time reading just one of them?

Its 2009 MSM, you guys need a new formula for a new era. The babyboomers will be retiring and dying off soon and this reading a magazine shit is for the birds. It requires too much time and patience out of an already too short day. Between work and a long slog of a commute home, then preparing dinner, save 1 or 2 hrs for a good tv show, then bed [god forbid you have laundry to do] there's just not enough time in the day/week to thumb thru an entire news magazine. So shape up or your industry will continue to die a slow death. Just a few thoughts I had to get off my chest, I'll try to sift thru my backlog of mag's that I haven't even opened yet (yawn!).

Friday, November 20, 2009

End of an era...farewell Mama Oprah

After 25 years in production, the highest rated daytime television show, 'The Oprah Winfrey show' will come to an end on September 8, 2011. I grew up with Oprah; I can easily remember coming home after school observing my grandmother watching Oprah, while I watched whatever 'afterschool special' was on at the time. Remember those after school specials [?] you'd have to be at least 25 to remember, because they don't come on anymore. I can also remember a time when it seemed like every day Oprah had people on her show crying and balling their eyes out, or viewers at home on the brink of tears over some heart wrenching story she was covering [back during the 90's]. During this time I was anti-Oprah because I didn't understand why she made everyone cry, but during my college days 2001-2006 I became a bonafide Oprah fan/defender. Like most college kids I had way too much time on my hands so I was able to regularly keep up with her show, and the myriad of topics she covered. Even today I try to watch her [via DVR] as often as possible, but there's a very apt slogan that she came up with a few years ago that sticks with me even today and I use it to guide myself thru this wilderness called life. She said we should all "Live our Best Life" it seems simple enough to say on paper, but in practice it’s an entirely different reality. The daily realities of life throw many jabs and counter punches our way and we can easily feel overcome, beat down, and left for dead, but Oprah had this novel idea that we should see the glass as half full, that despite life’s challenges we should still persevere and "live our best life." This meant simple things like proper eating and exercise, taking necessary time off and vacations, it meant not staying in unhealthy relationships that already reached their expiration date. It gave me the idea a few years ago that " it ain't nothing but a ticket" meaning as long as I could afford the plane ticket or hotel costs, then I was on my way somewhere, and wouldn't let anything or anyone stop me.

Oprah's life and her work, has long given me hope in life's endless possibilities. While that may seem cliché to say, it’s the kind of small thing that makes me keep on pushing, keep on persevering, the idea of the possible. I firmly believe that Oprah Winfrey's life is a testament to the 'idea of the possible' the idea that we truly can do or be anything we want in this life, in this country and truly this world. Her show broke down barriers, built up women, welcomed gays, straights, racists, republicans and everyone in between. She taught tolerance, peace, compassion and love. While the tone of my words may seem deifying in their verbiage, my intent is anything but that. Oprah didn't impose a religious faith on her viewers, but rather a faith in oneself, faith and belief in yourself is more powerful than any religious doctrine. To be fully aware your own actions, conscious or otherwise, your own biases and prejudices, your strengths and weaknesses, your purpose and full potential, those are the things that make us powerful beings, and allow us to live our best life. I look forward to what is yet to come from Ms. Winfrey, but felt it necessary to take time out today and take stock of what she has done and contributed so far to our country and society. Too often we wait until people are dead before we appreciate their value and contributions to our lives. Well I don't want until she's gone; I would like to say Thank You today, because tomorrow isn't promised. Today when I get home I will watch her live broadcast and like her and so many before I'm sure I will shed a tear, a tear of joy, and a tear of sorrow. Any true fan can attest to a 'connection' a level feeling of understanding when watching Oprah, that no matter what you come from, your education or social status, that if there's anyone that can understand you its Oprah, her story is our story, her struggle is our struggle and ours hers. She made a career out of identifying with people and helping us all feel 'normal' and interconnected despite our differences. My 26 years of life's experience helps me better understand now, what I didn't understand so long ago, and I’ll shed my tears in anticipation of what’s next, because I truly believe, the best if yet to come!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Bigotry at its worst!

Per the Washingtonpost:

"The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington said Wednesday that it will be unable to continue the social service programs it runs for the District if the city doesn't change a proposed same-sex marriage law, a threat that could affect tens of thousands of people the church helps with adoption, homelessness and health care."

Hmm...excuse me, but i didn't know BIGOTRY was in style these days...like seriously the Catholic church of all places wants to threaten to deny food to homeless ppl b/c of gay couples finally getting some respect where they live? This would be funny if it weren't so tragic, I mean this is the same church body thats been shuffling pedophiles around for decades, and paying billions out in lawsuits, but now they think they should have some moral authority over gay people? And hurt homeless people in the process, damn this is anything BUT Christ like...shakin my DAMN head!!!

Warming up to Marriage...

So yesterday was a holiday and I caught up on some much needed rest, relaxation and reflection. I also had an opportunity to watch a little TV and clear out my DVR, which brings me to the meaning of this post. I was watching Oprah interview Ellen about the O magazine cover (Dec ’09), and her first co-interview with her wife Portia de Rossi.


Now most of my friends know that I'm personally against marriage (from an institutional perspective) however I fiercely advocate allowing gay couples the civil right to marry as a matter of equal justice under the law. But sitting there watching Ellen and Portia, I didn't see marriage as a public policy or issue to be debated, I saw Love, pure unadulterated Love. I saw freedom from shame, freedom from insecurity, freedom from the 'thought police' who preach morality but are anything but moral. I saw the freedom to love on display for millions of Americans to bear witness and appreciate the normalcy of gay relationships. Lost in the debate over gay marriage is the basic humanity of the very real people involved. Heterosexual people love to use their religion as a crux to justify their willful ignorance, and while doing so never realize the self loathing taking place within homosexuals as we try to make heterosexuals more comfortable around us. It can take years, sometimes a lifetime before gay people can come to full acceptance of themselves and their true identity, many factors contribute to this, not least of which is the hateful climate toward gays which is finally beginning to subside (the more common folk become educated and accepting). When I saw the look in Ellen and Portia's eyes thru the various photos that Oprah showed from their wedding, I was profoundly touched and dare I say more hopeful about the possibilities that lay ahead.

In their eyes I saw love, I saw affection, I saw unabated passion, and a desire that can only come when one frees them-self from their self. Self can often be our own greatest obstacle to success, peace (of mind) and happiness. We are all a work in progress, and I do believe that yesterday I saw progression in my own self and my personal views toward marriage. I think I want that joy that love, that passion for work and for each other that I saw on display on that stage. I'll end by saying Thank You Oprah for allowing Ellen and Portia to put their Love on display for all, cheers to the endless possibilities that lay ahead as we chart our own future and create the 21st century in our image!

Monday, November 9, 2009

Sad excuse for national debate...

So it has been a few days since the tragedy at Ft. Hood, Texas and Orlando, Florida and I’m struck by the idiocy and blatant prejudice of the media coverage. Let me first state plainly that both acts of violence are abhorrent and I strongly condemn both men and their actions. But in viewing the coverage its is sickening to my stomach to see the American citizen-whose parents are of Palestinian lineage- be immediately accused and associated with terrorism, however the white American in Florida is labeled "distraught over finances." Please help me understand how its seemingly ok for a white man to slaughter innocents and escape a terrorism charge but the second someone even loosely tied to Islam commits such an act they are immediately accused of terrorism, and as of Monday (11/9/2009) there is an effort to link this military psychiatrist to a mosque where 9/11 hijackers fellowshipped. Americans love to feign ignorance over how Muslim Americans or Arab and other Muslims around the world develop an antipathy toward America but for an African American like myself, it’s as clear as day why the antipathy grows and festers, America is the MOST hypocritical nation around today. We've had our own share of terrorists throughout our history, from those FOUNDING FATHERS that mastered the slave trade, down through the Southern segregationists and their Jim Crow south, to Timothy McVeigh, the Unabomber, and the Columbine duo. Our problem is we choose to view terrorism through a lens of 'everyone but us' we believe our own hype that America is the world’s last best hope' that everything America does is right and beyond reproach. It’s a ridiculous fallacy and the sort of hubris that gets people killed. I won't attempt to justify Major Hasan's corrosive actions, but let’s also consider what role America's reckless foreign policies may have played in pushing this America soldier beyond the brink, beyond what his education should have taught him not to do. It is too easy to blame it on 'Islamic extremism' as FoxNews and Sen. Lieberman loves to do, it is more difficult to objectively evaluate our own actions, and figure out is this tragedy was preventable. In the days and weeks to come, unfortunately the white man's terrorist actions will be easily forgotten while the brown man's actions will not, and they will not because our incompetent MSM pushes an inane idea that instinctively associates Muslims with terrorism and whites with 'hope & freedom.' It’s ridiculous and hypocritical, but hey it’s America at its worst, and that’s what we choose to believe (despite evidence to the contrary).

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Karzai makes the U.S. look foolish...

Why the heck are we continuing to prop of the Karzai government after 8 years of failure? Karzai is a corrupt failure and the U.S. occupation is doomed for failure if we continue to prop up this incompetent leader. The only Afghans that like him are the ones living in Kabul, and his ironclad grip on power will never sustain any power sharing agreement with his former rivals. The United States Goverment is aiding and abetting the tragic loss of life currently taking place over in that country.