rootwork the rootsblog: a cyberhoodoo webspace

warcrimes on the hill, roaring like osondu and muki garang: content, flow and swagger

SATURDAY

im outta here, brooklyn workshop sunday
im heading for the city

been talking to dr kioni lately
been some rewarding conversations

i been learning a lot

one of the things thats become clear to me
is that im not a true practitioner after all

ima dabbler

i been taking on clients lately, in order to assure my bonafides
but its still very much dabbling rather than practicing

but ive come to understand
if i want to bring about changes in hoodoo

i have realized i have to move from where folk are
rather than where i want them to be

started taking on clients as part of that
and now i see i got to build me a bonafide practice

one thing that he brought to my attention is specialization

i been taking on almost anything, relationship work, job work
anything i dont consider evil, i aint going there

but he specializes in motivational work
which i absolutely love to do

i still want to take hoodoo to higher ground
but its apparent to me that im going to have to go
back to basics

so the points of building a practice im seeing so far

getting the word out, which my blog seems to do, and will work on my website
to further manifest this

deciding what are the basic supplies that i need to feel well stocked

what are my basic spells for given types of cases and being prepared to adlib them as necessary

some of this new understanding on my part comes from conversations ive had
with djenra windwalker in which she has challenged but at the same time encouraged my practice

and another point that i earlier deduced from dialogues with papa gede nibo bey is
what is the hoodoo lifestyle, how do i sanctify my time, my space, my work

on a daily basis like nibo do

im still the same old arrogant so and so ive alway been
but im cooling my jets and moving into an intense study,

listening and learning mode

before i came online i thought i was the last of the bigtime hoodoomen
i was isolated and not aware of other serious practitioners,

or rather
serious dabblers

once i got involved with the online hoodoo community it became clear
that not only am i not the last of the bigtime hoodoomen but i am not
very knowledgeable - not very knowledgable at all

i still got the power
but i got to bring my skilz and my practice up to stuff

and i dont have but so much time to give this cause my primary
hoodoo practice is still manifested through my art and my literary hoodoo practice

other folk may not think literary hoodoo is real hoodoo
but for me is the most powerful move on the board

this other thing im doing strictly to maintain my bonafides
and its still going to be on the side of my literary hoodoo thing

writing novels is a fulltime gig that takes everything i got

but my definition ofmyself as a hoodooman is my core selfdefinition
and my love of the tradition is without bounds, i see the potential of
what we can be

but ever more i see the beauty of what we are

if i want to take folk to higherground
i got to Work from where they are

gotta go, brooklyn bound
another ongoing source of insecurity and frustration

so many folk depending on me
and im always coming up slack

i really look forward to consulting with my mentor
babajohn o killens, the great griot master of brooklyn

i need to be reassured that my work is good
that im taking care of business to his satisfaction

first thing i do when i hit the city, going to his grave
tend to his altar, collect some goober dust

since i dont do lefthand work
what i get from johns grave i call holydust

im outta here, be well
rdoc

WEDNESDAY

well, ive lost my nerve and dont believe
im going to send that post out on the hoodoo lists
after all

the stars that had me baying at the moon
have moved into a different alignment and ima
cool my jets

best i just do what i do and let
the Work speak for itself

there was a time not too long ago i thought i was
the last of the bigtime hoodoomen

got online to promote a book and stumbled
into the online hoodoo community and found
out not only am i not the last of the bigtime
hoodoo men

but that im not very knowledgeable

there are major gaps in my hoodoo training
and knowledge

i been humbled

trying to listen and learn instead of
huff and puff like im inclined

i suspect i best to keep
laying in the cut

a couple of commentaries
and its back to the woodshed
for rickydoc

the house of representatives put off
renewing the civil rights act

republicans claim it is unfair that the south
be singled out like that

im not going to go into why they singled out
or how georgia just last year pulled skullduggery

and let us not go into floridas tricks

civil rights commission been so counterfeit lately
they might as well let it die

must be afraid the midterm elections will
cost them the house so they best to officially kill it
instead of accepting pro forma

okay, im feelng fidgety, got to go
brief comment on randall kennedy and post black leadership

testified in a recent hate case that the whiteguy calling the
blackguy he was beating with a baseball bat nigger could
have been using it as a term of affection

who chose this guy
who says media conveys leadership

getting manuscripts off my plate
for big rest push
working legba bronzes

family issues in the delta
going home soon as

hanging tough
rdoc

TUESDAY
hello world

just lifting my head up here for a minute
see whats going on

i been reading my recent posts and its like
flowers boy you really tripping aint you

i dont know whats come over me
i been saying things i shoulda kept to myself

i blame rest for the weary

im so deep into that novel, so deep into my vision
my work, my world, thats its starting to leak thru and im telling
you things i probably shouldnt say

i gotta speak truth to the people
the truth as i see and feel it

that is my geas
thats where i get my power

probably should close this blog down until the
end of the summer woodshed

ohwell, in a case like this
one trusts the power

ima say whats in me to say

whenever i in my work, run up on something i want to say
but am afraid to say because it doesnt sound like something i should

or because its going to set me up for embarrassment and ridicule

i take that as a challenge to me as a literary artist and i say it
i aint gon never be afraid to speak my truth to the people

or to power

situation like that i figure its something im spose to say
and all the more important if im afraid to say it

i may not see how it fits in just yet
but when the power call i listen

im working on a listserve version of last few posts im calling
rickydoc trickmasters meditations on power

soon as i get my nerve up
gon send it out on the hoodoo lists and the orisha list
gon send it out on the black nationalist lists

gon get ridiculed buked and scorned

but im playing the mythwork, long as im growing
it just becomes part of the legend

may the gods of literature
be good to me

rdoc



SUNDAY

so im like on this obsessive
quest for power

power power power

personal power of course, control
of mind soul and body

family power,

im a social climber

always looking for the edge, always trying to make it
always striving to move self and family into more secure class

social power,

im personable, people like me

get along well with others, capable
of leadership if im motivated, damn
good follower if im not - ima team player

also im a charismatic

part of my training as a young hoodoo
was the conscious use of my charismatic powers

i got the magical glamour
i got the power

im capable of taking souls
i keep that power on a leash

community power

trained as political organizer

empowerment of exploited communities is my main game
from which all others spring

i believe in empowering all the various
communities of which i am a part

group power

ima organizer, its a political habit to empower groups
to join and form them as necessary

organize organize organize

my understanding is that voluntary organization is the fundament of power
in a democracy or any other society

my primary skill is leadership, providing vision and ennabling infrastructures
as necessary, keeping players and constituencies happy and growing

im actually pretty good at it but my plate is full and leadership is a fulltime gig
so i only do the leadership thing when nobody else can

tribal power

ima race man
southern black bougie stylee

i was brought up to assume responsibility
for the welfare of my people

thats nonnegotiable
what is negotiable is my concept of tribe

i been trying to expand it,  understand that
i got two families, blackfolk and all humanity,

i accept the tension of that and
try to serve them both

most of the times those demands are congruent
sometime they are not, my primary allegiance is to blackfolk

nonnegotiable

thats what makes me a leader
thats what makes me what i am

artistic power

i want to create wondrous, powerful and
beautiful works of art

i want to break the rules of craft and create new forms
that inspire artists who come after me for generations to come

i want to create Work with the power to influence every person
who reads it, the power to touch them in their deepest souls

to fan their dreams, empower their aspirations
and shape their realities

work with the power to shape civilizations
in its image

works that awaken the sleeper, protect the weak
and guide the strong

mighty and powerful spells

that will encourage humanity always to its greatest self
works that will be rest for the weary soul

thats what i want
give me that and i will be satisfied

cultural power

ima visionary artist
and a political intellectual

i want to shape the very future of humanity
in the image of my vision of them

destinic power

i want the power to influence human destiny
at will

working at the crossroads

i want to shape a spiritual tradition
that trains its young travelers in this skill

cosmic power

i strive to be a force for good

to ameliorate suffering of all kind and enhance
the human condition whenever i can

to awaken the sleeper, protect the weak
and guide the strong

magical power

ima hoodoo sorceror
and a wouldbe prophet

a high magician whose every
waking and unwaking thought is

a quest for more power
in the world and in the spirit

i would things be as i see them
i am a conjuror

and reality has often bent itself to my will

you have no idea of just how freaky i am about power

but im cool about it, i do the humble thing to the max
because i know thats the mature manifestation of power

but on the real side and under the surface, every move
i make, every word i speak, is a quest for more power

a quest to be true force
in this world

being real with it
rdoc

hello world
finished my phase

hard to believe

gon take a couple of days off
attend to some domestic honey do

some manuscripts i been stalling off
and some online organizing i need ot catch up on

then do the brutal redpen
im scheduling a month

moving right along
rdoc

SATURDAY

times like this i wish i had a better platform

seems the repub party has been conducting an
organized campaign to scrub black voters off the voting lists

this effort resulted in contested victories in 2000 florida
and 2004 ohio, which could be said to be responsible
for the unbelieveable age of bush - it will take generations of
work to clean up his messes

in florida they said they were scrubbing off felons but
they only found black felons (demo), not hispanic ones (repubs)

and many who were scrubbed were not felons but only found
out when they went to vote that they were no longer eligible

and in ohio their campaign was lead by blackwell, the black guy now
running for governer - john killens used to say uncle tom, who died keeping the faith
was not the right icon for black traitors but rather gunga din

now an errant memo from repub national committee shows
that they have not only targeted black communities with these illegal scrub lists by sending out mass mailings to black districts and challenging those sent back as undeliverable

they are also systematically targeting black servicemen
and women who are deployed overseas, as in iraq

when their do not forward letters are returned as undeliverable
they challenge the soldiers right to vote in that district

what manner of political skullduggery is this, this goes far beyond whats acceptable as political dirtytricks in america but then so does torture as policy or total information awareness policestate programs

they have no shame, just no shame, and no respect for our civic institutions
trying to impose democracy in the middleast and kill it in america

and they have ruthlessly and systematically subverted the institutions
that are supposed to protect us from the rapaciousness of the powerful

the courts, the media and the honor of the american people are empty shells
and all i can do is cry out in the night, (uh i meant speak out on my blog)

its so frustrating
to be a conjureman with no real power

rdoc

FRIDAY

whining again: content, flow and swagger

10 oclock pm and i havent written a word

one of those burntout days - gods way of forcing
rest on the weary - hopefully im rested enuf to clock
me some pages before the day is done

had lunch w/my nigerian advisor, e.c. osondu, today
he said arthur youve been moaning on your blog again

ec always accuse me of whining
arthur you should only roar he says, roar all the time

what i call myself doing is leaving a record of my struggles
for the literary hoodoos who come after me so that they
might learn from both my victories and my defeats

was looking at my boy muki garangs blog today

nairobi writer and performance artist, fellow traveler
and keeper of the faith - muki true force, the cutting edge

so anyway muki was complaining about kwani? slam
he say the rules work against true masters of the word

though he graciously gave props to winner he
felt aggrieved

he received this comment from a fellow nairobi traveler:

sup son, tight blog for real i feel like u the dopest poet in nairobbery from content to the flow and the swagger.I know kwani is a bitch but @least it is a platform for you to teach these ignit mufacks bout the word. About the judges i agree to most of these randomly picked people dont know the half but like i always say its better to be the underdog as you will always be hungry…i look @ it this way i dont need to be called no.1 to know that i’m the best,i dont need no airplay to know that im ten steps ahead of the rest , i dont need jack from this bullshit industry cause i know whether they like it or not they cant take away the talent thats in me…keep yo head up.  Baraka

now thats what im saying
one hungry brother to another

i love that phrase
from the content to the flow and the swagger

i asked ec, i said what about when im huffing and puffing
you dont ever say nothing then

cause i do believe in
the content, the flow and the swagger

in particular the swagger

hanging tough

rdoc

warcrimes on the hill

interesting article claiming todays 'debate' on iraq
constitutes a war crime, which in a sense it does

that they could be posturing about something so deadly serious

but this guy says milosovic (samesame hitler) was never accused of personally participating
but of supporting the following definition of a warcrime according to article 147 of 4th geneva convention:

"Willful killing, torture or inhuman treatment, including willfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health, unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement of a protected person, compelling a protected person to serve in the forces of a hostile power, or willfully depriving a protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial, taking of hostages and extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly."

you know thats close enuf to hurt when it come to american policy in this war,

casual collateral damage, torture as policy, allowing its troops to murder w/impunity, locking folk away w/o rights and remedies, violating american cvil rights at will and and all manner of dictatorial  skullduggery and a stop me if you dare attitude

i been noticing how after initial declarations of openness of haditha
we have heard nothing since, its clear that its strategic

speak on it, cant say we didnt speak on it, then stonewall it unless forced
by the time we let out whatever we let out it will be old news

i am constantly amazed at their lack of shame
history will be amazed at what we have allowed
in our name

in struggle
rdoc

the craft of power: entering the arena and learning the fundaments

FRIDAY

im tired

i am totally burnt out
gon have to stop soon

still whipping last 40 or so pages into shape
i think whatever dont get done today
dont get done

gon take a couple of days off

maybe catch up on some of these
manuscripts ive committed to read
then start the redpen of whole novel

but if i quit current push before its done
i will have to start all over when i get back to it,
always better to finish the phase

give it whatever it takes
reeling tired or not

been crunching hardcore for about two weeks now
and reeling tired is what i am, rickydoc is going down

pace yourself rick, pace yourself
thats what passes as rest for the weary

hanging tough
rdoc

THURSDAY

hello world

im going to excerpt the rgh suis craft of power:
spoke in previous post how it was one of the books
that influenced me as a young cub in the city

the first section is epigrammatic and im going to excerpt them here
over the next couple of weeks

the outline of the book:

part i  power posture 
part ii operational specifics

entering the arena
learning the fundaments
honing strategies and tactics
vectoring resources
shaping communications
orchestrating ceremonies
manueuvering and striking
negotiating and pressing on
reflecting on morality

ENTERING THE ARENA

1   
the glare of power bothers people

they feel more at ease with the myth of the meek inheriting the land

they turn aside and pretend

2   
that power poisons

and submission sanctifies

what opportunities for blessed exploitations

3
you recognize the essence of democracy beyond the pretenses

it is the sharing of power

most people merely participate in its dance.  but you are determined to share

4   
no longer will you be constrained by insitutionally assigned niches

no longer will you rest contented as a mere executive

you will become a person of great power

5   
so you study the books

and decipher the rites in the chamber of deeds

power establishes its own legitimacy; not to grow in power is to succumb

6   
you grow in power and grow some more

a voice within you whispers.  what next?

now, its your turn to conceal and pretend

LEARNING THE FUNDAMENTS

7 
embrace the 15 rules

or leave the arena before its too late

the one who is inept and faint hearted only gets in the way and messes up the tournament grounds with his splintered lance and sorry carcass

8   
the primary rule is self discipline - the severe self discipline of dedication and destiny, of great tyrant and master robber

if you fail this test go no further.  melt into the acquiescent herd.  when the heat is not too hot, shadow box a few rounds.  pontificate from the pulpit and snicker through the editorials.  all the while, endure the ghetto depriviations, enjoy the suburban barbeque, dissipate the unearned inheritance

great power is not your cup of sassafras.

9
but should you feel that you are indeed of the fiber to stretch your Reach, assert your Will, and proclaim your Consciousness, then pay close attention and learn how to:

metere the inputs, gauge the activation barriers, inject the impellences, time the catalysts, and channel the outputs.

be the steely professional through and through.

11
the umpire calls the shots its true

but theres a person who made the rules governing him, a person who appointed him, a person whos paying him

keep the persons behind the scenes in nind

12
conform your appetite to your ability to digest

regroup, consolidate, and reassess after every victory. delay further forays until refreshed

fortify yourself against the likes of you

13
crime is here to stay.  professionals of power are well versed in all its variants.

god himself has expressed discouragement over the sickening sinfulness of the human race

expect foul play

16
create a myth sustaining your movement like the deep ocean floats a majestic ship

draw an inspiring rationale for your past actions and present position, a ringing call for your continuing expanion, a vigorous condemnation of your formidable oppositions

put your best minds to it

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

okay, enuf for today
best i get back to work

i will put in more tomorrow
and keep editing out the inessential

until i have finished this post and done
my power commentary, ima try to keep the length down
gon be a lot of editing this week

interesting redoing these precepts that have so guided me all these years
im seeing some indications of youth but basically they have held up
and im liable to edit out the ones that have not

still it embarrasses putting these up, some of you probably sneering at this point, amused
but they spoke to something deep within me as a young man

changed my life, ever since i been a player on a level i could not
have imagined before, interesting the books that have changed your life
it is the power of books to do that that i depend on

each epigram becomes the text of a chapter, what made the difference
from other contemporary works on power is the use of historical and contemporary
exmples of power dynamics (iincl john killens struggle as afroam visionary)

the speculations on mythworkers and ideological players
are what became my strategic/tactical bible over the years

"create a myth sustaining your movemenbt like the deep ocean floating a majestic ship

i am the mythmaker of the movement
it is what i do best

i been laying the seeds of this power myth of a people with a destiny
for some 20 years now and it is unfortunate i dont get no play

would make all my orchestrations easier because i wouldnt
have to beg and cajole as much if the culture respected me
as a player and leader, if they trusted me and believed in my guidance

but it is only thru years of service

that you are given the prophetic dispensation from the tribe
and trusted aa a font of spiritual and strategic knowledge

i am what you might call a sacrifice
i will with my life define just what it is that a hoodoo prophet do

the curse of the visionary,

im going to use this exercise to meditate on power
and on the seeds of my game, my vision

trying to pass it on, in the name of o killens

trying to leave my own manual of power
for the young hoodoos who come after me

for i would you my people be
masters of power, masters of the game

and my abiding concern at all times is to empower the hoodoo tradition
and not only empower but ennoble

power has always been the point of magical/mystical pursuits
im saying that as guide and guardians we must attain power in
the world along with spiritual power

in order to perform our tribal functions
to fullfill our sacred obligations

and when you get that power you use it for the good of humanity
and the enhancement of the human condition, that is true hoodoo power

to awaken the sleeper, protect the weak, guide the strong

true hoodoo is more than a list of magical recipes and watered down wiccawork
it is also about protecting your community however you define community

and enabling all those in it to their highest potential, to bring forth in them power
this is our power, this is our grace and i would you young hoodoo be guide and guardian

in my efforts to empower the hoodoo tradition
i get a lot of resistance from folk who want to stay in that
folk magic mode, that skeleton key hoodoo

but i am a man of true power, i am a change agent
and after me hoodoo will never be the same

i dont usually acknowledge my power, my true beliefs
but im in a strange and mortal space right along here and the feyness is on me

my power coming down on me
im swimming in it

and let me say to you that i believe i been put on the planet to change things
i dont go around huffing and puffing cause that aint cool but i do believe
that i am historical and will leave a legacy

my name will mean something to future generations

the only real question is what type of legacy will i leave
when they think of rickydoc flowers what do i want them to think,
to feel, to be, to emulate

what do i want my name to stand for

and ima tell you the truth dear surfer even i dont know
im figuring it out as i go along

constantly adjusting and calibrating
amd rolling with the punches (i take a lot of punches)

magic is kinda like being an artist
you have the vision and the world is telling you
that vision dont exist in the realworld

and you my friend are either crazy or a fool
but you hold onto it and you feed it with all your power

and you hold it and grow it in defiance of reality and
eventually it becomes a reality, eventually the reality

reality will often bow to the hoodoo will
it has often bowed to mine

thats how you make a book
thats how you make a world
thats how you shape the future

manifest a vision
create the ennabling structures
put the magic on it

and on that note let me get back to my primary mythwork instrument
rest for the weary: the legend of highjohn the conqueror

my greatest and most powerful spell
my best and most powerful blessing

in struggle
rickydoc trickmaster

wouldbe prophet
of the hoodoo way

are you or are you not rickydoc conqueroo

MONDAY

loving day and the one drop rule

as a literary cub back in nyc i was a student of power
one day i found a book at the strand called the craft of power by r.g.h. siu

you talking about somebody all my adult life
been a student/intellectual of power and ive read everybook
on power that ever was and none of them affected me

like the craft of power
both content and textually (as in influenceing my own style)

my constant focus to this date on strategy and strategic posture
comes directly from the craft of power read some 20 years ago

"React to that eerie apprehension of the totality of the instant. 

Let every thrust be part and parcel of a continually adjusting envelopment by resilient forces - some loud and clear, others gentle and muted, and still others standing by in silent darkness. 

This is the core characteristic of the master of power."

sounds familiar dont it, im always talking about strategic posture
basically meaning this attunement to the strategic flow and that
epigrammatic style look familiar too dont it

written as a power manual, it has shaped
my political strategies more than marx malcolm or martin ever did

another point that blew my mind is that it discusses john o killens
as a player, it was so deep that somebody saw what john was
most folk still havent recognized john killens for the visionary he was

before keith gilyards work there was only this work
and harold cruises crises of the negro intellectual, which disapproved of johns orchestrations
but in doing so treated him as a serious destinical force, i can work with that

siu said the problem that black leaders like john killens face
is that if blacks are successful at a strategy of integration they will probably
disappear as a people by being blended out of existence
(as they have been in many south american counties, mexico, argentina, etc)

said but if they go for segregation that cuts them off from the rest of the population
and thats a dead end too in terms of the longgame

this morning i saw this article on loving day celebrating interracial marriages
and the children thereof and that brought this issue to mind

as racial relations normalize interracial relations will likely be the trend of the future
and its good that blackfolk be a part of that trend

black nationalist though i be im all in favor of going with the destinical
flow, specially when its trending progressive and we wouldnt want
to be left out of that multiracial dynamic, if anything
we want to be an integral part of that dynaminc - strategically speaking

the future will be a question of which cultures surive as influential forces
and which groups thrive and multiply

the one drop rule has expanded our numbers and our genetic base
we would be fools to let it be compromised

the question that it raises is one of identity
cant fight multiracial identification, thats fair

but what we want is for the new breeds to also identify themselves
as black

im talking the one drop rule
only now do we see the true value of that particular practice

we got blackfolk with all kinds of mixes and historically there been
blackfolk barely if at all black genetically speaking

blackness more a culture than it is genetic

and in terms of being an influential component of the multiculti future
thats a dynamic that we have to encourage

this is not something we can force on folk by trying to make
them feel bad if they dont choose to be black

cant force folk to be family

this identification was once imposed, now it is a matter of choice
this is an issue that faces all blackfolk in todays postblack world

why choose to be black when its no longer obligatory and if anything
works against you in this world

if we want folk to choose to be black we have to make it worth their while
this will happen only when folk are no longer shamed to be black

we must build a culture so powerful and so beautiful that folk want
to be black, that folk are proud of their blackness or their
black % as the case may be

and when multiracial folk do decide to identify with their blackness
we have to be warm and welcoming and make them feel at home

cant be acting all funny and tribal about it, got to appreciate their
dual allegiances and let them know its okay - its all family

this question of identity is not just pertinent to african americans
but all through the blackworld, in the sudan and in brazil and fiji this
question of black identity is one of the critical questions of our times

one that we must engage if the answer is important to us

it is also pertinent to our evolving relationship with the hispanics
and in particular the dark skinned hispanics, if we can claim their
allegiance we have finessed the hammer and the rise of the hispanics
will contribute to our own empowerment

the point of game is to subsume everybody elses game into our own
then they all work for us

if you truly understand the board of destiny young hoodoo
everybody on the planet work for you

(this post has become overt in a manner i try to avoid, talking about the craft of power
puts me in a sui state of mind, best i chill before i tell all my business)

so many black activists arent really addressing the issues that will really concern
us in the 21st century, they still stuck in the 20th with silly retros like reparations,

but its questions like black identity in a multiracial world

and the nature of effective struggle in a high tech society that will define
struggle in the 21st century

best we start to wrestling with them

in struggle
rdoc

SUNDAY

hello world
the old rootdoctor reeling

mostly frustration, im hammering away
everyday im hammering away and getting nowhere

im moving but its ungodly glacial
and it just doesnt look like a novel

i just wish my style wasnt quite so unconventional
so i could better judge if the text is good or bad

right now its bad i know its bad
but i have faith that it will work as i polish it

i have faith
and at this point in my life i have no other options

my public presentation my personal mythwork my job my life my woman
demand that i deliver a novel - a damn good novel

i wouldnt know what to do with my life other than make books
im on the planet to make books and you aint here but a minute

this point i dont care if it works or not, its gon get done
and its gon get done now - everyday is do or die

all i can do is keep working it strong and deep and true as i can
making it coherent, giving it texture

hope and pray that its real

but i fear like ellisons juneteenth
im just playing with myself

and you

ohwell, these kind of speculations are a waste of time
much too much work to do to entertain debilitating thoughts

i fear also dear surfer that im not entertaining you
or illuminating you with trenchant social commentary

i assume agonizing over daily pagecounts dont interest you like it do me right along here
but im too deep in the zone to care, its just me and this novel

i tell you what, this what ima do for you

ima throw some of my lodgebrother trebor setags work
into the mix for your aesthetic enjoyment

and other such medicinal purposes

enjoy the ride

rdoc

SATURDAY

deep in the zone
struggling w/last 30 pages

cutting out inessential and making
it coherent narration

not confident of what im coming up with
but will take what i can get for this phase

knew i had to bring it up to speed cause it
was incoherent and the endgame got to shine

been listening to old atlantic blues collection
great opening lines on how long blues
by mama yancy

"i been down down in the delta
down in the delta and ive done been tried

i can stand more trouble more trouble than any
little woman my size"

i feel you girl
i feel that one

stand more trouble than
any man my size

rickydoc might bend
rickydoc dont break

rdoc



FRIDAY

oh i was feeling my oats yesterday
i was just a huffing and a puffing wasnt i

today reality has set in, im slogging
through my redpen and its slogging in truth mud

having to rewrite passages i had hoped
were ready for touchup

i had scheduled 10 pages a day
im averaging 5, which is okay but will it
get me to the promiseland

on time

i dont think so, i got to find another gear
but im already weaving weary clocking daily 5s

gotta find another gear somehow someway somewhere

woke up this morning and all i got to look forward to
is another day of struggle with the page

won the battle yesterday, that dont help me today
i got to win this battle everyday - of a do or die summer

sitting here now trying to pump myself up
to wrestle with this beast one more time

in hopes of another measly 5 pages at the
end of the day - 5 pages that likely got to be hit again

ohwell
a luta continua and all that

in this business you ignore
both ecstasy and despair

just keep on slogging
keeping the faith

my day will come

rdoc

THURSDAY

hello world
just checking in

rest for the weary coming along real fine right about here
im clocking pages im in the zone

dosing myself 24/7 with restorative droughts of esther phillips
and bobby blue bland

printed it out the other day and its reading good
no telling how it reads cold, right now its reading smooth

got to redpen the last 3rd - 80 pages
ima give that about 1 week - the 15th
okay maybe two - max

then redpen the whole thing - give that a month  july 15
this the brutal redpen, bleeding all over it
a month is pushing it, dreaming the impossible dream

i just got to forcemarch and pray

cause ima need another month for the poetry redpen
thats when you just putting the poetry on it
texturizing it   thats the fun draft - aug 15

then i be good to go - showtime

get some feedback, put it on the market
prepare for the schoolhouse

all these deadlines will require superhuman discipline
effort endurance and production, i got to go all gears

give it everything i got, its like my life been
preparation for the moment, the last lap of
a marathon run, you can do it rick
you can do this

are you or are you not a writer born
and trained - am i or am i not a professional

time to separate the writers from the posers

got to do it, im so close i can smell it
been working this novel for almost 20 years

feeling my mortality lately and this my greatest spell is almost done and i got to focus like never before - got to make it happen

got to bring the magic down

whatever i need i got to pull it and i got to pull it now
am i who i think i am or aint i

i was born to do this

are you or are you not rickydoc conqueroo
next 3 months gon tell

in struggle
rickydoc

gamemaster at play: tricking the trickster and hoodooing the hoodooman

hello world

usually i detest the little cutesy cutesy mail arounds
but this one i enjoyed, mostly because i came up short w/the Fs

i love it when the trickster get tricked and the hoodooman
get hoodooed

i had to come up with a new category for this one
i put it under fun

also had to edit the text somewhat
original text was way too kiddie

(lot of exclamation points!!!!!)

i think the reason this one appeals to me so
is that reality and illusion are my hoodoo/artiste grounds

my definition of magic is forcing reality to respond to my will

as an artist a conjuror and ideological orchestrator my
is to shape reality and in particular  future realities

i consider my works the seeds of future realities
my ideological orchestrations preparation of the ground

also words are my bread and butter, i love them
each and every one a complete work of art

still it is with some ebarrassment that i post this one
been in the zone and clocking pages, decided to have some fun

be well be safe
rdoc

Read out loud the text inside the triangle below. 

More than likely you said, "A bird in the bush," and........

you probably missed that 2nd THE
your brain saw what it expected to see

next one i put under making your own
heaven or hell

so what do you see here

 

 

good or evil, what you see
depends on your perspective dont it

okay what about this one




 


 
   
one way optical
the other way illusion

can you trust the naked eye
or is it the brain upon which you rely

the next image may be a little tired
but it spoke to my schoolhouse soul
to have the flipside of teach be ., .

or in me i see . . . .

 

okay okay, cute but lame i agree
the next one is the one that got me

i dont ever do these braintest things
just dont have space to engage my brain
over something that aint really functional for me

so i zoomed past it but curious once trick explained
i came back and counted Fs and even knowing the trick i flubbed it - repeatedly

now that i enjoyed, go figure

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

Count every " F" in the following text:

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE
SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTI
FIC STUDY COMBINED WITH
THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS... 


HOW MANY ?

WRONG. WRONG, WRONG,  6 OF THEM
try again before you scroll down, did you get 6 or what

even after they explained the trick i kept getting 4
the old hoodooman spose to SEE better than that

apparently the brain cannot process "OF"

if you got all 6
you the genius

got that vision that see
what other folk dont

most folk get 3 - 4 is rare

okay, last one wrodplay and its back
to the saltmines

 -----------------------

to raed tihs pasagse you hvea to rlaex and let yuorslef go wtih the folw
 

wroknig the  phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig  to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy,
 
deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the  ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat  ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll  raed it wouthit a porbelm.
 
Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey  lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

okay, thats enuf fun for today
bcak to wrok

rdoc

when you need me you call me, i will come: haditha, ishaqi and the moral highground: its time to go

MONDAY

somali warlords on the run

somali warlords started conflict w/islamic courts
at express bidiing of u.s. concerned w/growth of radical islam

much to their surprise warlords got beaten every time
by younger disciplined and motivated islamic fighters

fighting under cross clan unity of islam

strongest warlords been chased out of mogadishu
islamic courts turning attention to rest of somalia

including puntland, somaliland and interim government
competing systems of federal authority

somaliland already influenced by the courts
puntland has rebuffed previous attempts and
interim government a joke waiting to fall

prognosis - statehood under fundamentalist islam

warlords regret attempt to change statusquo
not quite what they had in mind

stay tuned

rdoc

SUNDAY

the old conjureman have taken some punches lately
stumbled and dropped the baton again

was so close on the hand but the energy
has dispersed on me and ima have to beg
folk personal to give me another shot

gon have to press on taking care of business
like its all good in hopes that folk will believe in me again

o i got to keep going no matter what
i keep trying, otherwise the hand dies
and all its possibility

i aspire to leadership, i am a master of the game
and i enjoy the perks always have and when im slack
and things fall apart i have to take that too

i wanna be a hero

and i accept the price of heroship,  i pay
my dues without whimpering

man reach as high as i do expect to stumble
stumbling and fucking up, thats what i do best

but you dont let that stop you
you just buck up and limp on
and hope history is kind to you

cause reality aint

count the lesson learned, resolve
to do better and keep on pushing

sometime all you can do is
take the hammer

ima organizer, a black nationalist organizer
an ideological orchestrator in the tradition

dont hardly nothing turn out like i plan it to
but it do turn out long as i dont quit it turn out

and i do not quit,
not as long as the race is suffering i dont

not the conjureman
a delta conjureman

i may whine a bit sometime whimper but i will pick up
the baton, dust myself off and try to catch up

again

SATURDAY

collateral damage at ishaqi

apparently 3 year old insurgents were killed in ishaqi
and the soldiers involved have been cleared

my question is cleared by whom

far be it for me to suggest that mr bush
mr cheney ms rice and mr rumsfields military
would lie to us

but i would like to see the evidence please

the bush administration has a history of lying to
us whenever they think they can get away with it

personally i consider collateral damage deaths as
bogus as out and out murder

basically what they saying now is we killed 9 civilians
inclu 4 children to get 1 insurgent and thats okay

and no they didnt die like we said they died but thats okay

no its not okay
but almost inevitable in a conflict of this nature

specially in an admin steeped in moral ambiguity
one that condones torture and other such debasing skullduggery

soldiers know they can get away with murder
unless somebody takes a picture of it

and forces the bush administration to acknowledge it

they tried to hide haditha but the corp briefed congress
before the admin ordered them not to

mr bush subsequently promised full and immediate report
now being held he says, till after the criminal investigation

is that before or after november

now we are told these collateral damage deaths were cleared
(cleared by who what when where) and the admin indignantly insists
these folk, men women and children, were not executed

uh excuse me,
the question is not were they executed but where they killed
and if so how

inquiring minds want to know

rdoc



FRIDAY

when you need me
you call me, i will come
i am rickydoc

my ritual closure on my books

was able to use it recently when an aspiring
writer climbed the mountaintop and asked for guidance

enjoyed being able to say that
speaks to my innermost vision of myself

in my most mythical heart of hearts i want to be a culture hero
i want my work to be a legacy that speaks to generation
upon generation

i want my works my legacy to awaken the sleeper
protect the weak and guide the strong

i want future generations to call on me
like folk call on jesus and allah

when they in need

i want just the thought, the very act
of calling my name to be sanctuary
for the weary soul

a returning culture hero
who comes whenever the race is in need

in whatever mode required at that point in time
i want to say to all the generations

when you need me you call me
i will come

i am rickydoc

THURSDAY

finally reached point with rest for the weary
where if i were to die tomorrow god forbid

its enuf of a complete novel that folk would
know what im trying to say with it

i could live with it -  or die with it as the case may be
by the end of the summer its gon be a real work

im deep dug into the woodshed now and no telling
what truths i will tell you over the summer, im in the zone
no telling what ima say

but i been keeping up with haditha situation
gives me vietnam vet blues thought i had
long since left behind

whats really tragic is you got to assume killing civilians badly
as opposed to 'legitimate' civilian deaths, happens every day

and this is just one time
the evidence was so blatant they couldnt sweep
it under the flag

its time to go

there is no highground left in iraq
if there ever was

and one thing a good bluesman got to know
when its time to go its time to go

rdoc