rootwork the rootsblog: a cyberhoodoo webspace

babajohn killens presentation: conjuremen and official secrets: catch them while you can

WEDNESDAY

hello world, this one you got to move fast on, a website called
wikileaks that publishes confidential info that folk have leaked

a judge just tried to shut it down because a cayman island bank
objected to some of its info put on line and we know what cayman

island banks do right

it has also put the guantanamo operating manual online
the rules of engagement in iraq -  you get the picture

the good stuff, secrets those in power dont want yu to know

but the judge who closed it only closed the domain name which
mean he dont know how the internet works

the backdoors and mirror sites are still up, here is its protocol address and
are a few mirror links set up for just this contingency -

quick now, catch it while you can:

Wikileaks.org 
http://88.80.13.160/ 
http://wikileaks.be/ 
http://wikileaks.de 
http://wikileaks.cx

man, i got to remount rootwork.com
us conjuremen love secrets - specially good ones

oh, congrats to obama on taking wisconsin - cutting deeper
into hillarys base and boosting his delegate lead

if we can take texas and ohio this is a wrap

thats two weeks till march 4th - 2 weeks of devilishment
i shudder to think what a desperate clinton camp will try next

i did a presentation yesterday for adam banks rhetoric class
which is studying babajohn killens, its a great class that reminds

me of babajohn cause he does a community version of whatever
he is teaching just like john always stipulated that his workshops

would be open to the community, its kinda long and those of you
who know me, dear regulators, have heard it before

but here it goes

==============

(conch horn)  lord legba open this gate, it is i rickydoc rootdoctor ask that this gate be open, this work be done, in the name of the conqueror

first id like to apologize, feel like I been hogging the conversation, which aint my lowprofile style, but john o mean so much to me, , it never cease to amaze me that john killens dont get his propers as a literary visionary, and I am so tickled to be part of a class where he getting his due respect - I asked adam if I could say a few things, some personal memories cause I was one of his legions, for 13 years I followed babajohn from school to school – in spiritual traditions there is whats called the unwritten knowledge that is the example of the masters life and I kinda wanted to share a little of that with you

ritual opening on all my works: I am flowers of the delta clan flowers and the line of o killens. . ., this is a griotic opening formula where you start by telling who you are and who you were trained by- i was trained by babajohn killens  - babajohn taught me not only how to write but how to be a writer, taught me how to be a visionary, what he called a long distance runner, what I call the longgame, babajohn showed me the way

back in the day, john killens was the only one of the major writers who tried to pass it on, to teach young writers, provide a space for them to grow, whenever john taught he would stipulate that his workshop would be open to the community. So over the years he drew a cadre of young writers to him – tmc, nikki, eliz, bebe, etc

came to nyc in the summer of 73 to get into babajohns workshop at columbia and stayed in it till he died in 1986.- for 13 years i followed john o. killens from school to school, (the story – I had read . . .)

babjohn worked hard to institutionalize a progressive black literary infrastructure - babajohn train generations of blackwriters in the longgame - he trained us in how to be a literary mob, how to wield literary power, how to be successful writers, how to produce works, market works and how to be culturally and socially influential

we were all politicos and artistic activists who had come out of the black arts movement, where the point of art was to develop it as an instrument of cultural redemption and empowerment, john o showed us how thats done  -  how to be culturally influential, how to change things (the example of terri mcmilan)

content and context, (the dialogue in African americn lit and the generational developments and the charge against politically inclined literary writers of craft and content struggle)  john o stipulation:  "the more important that you have to say the more obligated you are to say it well"

for 13 years I followed john o Killens from school to school. johns rep declined over the years  -( the schools – medger evers the meeting place and its tribal griot – the great griot master of brooklyn)

the last time I saw him in Brooklyn, (death watch and hollywood advice barely able to move -  dont lose soul and his never sell your name, speak from heart not wallet - him telling me to sit him up in the chair, calling up ms grace, i like to see he said - i know you do she said

i like to know whats going on around me he said, 
i know you do she said)

keith gilyard, adams mentor, once said to me that the primary trope of afram lit is struggle  - the ongoing struggle for survival and empowerment that blackfolk have waged since we came to this land and that has more than anything shaped us as a people 

africanamerican literature is consciously griotic and passionately concerned with cultural custodianship. 

as the voice of a culture that has since its inception felt itself under mortal siege, african american literature is fundamentally shamanistic and vitally concerned with communal health and empowerment.  its most revered figures have all been culturally engaged.  Langston, zora, amiri, tonimorrison, creating the visions without which the people shall perish and serving in its mythic heart its ageold griotic function of keeping the culture alive and viable.

Not only did john o teach us the skilz to fulfil that function, john o tried to institutionalize committed afroam lit – so that it would train and nurture generations of committed black writers, cause john o played the longgame – what he called being a long distance runner

"our struggle for liberation was indeed a long long distance race, for we are out for nothing short of winning the entire human race and we were up against a formidable foe, and to win this race would require planning, pacing, discipline and stamina, and a belief in our ability to win the long protracted struggle. . . .we must construct one hundred year plans.  two hundred year plans.  we must construct institutions for generations yet unborn.."

babajohn taught us that in ideological orchestration, the the longer more encompassing your ideological game, the stronger it is, the one that subsumes all others – babajohn taught us how to be visionaries

babajohn o passion was that our people and our culture survive the cosmic cut, and become one of the worlds influential cultures, that we continue to grow and evolve as a people and culture and dont decline and wither away

john o position was that we must build a culture so strong and beautiful that the entire human race want to be black – john o would have been very impressed with obama, cause john o taught us every generation got to figure out its issues and how black identity in the multiculti reality of the 21st century is one of our big issues and obama has figured out how to make struggle serve both our families, blackfolk and all humanity

thats good game on a lot of levels – black culture as guide and guardian of humanities struggle to evolve

there was once a time in my memory when african american culture was considered one of the worlds sacred cultures, and not only in terms of spiritual practice, the viejos and the like but also in terms of political practice, our struggle has inspired struggle around the globe,

we are still one of the most progressive political blocks in the west, the world - friend of mine once said we the 2nd toughest people on the planet - but we got to be on the highground to do it, cant be waddling in the mud if you want to play destinygames, - hiphop a powerful force but it got a lot to learn  - about representing

john o taught us that that as writers and trained cultural forces we in our works leave a legacy for future generations & you should be conscious of what you want that legacy to reflect,  you want it to mean something, you want to stand with Langston and zora and richardwright and all them  - 

he taught us how to use the word as an instrument to move the people, what adam the other day called a vehicle – everybody got their vehicle, and words are ours, he taught us how to get up on a stage and use words to move the people, (I am rickydoc rootdoctor, I am mythmaker . )   john taught us how to mack

taught us how to be cultural custodians, to be guide and guardian of the tribal soul and destiny, to be shield and spear

he taught us that literature  a sacred calling & he guided us through all the stages of our lit development -  when we didnt know how to write he taught us how, when we knew how to write he taught us how to be professionals, when we were professionals he taught us how to be great writers, not just writers, great writers by his understanding of what literary greatness entail

in my literary youth i aspired to be an intellectual of power who would forge blackfolk into a conquering horde and fling them into battle,  power was my thing and field of study and people were just factors to be used - this was reflected in my work  - 

one day babajohn pull me aside and say "art you a brilliant writer but with a little compassion you could be profound"

all i heard was brilliant - wasnt till many years later i realize babajohn trying to make sure my contribution, as his student, would not be hard and cold but warm and loving  - old shaman trying to ensure the health of the tribal soul

i have internalized so many of john o precepts about being a writer that he continues to guide me in new challenges, i would never do anything as a writer that i dont think john o would approve of  -  there are times when I regret I ever met john killens , hadnt been for babajohn i dont think i would have been a novelist.  would have been some easier kind of writer, making money and getting some respect instead of obscure and marginalized

but on the real side I cannot fully express to you how proud of being one of john killens legions - what sara fabio once called 'killens chillens' knowing john was a once in a generation experience, there will never be another like him, and I feel like I was totally blessed to have known him, to have been trained by him - with everything I do I praise his name  - my mentor in struggle - babajohn o killens, the great griot master of brooklyn 

I want to thank adam for this class, I want to thank this class for showing john o some respect, some appreciation – means a lot to me, cause with all his heart and soul he loved you, he loved black people, he

gave them everything he had to give, he tried to represent

that is all
this spell is done

===================

i didnt even finish, i teared up and got emotional on that last paragraph
ima do a self enclosed version and see if i can get it published somewhere

maybe fill in those parentheticals were i addlibbed

i dont usually concern myself w/publication unless somebody ask me to give them something
but this one is for babajohn, not me -  for babajohn i will put myself out there

i been ruthless about telling folk no these days, folk always asking me to present
i wont never get no Work done i tell all the folk ask me to present yes

but the baobob society over at esf got me again this year, cause i stood them
up last year for the spirit and essence black history month dinner, i owe them

i already gave them one make up, but i told them i would always be available
to them so they called me on it, spose to do that one the 23rd, best i get on it

my love to you all
in the compassion of o killens

rickydoc flowers
a luta continua

bill and hillary redux, babajohn killens and the afrospear

 

TUESDAY

hello world, washpost had an article yesterday on black blogs an obama

had a link to the afrospear in wikipedia and it was news to me, out of the loop again
its just so hard to keep up these days, but i got to get in the mix

man, who got the time, but thats where its happening and all those links i got to incorporate

when i started blogging there just wasnt that much happening and its partly my insularity that keep me out of the loop, got to step up

washpost article named blackprof, jack and jill, africanamerican political pundit and field negro

wikipedia article named a bunch more but since i had links to these already
i went and checked them all out, but it was field negro tickle my fancy

man this race is getting ugly, and it dont look like obama gon win this one

the clintons have played the race card, knowing it will work against him to remind folk he black - and now obama getting down and dirty with the king and queen of down and dirty

it was probably inevitable, if he was to win he would have to be even more down and dirty - if you gon be president of the united states, its a dirty job

but this race has scratched the surface of civlity and so much rancor coming out
you wonder if maybe now is not the time, but that aint gon stop me from

trying, followed a link to obamas website the other day, i might sign up for one of the
newyork syracuse area obama groups, do some duty, help put newyork in play

and i need to get that edwards quote up in here, his little sneaky im the only whiteman
quote, his way of reminding folk that he is a good old boy at heart

something along the lines of as the only whiteman in the pack
he is the only one who can compete anywhere in america

got news for you john: some places in america being a whiteman aint that much
of an advantage, i need the quote, but who got the time for piddling stuff

lot of speculation in the community about whether black folk will
support hillary if she wins, some say blacks most loyal of

democratic groups and will hold their nose and vote for the clintons anyway
dont know about this black, cant imagine sitting it out and letting republicans

have another 4 unearned years but dont see how the massa and missus
clinton can make nice after this one, at least not nice enuf for me

oh im sure they and their trained negroes will try to mend
their political bridges but the clinton machine has turned me off

wonder sometime how toni morrison feel about her black president comment
i keep waiting to hear what she got to say about this - ishmael reed checked in

will post his comments very soon, its kinda long so its gon get
a post of its own, but this what rickydoc flowers got to say:

if america truly wants change, if this is the election of change, clinton redux is not it
if bubba clinton is all over the election like he been he will be all over

her presidency too, ms independent has not been showing much
independence, it looks like the bill and hillary show all over again

and if there is one thing that will energize the republican base
its the bill and hillary show all over again,

instead of looking to the future
weve decided to return to the past

and a continuation of the cultural wars that
bush, clinton, et al personify

im all for a woman president, but maybe we should wait for
a real independent woman instead of a political wife

and a much too classic two for one deal
the clinton marriage is very compicated

perhaps too complicated to allow it to once again
to shape our history and our destiny as it has before

do we really want to go thru another  8 years
of wondering what the definition of is is

do we really feel like 4/8 years of bill clinton
in the whitehouse with nothing to do but meddle

in struggle
rdoc

MONDAY, MARTIN LUTHER KINGS BDAY

hello world, took these quotes off a fox news blog of all places
i keep trying to back out of this thing, but it keeps calling me

just so many issues playing out, post race empowerment, africanamerican identity
in a multiracial world, post partisan politics, 21st century progressivism, etc etc

i keep trying to step away, i keep hearing echoes of the warhorn
this is a significant and possibly even seminal historical moment

this here the crossroads
when destiny lies in the choice of the moment

dont know these quotes hold up so i dont testify:
ima call it on the nature of fairytales:

----------------------------   

“…any vote that may lead to war should be hard — but I cast it with conviction.”

– Hillary Clinton, October 10th, 2002

“That’s what I’m opposed to. A dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason
but on passion, not on principle but on politics.”

– Barack Obama, October 2, 2002

--------------------   

in struggle
rdoc

SUNDAY

african voices just put out their special sekou issue and
im not in it, thats a bummer, i remember deciding i didnt

have time to refine a comment, hate i missed that one
check it out if you get a chance

in struggle
rdoc

FRIDAY

hello world, back in syracuse and trying to swear off commentary on the primaries
its kinda depressing, obama just lost nevada and hispanic support/vote, thats a bummer

but obama got more delegates somehow so he still in the game but losing hispanic support hurts,

the repubs anti immigration rhetoric has soured that repubican initiative

but conflict in the trenches has left the black/hispanic  alliance in shambles - gon take a lot of mending on the part of black/hispanic progressives to fix that

so now obama focusing on that black vote, which is a two way street for somebody who selling himself as post racial racial

not walking away from fact that he is a black candidate but not selling himself as a black candidate either

its a twisty little minefield and some of his efforts to walk thru it have been awkward

other day i read where he lauded ronald reagan as an agent of change, must be going for the reagan democrats - apparently he was trying to say that the repubs have driven the political idea market for

some 20 years now and we got to usurp that, at least i hope that was what he was trying to say
but you got to be careful man of how you say it, might as well written the clinton machine an invite

im still supporting him, still hoping blackfolk come thru for him if nobody else does
but lauding reagan might be a little too nuanced

old rickydoc stepping back into observer mode on this one
he got my head, but ima hold on to my heart till i see how this plays out

south carolina will be a chance to judge his stealth game, will this ex voter activist
turn blackfolk into a powerful voting block or wont he, we got the numbers, just aint had the will

we could be as powerful a voting block as the jews we play it right

whatever i got to get back in my novel groove in spite of semester having started
spring semester always rough which mean work gon be a struggle and posting gon be spotty

my readership been falling lately, maybe because my posting been spotty
or folk dont particular care for my style, whatever, im tired of worry about it

i got three issues i deal with, literature, hoodoo and politics, all fuctions of the longgame
been political lately, which might bore the hoodoo folk and the literary folk

not much i can do about that

this posting thing kinda like writing fiction
i do it because i have to, not because it pays

speaking of which i think im going to dedicate this week to john o killens, a true visionary
adam banks is doing babajohn as part of his rhetoric class this semester

so i got babajohn on my mind, nice to see him getting some respect
adam is one of keith gilyards troop and fact that keith has done a book on johns

rhetoric and is working on major bio of john has probably played a role in that choice
thats cool too, adam always does a community version of this class and my attendance

be spotty cause my discretionary time so limited, but this time i will be there
i got a lot to say about babajohn o killens and i want to hear what other folk got to say too

surely this will rededicate me to the work, thats what everything be judged by you know
and on that note let me  try to clock some pages

like babajohn taught me

all my love
rdoc

in the woodshed: babajohn killens and doris jean austin, clocking pages and the power of narrative

SUNDAY

hello world

ima news junkie, i spend a lot of time netwandering
i enjoy commentary

i note congressional hearings of prosecuters claim they were fired because they wouldnt do political dirtywork- well what about the ones who did - what do it take to be a loyal bushie, thats the story i want to see

i note how walter reed scandal exemplify enduring incompetency of post katrina bush admin -

they too used to getting away w/murder, havent figured out yet
they cant operate like they used to

but calling bush out seem redundant
if he fool you, shame on you::

"There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again."    President G.W.Bush

i dont have time for bush, its springbreak and i plan to zone that novel this week

this weblog takes a godawful amount of my noveltime but
it came along just when i needed it - like it was just made for me

no editors no industry no establishment gatekeepers on rickydoc
i am the master here

any other age i would have had to push a pamphlet on the streetcorner -
or sew them into the lining of old clothes

here im on the cutting edge and i know it
i aint got a lot of readership but i got good readership

and the struggle for literary respect dont really bother me
enuf historical/literary precedent that i can rationalize it

want to say/do something new got to be willing to pay dues
and pathmaker will be one of the attributes i give the conqueror

but feeling a little anxious right along in here
got a week springbreak and anxious to clock some pages

woodshed time
o wouldbe novelist of historical stature and significance

you gon flitch the time off with this and that
or are you gon clock some pages

woodshed is when you got to withdraw from the world and focus, according to
the way i heard it when john coltrane 1st came out to play they blew him off the stage

boy had this woodshed out back and he went into that woodshed and he practiced and practiced until he was the john coltrane and he come back and took the stage and said now play this

in the conquerors name (ida b and davidwalker too)
word by trickmaster - a desperate man

THURSDAY

the hope he aint black syndrome
hello world, so im reading on google news

about this former sailor paul hall who was just arrested for passing info about his ship 2001 to a jihadi website and im thinking i hope hes not black when i read:

"i corresponded with an e-mail site. It wasn't nothin' top secret like these people are saying, you know what I mean? I was just talking about, like the Cole . . . whatever."

might be black, interesting how the reporter dropped the g  - know what im saying - still hoping hes not cause

i am concerned that young black islamics and such like those haitian americans in florida last year will get caught up in this jihadi thing playing at being revolutionaries

like many of the black militants of my day, just caught up in revolutionary romance - make me cringe everytime one get brought up on charges

aint even our war - one of those confusion of allegiance issues
boy call hisself abujihaad

folk need to grow up real quick - apparently he did it before september 11th
- i suspect abujihaad didnt realize just how hot it was gon get

if he is black and i still hope he aint - its unfortunate
the allegiance of black islamics will be an issue eventually

thats gon be a difficult row to hoe

been re reading texaco for my hoodoo lit class
it amaze me how much of my own lick is in these works

everytime i  re read them i am again enlightened
this texaco a work of wonder - of course im taking notes

"in what i tell you, there's the almost-true, the sometimes-true, and the half-true.  That's what telling a life is like, braiding all of that like one plaits the white Indies currant's hair to make a hut.  And the true-true comes out of that braid. . . .you can't be scared of lying if you want to know everything." (pg 122)

damn right im taking notes
i dont steal, i intertext

true that
rdoc

WEDNESDAY

i was just thinking about a comment i made in previous post about
writers belief in the power of narrative and i might play w/that some this week

right now im dragging, got some personals dogging me

squeezing a little work in, strictly defense
do my daily 3 no matter what or i will really feel bad

but that iraq a bummer - 9 americans and 100+ iraqis yesterday - rootdoctor dont see no good options there for nobody - darfur etc still under and its just statusquo all over the world

also i been trying to set up the palf website, its glitched to high heaven and its rickydoc thats slack - again

im tired, im the kind of tired mean shutdown coming
 when the mind and body just quit on me and
i collapse in place

if you fight it you dont get nothing done and no rest either
adequate rest is an critrical component of the high achievement llifestyle

so when shutdown come i accept it:

a lotta sleep, a little tv (nothing heavy), space opera
scifi (dont have to parse it as i read it - escape to the stars)

2, 3 days i be good to go

still more fumes than fuel but beggars cant be
choosy can they

rdoc
hanging in there

and what you might ask does south memphis have to do with this
nothing, i just like the picture, it makes me smile

MONDAY

hello world, rootdoctor a little depressed today

online initiative for new ren writers guild doesnt seem to be working and was wandering about the net when i landed on the harlem writers guild site 

and there is a list of hwg writers there and it never cease to amaze me that i have been excommunicated - in spite of the fact that i was once executive director of the guild - amazing

true i left under pressure, thats when new ren was founded, but still - its actually kinda funny how they have just rewritten guild history to exclude me - writers tend to believe narrative trumps reality any day

interesting they still got doris jean and terry mac, my cronies in crime and co founders of new ren

i really miss doris jean austin, i have her last manuscript, wish i had her papers - need to think about getting that manuscript knocked together and published, maybe hunt down her sister and see if i can get ahold of her papers -but all that just contributed,what really gave me the blues was

i pulled out rest for the weary yesterday and finally got back
in the groove but looking at it was a bummer,

sections i thought were good to go were all of a sudden looking lame

will this damned thing never be done
will i never live up to my responsibility as custodian of john killens legacy

ohwell - all you can do is keep pushing rick, im sure there were times when
babajohn felt weary, buked and scorned, but he kept on pushing and i will too

i remember this dojo sign on nostrand that says:
i will not quit a fight nor die a loser

3 hours a day rick, get you to the promiseland
3 measely hours a day

in the conquerors name (and doris jean and imogunla and safiya too)
rickydoc flowers - hanging in there

.

babjohn o kllens and the long distance runner: we've seen the most incredible things

MONDAY

hello world and all my generations

your favorite neighborhood conjureman been
dancing on a dime

overextended and taking care of business best i can
what else is new

got me a moment, i been wanting to expand on something john wrote
in that quote earlier this week:

"our struggle for liberation was indeed a long long distance race, for we are out for nothing short of winning the entire human race and we were up against a formidable foe, and to win this race would require planning, pacing, discipline and stamina, and a belief in our ability to win the long protracted struggle.

"we must construct one hundred year plans.  two hundred year plans.  we must construct institutions for generations yet unborn.."

this say something so many of our acknowledged strategic thinkers just havent figured out yet

sometime i forget it was babajohn laid out the parameters of what i do

it never cease to amaze me that john killens dont get his rightful respect as a visionary

but then it never cease to amaze me that i dont either
upholding the tradition of the line i guess

but ponder what john saying here
the reason we got to be a much more exemplary people

ive said this amillion times, im sure youre tired of hearing it so ima try to be brief
or at least briefer

the big destinic question is which cultures will survive in the multicultural future
which will be the global and eventually cosmic culture(s) adopted by evolving humanity

humanity is quickly moving toward a one uniworld culture
all the cultures of the world will contribute to this global culture

african american culture is in the running
it is in fact one of the worlds most vibrant cultures

how will african americans as a people and culture fare in this evolving uniculture
in the multiculti world of the future, it wont be genetics that determine a groups viability

it will be culture,

what cultures will the world choose to emulate, be identified with,
what cultures will the worlds energies empower and evolve

the european culture will continue to have agency, but other cultures of the world, asian, arabic, latin, etc etc, are staking their ground - which ground will afroam (and african) culture stake

our culture is as potentially dysfunctional as it is powerful
which way will it go

will we disappear as a people and culture as substantial black populations in south america or arabia have done (and still doing in the sudan where blackfolk claim they notblack war on blacks who do)

or will we evolve and build a culture so powerful that other folk in the world
identify with it and it becomes one of the definitive cultures of the future

we survive as a people and culture
thats the bottom line

survive, prosper and evolve
our generations unto eternity
(whatever that is)

this is what john mean when we say we are in a race for the human race
we must build a culture so strong and beautiful that the entire human race want to be black

african american in particular
just as many of them emulate us now

but they emulate the weaker parts of our culture, go figure
the very parts we have to reshape and refine, the posturing part

that gangster thing cant be what defines us, its got to be put in check (and used only when appropriate)

there was once a time in my memory when african american culture was considered one of the worlds sacred cultures, and not only in terms of spiritual practice, the viejos and the like

but also in terms of political practice, our struggle has inspired struggle around the globe

we are still one of the most progressive political blocks in the west, the world

friend of mine once said we the 2nd toughest people on the planet

got to claim the highground, got to play
magicalnegro to the hilt, there is a lot of power
in that role - spiritual power

but we got to be on the highground to do it,
cant be waddling in the mud if you want to play destinygames

when you come to the crossroads firstborn always take the highroad
always strive to be greater than you are

an ongoing cultural process, deciding which cultural traits

are functional and worth nurturing and which are counterproductive
and must be left behind

talking about cultural orchestration and timely adaptation
thats why that article on the niger farmers regreening the desert move me so

thats my people at they best, handling it, we got this covered - o we been
stumbling for some generations now, 2, 3 thousands years or more

but im in charge of this operation now, this my shift now
the old delta hoodooman is on this

and whether you see/understand it or not
this my show now, this trick is on

all my love always
rickydoc trickmaster

wouldbe prophet
of the hoodoo way

SUNDAY

i got a cold,

one measely low production weekend and
and i am suddenly behind w/every obligation i got

what a revolting development this is
quick commentary and im outta here

as you know i consider the blackworld my responsibility
i monitor it constantly, assess its strategic posture

the victories and defeats, the challenges and setbacks
i keep my finger on the tribal pulse

like the rootdoctor should

got a victory lately that pleases me
a black population has enhanced its survivability

farmers in niger been beating back the sahara

saw this in the newyork times - since you have to be registed for the times i found you an alternative link on this toureg site,

i thought that was kinda cool

dont usually parrot times articles but this one moved me
apparently in niger as across the sahel, the desert was pushing humans and arable farmland back as its done for centuries

noticing as one farmer said, the trees disappearing from the villagelands, the farrmers decided to plant around saplings rather than clear them as done traditionally and lo and behold the trees have returned

anchoring the ground and trapping water and making land fertile again
they have reclaimed land from the sahara,

7.4 million previously barren acres have been greened
reversing an ecological disaster centuries in the making

without international aid or advice
using their own available resources

god that tickles me

article said that the farmers have forged all sorts of techs for reclaiming the land, said women will go to desert ground and dig pits into which they will dump manure.

said the manured pits trap rain and with a lot of care desert is slowly turned into fertile farmland again

the photo is boys turning a foot pump for irrigation

god that was some good reading
this link cautioned that the process is fragile

but still, good news is good news, i will take what i can get

what particular impress me is that they were able to defy tradition
and improve their lot instead of being stuck in that same old tradition for traditions sake rut

im trying to forge a blackworld culture flexible like that
adept in cultural adaption and finessing the hammer

in the conquerors name

they done the old rootdoctor proud
they deserve a little help, ima send them some rain

gotta go, behind again
cant afford to be sick lord, just cant take it

now i got to dance
got to do the flowers catchup shuffle

a little something for everybody
not enuf for anybody

see you on the other side
rdoc,

SATURDAY

hello world
just checking in so you know im still here

havent been posting, schoolhouse got me
i stonewalled them as long as i could

but my thesis students were suffering and when folk choose me to work w/them on their thesis dont want them to regret the choice

strictly schoolhouse all week, probably next week too
and no novelwork means nothing else get done either

today is the 1st day i felt like i could take a breath

this painting is from georges i am a man series
this one say more to memphis folk than it say to you probably

i am a man was the iconic sign of the memphis garbageworkers strike

the photo is from that period by another memphis artistic legend, baba ernest withers - that one run tingles down my spine, i might have been on that particular picket line, i was on most of them

my mother was a racewoman and she had me and my sisters out there on marches, picket lines and such when we was little bitty folk no bigger than the signs we carried

this the strike that brought king to memphis back in 68
i was deeply involved in that, all black memphis was

kings death behind that strike is what turned me out
been a warrior of the struggle ever since

being a raceman is not in vogue these postblack days
but ima be a warior till the day i die

i been a chief and i been a spear carrier

ive stumbled and fumbled and often zigged when i should have zagged

but by oguns beard ima live and die a warrior
i wanna be a hero

i wanna be a champion of my people

and aint no body no thing
ever gon turn me around

i was there at the temple the stormy night king said:

"i may not get there w/you but i want you to know
that we as a people will get to the promiseland"

ima do my part

this aint no joke to me, i consider literature a sacred calling
i believe in the power of the word

my big struggle as a literary artist is how to write empowering works/healing spells
that dont lose their artistic integrity - like the folk on my hoodoolit list

folk tell me all the time, cant be political and make good art
fuck that - you mean its more of a challenge, thats what you mean

look like i will be able to get a 3 in today, maybe sunday
you know what, im going for a 6 today - a hero would do a 6

in the conquerors name

rdoc

MONDAY

hello world
im in the city and posting irregular

been studying mumbo jumbo and corregidora for my

literary hoodoo class and its just amazing what theyve
done with those works and in looking at corregidora litcrit

and im seeing where she knew exactly what she was doing
how she set it up in her dissertation at brown in 73

and i think how i started writing in 73 and how long
i went on instinct and heart and only in the last 10

years teaching at syracuse have i really gotten a good
grounding in literary theory and learning stuff i wish i

had learned when i was 23 intead of waiting until
im 56 to still be picking up critical tricks of the trade

ohwell, im pleased with who i am
im pleased with what im working on

think i will go by babajohns ground
commune w/the master, tend to the little altar ive built there

restock my holydust
in the conquerors name

rdoc

WEDNESDAY NOON
rickydoc clocking pages


WEDNESDAY

hello world

want to comment on congressional hearings exposing bush admin
pressure on scientists to lie about global warming

and how that plays into his new directive placing political ops
over scientists in various government agencies

but dont have time to hunt those links down
got to clock some pages

teaching mfa been a learning experience
but it threw me off my game for a minute

got my stride now, new and improved

and manuscript relatively clean now
just turning bad pages into good

i dont know, just trying to speculate why
been clocking pages like its time

i know im spose to be doing georges work this week
but ima stick this hubble photo of the eagle nebula

in here for todays post cause its so pretty and
as you know dear and loyal surfer - i believe space is the place

i believe humanity got to get off the planet w/the quickness

i believe one planet is not enough to ensure survival
of the species

accidents happen
planets die

got to spread out, increase the odds
only thing me and bush agree on

space is probably not the final frontier
but its going to be one hell of an adventure

word by rickydoc trickmaster
21st century space ranger

TUESDAY

me and george hunt spose to be doing a project

his works my words - we both feed off memphis
hoodoo and the blues - we both work the tradition

among memphis black artists george the man and
my memphis elder - i defer to him

george even more diffident than i am - george
on his own planet and you have to catch him when you can

george spose to be selecting the works we will use
been a couple of years now he spose to do that

but it will take years for me to get those stories right

cant wait on george, ima just get started, went online and collected every image of his i could find - gon start working the stories now

ima call it beale street talking

this one gon be sweet
patience rick, do it right - like babajohn say

babajohn o killens:  the great griot master of brooklyn
on being long distance runners:

"our struggle for liberation was indeed a long long distance race, for we are out for nothing short of winning the entire human race and we were up against a formidable foe, and to win this race would require planning, pacing, discipline and stamina, and a belief in our ability to win the long protracted struggle.

"we must construct one hundred year plans.  two hundred year plans.  we must construct institutions for generations yet unborn.."

sound familiar dont it
sound like the longgame

word by babajohn o killens
the great griot master of brooklyn

MONDAY

hello world

george hunts work this week
georges work kinda fitting for this weeks theme
that dream quality he got

reading about a big battle at holy najaf w/messianic cult, heavens army, lead by fellow who claims to be the mahdi, some 500 shiites(?)

trying to assassinate (?) shiite religious figures(?) pilgrims(?)

messianic end of days folk drawing logical
conclusions (?) from life in iraq these days i suppose

"there's nothing bizarre left in Iraq anymore," say a
najaf security officer, "we've seen the most incredible things"

thats the way i feel
about bush

rdoc

appeal for redress and my understanding of the craft

FRIDAY

i dont know diddly about hiphop

but im trying to learn cause its the language
of the youth (and running hiphop riffs in rest)

so i saw this bit on the arrest of dj drama and wanted to comment
cause he sound like a true artist but what do i know

so i google him to read up on it and find this hiphop site
with most interesting dialogue going on

apparently lil wayne was the artist on two of dj dramas mixtapes
and this exposure helped make him who he is today

so it was news when he said in mtv interview that dj drama
should 'smarten up' and learn how to do it right

impassioned dialogue from both sides

lot of north (wayne) south (dj drama) drama
lot of interesting narrative licks

this one in support of dj drama,
(eliipses in text)

"yesterday ya'll makin calls back east tryin to cop whats new, hopin on the inet to place your fuckin orders, now you talkin all this sissy shit about artists not being able to eat cause of these cds....if an artist aint eatin off cds, then they dont have it...period...if you're hot, you're hot and you sell....Fuck the RIAA and any other organization associated with them....KARMA? Fuck everybody, "got Karma's" my website...that shit only exists if you get caught, that's what Karma is . . "

this one in support of lil wayne

"If a man didnt have the right to voice his own opinion, he would be a fuckn slave. Weezie is telling da truth. If u know that they are rap police all over the world, why give them amo to start fuckn with other rappers. Now dem bitches have 1 case to use to start an even larger investigation. "Wisen da fuck up" is what he should have said. He is eatn with dem dudes so what makes u think he would speak bad bout dem dudes. Lets not get it twisted here ppl. If u dont like wayne dats cool, if u dont respect him thats cool, but dont knock da man for speakn his feelings on a situation that could very well fuck with his lively hood and a whole lot more ppls lively hood. What if they decide to start kickn in every major labels office then what in da fuck r u gonna listen to? THINK BEFORE U SPEAK YOUNGN!"

and the inevitable calls to rise about it all

"Listen yall please let this be understood. I can give 2 shits bout what coast latitude longitude or whateva you be from. This is a time in hip hop when we need to get together and fight. Lotta cats use hip hop as a tool to get off the streets doin what they do and now they takin this away from us. It aint jus bein takin from the north, it aint jus be takin from the south or the east or the west. They bout to take it from all of us. N trus me it aint gonna end after this raid. If police aint got no drug busts to do they gon be lookin for some cats tryin to make some music feel me. We can all agree that sellin drugs aint the best way to make money, i mean it hurt people yadda yadda, but you gotta get it how you live it. Music aint illegal, it aint hurt nobody. 1 part of this country aint gon do shit, but all o us as one we can fight for a federal law that gives us the right to freely use our craft not steal others craft but use our own craft. So im askin yall to join my brothers and sisters and rise above this bullshit.. create a hip hop army of one"

it was an interesting read
i am so out of the loop

interesting flavor to hiphop eloquence

gotta hiphop a couple of passages in rest
novel playing w/the oral trad
cant leave out hiphip and call myself current

call myself playing w/african american dialect
an afro am literary/sacred language

but dialect work can become dated w/the quickness
i maintain a degree of formality, of conventional eloquence

to ensure my dialect work so uniquely my own
that it stands the test of time

like joyce
or zora w/their eyes watching god

gon have to steal hiphop licks i find congenial w/my own
got staggerlee as a gangster rapper who gets hoodoo religion

and i want those passages to reflect the milieu

handling that right gon be context and nuance
i hate being uninformed and lacking context and nuance dont you

but i thought it was tacky for lil wayne to
jump on a fellow artist who helped him like that

must be some issues between them
but arresting folk is a diff level of beef

one of my hiphop commentators say
"If you gon argue a point, weight both sides . ."

but i dont like seeing artists go to jail
for fiddling around w/a new art form

apparently the police expected to find drugs or guns when
they raided the office and were disappointed they didnt

apparently the music industry eats its own

whats with all the hoorah about bush retreating on warrantless wiretaps
just doing what they always do, when litigation nears that will reverse

their claims of the imperial presidency they yank back the claim so they can
say they did it voluntarily instead of having been ordered to do so by the courts

so its still their prerogative they say and they can assert it again if they so choose
did it with padilla, the detainees and the secret gulags

they think they so slick, they expect the cases to be dropped now
gotta keep those cases moving thru the system, otherwise its trusting the

word of the bush administration, okay ppls?

(you gotta admit, that ppls was smoothly done, i still got it,
still got the science) okay, so much for fun i gotta go,

supposed to be clocking pages

i got like a hundred or so pages to clean up
by the end of the semester

10 a week will get me to the promisedland

thats a lot of pages, got 6 so far this week
but a got major classprep to do this weekend

and taking care of business too

do what you can flowers
do what you can

THURSDAY

back in the world
taking care of business

catching up w/folk finally
been productive too

desperation, the only thing that
will keep my spirits up is getting

work done everyday no matter how
much the schoolhouse stress me

okay, quick commentary
barack obama campaign

im cautious, nothing against him personally but
hard for me to put my faith in politicians

cant be but so righteous and win the presidency
he will have to make all sorts of compromises w/what

i consider principle

much as hillary has done
it comes w/the territory

but he has a certain sincerity
and has positioned himself as a progressive

would have to be more sensitive to african
and african american concerns

cause he identify black,

the multiracial thing probably be more politially expedient, but he
come down on the black hand side and he doing it with the dignity

me and you brother
im down - or at least kinda down

i give him my grudging support
thats all i can do right now

politicians are heartbreakers, i will give him
my support but i keep my heart

gon have a little time probably to keep my eye on him
those politicians think two three elections ahead

if he doesnt win this one he will have set himself up as
a contender while young enuf to try it again

that said he will go full tilt for this one
and hope the presidential breaks fall his way

a black and a woman

republicans probably salivating, figure this the only
way they will be able to win a postbush election

will be interesting watching the repubs try to play those points gracefully
this will be an interesting chapter in the shaping of postbush america

ima keep an open mind
on brother obama

give him a little room
to maneuver

in the conquerors name
rdoc

TUESDAY

was reading about the appeal for redress
a movement by antiwar active military members

i got one of those little heart twinges you know
when something move you, that old viet vet thing i guess

read where a contingent of viet vets went w/them to deliver
the appeal to congress on martin luther king day and i could feel that

i went to the website and my eyes got a little teary just a little
dampness thats all

when they had to assure them you have the right to appeal this war
without being afraid that cheney and the cia will put you on a list

ima put the whole text here

i want to be part of encouraging soldiers to be part of this

the rightwing loves to use the troops as props, support the troops
by getting them out of there

be interesting to hear what props on their 2nd and 3rd tours have to say

An Appeal for Redress from the War in Iraq

Many active duty, reserve, and guard service members are concerned about the war in Iraq and support the withdrawal of U.S. troops. The Appeal for Redress provides a way in which individual service members can appeal to their Congressional Representative and US Senators to urge an end to the U.S. military occupation. The Appeal messages will be delivered to members of Congress at the time of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in January 2007.  

The wording of the Appeal for Redress is short and simple. It is patriotic and respectful in tone.

As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq . Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for U.S. troops to come home.   

If you agree with this message, click here.

The Appeal for Redress is sponsored by active duty service members based in the Norfolk area and by a sponsoring committee of veterans and military family members. The Sponsoring committee consists of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Veterans For Peace, and Military Families Speak Out.  

Members of the military have a legal right to communicate with their member of Congress. To learn more about the rights and restrictions that apply to service members click here.

Attorneys and counselors experienced in military law are available to help service members who need assistance in countering any attempts to suppress this communication with members of Congress.

Click here to send the Appeal to your elected representatives.

--------------------------

a luta continua

arthur flowers
rsvn 69/70

MONDAY

i am so out of the loop

just recently found the gale online bio of john o killens
i put it on rootwork.com, hope i dont get no grief for it

but it came to mind when i followed this link
about a black history month campaign by verizon
using a performance poet, j ivy

i am so out of the loop

my understanding of the craft is that you shouldnt sell
your name for advertising, i guess thats so oldschool now

but its one of the things john used to hammer into us
never sell your name - thats all a writer got he used to say

when you speak folk need to know it comes from your heart
not your wallet

for 13 years i followed john o killens from school to school
babajohn taught me not only how to write but how to be a writer

i have internalized so many of his precepts that he
continues to guide me even in new ground

nowdays being an ad is probably acceptable to the younger generation
not that big a leap from def poetry jam to a verizon ad

and its a good poem, a black history is every day riff
good production quality, probably see him in a movie next

and i have to admit im envious of the promotion points
and wonder if i would have stood on principle if they had come to me

black history month is my busy season too

and there are folk who consider teaching at syracuse or
publishing with major houses selling out - its all relative

but i probably would have drawn the line on a verizon ad
mostly cause baba john very expicitly would not have approved

and i been a prickly artiste all my life

but its kinda easy not to sell out when nobody bidding
i tell you this world getting more complex everyday

im outta here
1st day of school

coming out the woodshed
taking care of business again

things to do, people to see

focus flowers
showtime