Universal Order

The mind operates like the universe. Larger objects have more gravitational pull.

You are being drawn right now towards whatever takes up the most space in your mind…. even if it’s something you don’t want.

Politically Speaking… 2D vs. 3D Vision

Many people here are music producers and MIGHT be familiar with this picture. It is a 3D representation of a sound (wavetable) versus a 2D representation of a sound (frequency).

The 2D picture is flat like an ekg. It could be the same sound but, without the representation of depth, you lose a certain perspective.

What I have been saying with these updates is that we are trained to look at things from only the 2D perspective….. Left vs. Right. (or Red vs. Blue). That’s the same thing as racial profiling, man-splaining or any of the other toxic mindsets plaguing society. You really think the answers are simple because from your 2D point of view… they are.

I am not telling people who to vote for or which “side” to choose…. but you MUST NOT take a 2 Dimensional perspective into a voting booth! THAT is why we have such political upheaval and are stuck in a 2 party system.

There is a whole other view (3D) that people seldom discuss or consider. This is where you’ll find someone’s motivations. It gives you more to go on. You will also be able to look beyond the choices that are presented.

TRUTH is never 2D. We need to know WHY people are doing things, what drives their decisions. Then we can predict their actions or the probable result of their efforts.

That’s what a vote is after all.

WARNING: You might find that your vote really means very little……………. Then what will you do, continue to blame your friends? Or will you see how we are all being played?

At least once you understand that, society’s “divide and conquer” strategies will no longer work on you.

Why do you always seek approval? – ILLUSTRATED

Next edition of the megaphone self-portrait series…Starting with oil pastel on sketch paper, then moving eventually to acrylic on canvas. I’m not at all deterred by the overall lack of sophistication 🙂 I’m fully convinced that by the time I make the next 100 they will be really good.

White Belt For Life

Israel Adesanya really caught my ear with one of the phrases he is now famous for uttering. The idea is not a new one for me, but to see it being applied at such a high level is inspiring.

I come from a world of martial arts, when they actually argued over which “style” was most effective 🤣 The conventional thought at the time also placed having a “Black Belt” extremely high on the scale of importance.

After having studied so many styles and figuring I was pretty tough, along comes JiuJitsu… the art where 13 year old girls can easily put a grown man in the hospital.

Being a glutton for punishment I also looked into Capoeira, and became hooked, because it’s all so difficult. Difficulty is where you’ll find growth.

An empty cup is the only one you can fill. All this means is: Sometimes knowledge gets in the way. Approach life like a beginner and you’ll always make progress.

There Is NO Such Thing As RACE

After almost 500 years of being on this land… have you ever wondered what makes us a color in AmeriKKKa, and not a culture?
Black / White / Yellow / Red what a JOKE.

Nathaniel Bacon’s rebellion took place in 1676. (100 years before the American Revolution)… Poor indentured servants, regardless of skin color, pretty much instituted a “purge”.. against the rich, and the Native Americans with whom the rich traded (furs and tobacco).

In order to keep this formidable union of disaffected laborers separated, the idea of RACE was conceptualized in 1681. Intermarriage was made illegal first. Then land ownership laws followed. The idea of indentured servitude was abolished and the African slave trade became the source of hard labor.

The “privileged”, White class was handed the whip as a legal means of controlling the labor. The idea of White Supremacy became the law of the land in Amerikkka, and it weakened the bargaining position of everyone… except the elite.

Some of you think it’s a sweet deal granted by White Jesus, but it keeps us out of the middle class, and you out of the upper class. Now as the rich get richer, the middle class shrinks. This is why there are so many Whites on welfare. They have relied upon their privilege alone to get them jobs, school entry, etc.

To all the ALLIES against all forms of oppression. This is why we fight. Do not let the foolish and misinformed tell you that an era of Black Supremacy is what’s to follow.

We recognize RACE as nothing more than class warfare, and it will take time, but the moment we start to build a culture is the moment we start to become a family.

Fight The System (Breonna Taylor)

This update is now featured on The COVID Journal: “Invisible War”!
http://theinvisiblewar.co/chicago-usa-september-24-fight-the-system/

Remember, people, if you do everything right, keep your nose clean and stay out of trouble… you are one No-Knock warrant away from being murdered in bed.

Imagine being a cop, serving one of those, and a gunshot comes your way. Since before you hit the academy, you have been trained that “CERTAIN PEOPLE” don’t want to see you survive your shift.

Naturally, you return fire with such terror in your heart that you even shoot one of your own fellow officers. You kill another innocent person in their bed, who happens to be a paramedic. Shots even fly through neighboring buildings.

Bullets…fueled by hatred, cowardice, and an utter disregard for anyone else’s well-being, prove that you were never cut out for this line of work.

The fact that the warrant was not re-verified within a 48 hr. period of time is the real elephant in the room. Police were attempting to detain a suspect they already had in custody.

After making this symphony of errors, killing a fellow first responder…. authorities gave her mother the runaround, sending her back and forth to the hospital, as they crafted the most antiseptic narrative they could come up with.

In Minneapolis, we saw a similar high profile situation. Fear and bullets combined to destroy a person’s life. Officer Mohammed Noor shot Justine Diamond, and soon after, he received a jail sentence of 12 years.

Breonna Taylor is not Justine Diamond, though. Her financial settlement is 8 million dollars lower. Her killers will not be charged as such. All we are left with is a sense of the usual disparity and the foreboding that we could be next.

Beyond the players in this tragedy… The System is even more to blame. It perpetuates itself, continually giving citizens the illusion of choice, amused as we fight over the “lesser of evils.”

This will not be the last time Breonna Taylor makes headlines. When the under-charged officer receives a slap on the wrist, we will again have to revisit this tragedy.

It is never safe to be around a coward. Remember, one of the officers also shot a cop that night. The System, however, makes it VERY safe to BE a coward, a racist, a bully, a tyrant…. and so we continue to fight The System.

Babylon In Turmoil…

This update is now featured on The COVID Journal: “Invisible War”!
http://theinvisiblewar.co/chicago-usa-august-1-babylon-in-turmoil-but-the-irony-is-poetic/?fbclid=IwAR0DIZVRq2es38cyWsr7JvGmO2NByc6mjfzOe7RHFdqgrLGl8yFpfwXAGaM

Babylon In Turmoil…
Once authorities decided they should institute some sort of precautions related to Coronavirus, many people were caught off guard by the sudden shift in social climate.

I walked into a local grocery store in late April, looking to purchase a mask, and was immediately intercepted by a gentleman who informed me that face coverings were required. Initially I side stepped him, saying “I’m actually here to buy a mask”. He wasn’t having it. He explained that the store could be fined heavily now, because it was the law.

What I didn’t know was that HE was “The Law”… placed there in an official capacity as compliance officer. He suggested I go to the car and get a shirt to cover my face. Before I returned masks had sold out, so the officer suggested I buy a bandanna. I finally saw a glimpse of the badge when he pointed to them and realized, Chicago is not playing. Babylon is burning.

The next day I walked into a gas station, compliance-ready, with my officer-suggested bandanna on, and the POOR CLERK jumped out of his skin! He breathed a sigh of relief once he realized I was merely following guidelines. This is what I looked like.

So my question: Is it my fault my very appearance makes you want to trigger the silent alarm? I even bought a white bandanna to avoid any gang related confusion.

About a month later the entire country would be up in flames because a police officer knelt on a man’s neck, killing him over an alleged, counterfeit ($20) dollar transaction. That same officer happened to be a tax evader, to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Once again, bandanna-wearing “Negroes” struck fear in the hearts of store owners, but It turned out that most of the “looters” were White Supremacists.

The disparity in perception, in the application of law, in the presumption of guilt is what sickens most of us with AmeriKKKa. The deindustrialization of “Black” communities, the drugs and guns flooded to the areas, CREATED the character you’re so afraid of.

Now you reap what you sow, as the very children you intended to be beneficiaries of your fetid corruption chant #BlackLivesMatter even louder than we do. The irony is poetic.

SPOKEN WORD / Prana : Breath, A Movement Through Rasas

From the mouths of babes… I do quite a bit of writing, but it never occurred to me to compare similarities between the COVID-19 global pandemic and the protests currently lighting up the countryside. Whether it’s coronavirus or police kneeling on someone’s neck… they both attack the fundamental right to breathe. This profound expression was recently summed up in a choreography entitled “Prana :  Breath”. My daughter Asha, her friend Rekha and a cadre of mega-talented associates created this impressive production.

A most poignant spoken word verse accompanied the dance, punctuating the final minutes…
I am immeasurably honored that they asked me to voice it.

In this modern age of free expression it may seem like an oddity, but the girls faced quite a bit of pushback from the traditional community for creating this. It mixes a counter-culture aesthetic with new age soul and classical, Indian dance (both are students of Hema and Krithika Rajagopalan). I am immensely proud of the entire crew. This is something that definitely flies in the face of convention, but it’s a bold statement, made during a time when many people are either too angry, or too afraid to communicate effectively.
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Virtual screening on Youtube, Facebook, IGTV
Fundraiser for The Okra Project  (an American grassroots collective providing support to Black trans, non-binary, and gender-non conforming individuals) 

Music composed & produced by Noga Cabo

Featuring:

Noga Cabo, vocals / guitar 
Jahnvi Madan, clarinet
Yi-Mei Templeman, cello
Adam Cabo, vocals / udu
Dassi Rosenkrantz, bass

Dance by Rekha Iyer and Asha Rowland

Video Edited by Rebecca Hurson

Featured Artists: MC ZULU (spoken word) and Xavier Lightfoot (performative painting)

After School Matters: Your Music / Your Business

“Your Music Your Business” is a course on navigating today’s entertainment industry. Whether virtual or live, your presentation will need to be produced and directed towards an appreciative audience. We will investigate the various free utilities available to help you create your art and grow a fanbase.

This program introduces students to the basics of:
Music creation, Video production, Graphic Design, Website development, Branding, Marketing & Promotion
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Requirements: Smartphone, Computer
Instructor: Dominique “MC ZULU” Rowland