rootwork the rootsblog: a cyberhoodoo webspace

in the village there was a conjureman

TUESDAY

hitting them while they down

this doesnt even rate as news to anybody with an iq over 12
but let me do my part to pile on and get a punch in while they down

that woodward book is just full of goodies, but news it is not
its value is that it reinforces what everybody already know

god i love it when they start tripping over their lies

the july 10 2001 meeting a case in point, cia say they tried to warn bush admin
went by personal to make urgent case - say condi gave them the brush off

first condi say what meeting, i dont remember no meeting
but the pesky records say meeting, now she say o that meeting

nothing significant in that meeting she say
we were getting a lot of what she calls 'alarmist reports'

pesky records say same briefing given to ashcroft and rumsfield
what briefing they say, we didnt get no briefing

pesky records say different but when have facts ever fazed bush admin
then they say if it was real why didnt 9/11 commission report it

the exec dir of 9/11 commission, (now condis top aide) say we
didnt hear anything about it, nobody told us about no meeting

pesky records trip them up again, apparently they was told
they just didnt include it in their 'comprehensive' report

makes you wonder what else they left out

this makes a farce of their little terrorism election strategy
the foley case makes a farce of their holier than thou strategy

it will be interesting to watch them dance thru this one
but dance they will

pesky facts have never stopped them in the past

its the lack of shame that makes them effective
bushite masters of the okeydoke:
who you gon believe, me or your lying eyes

ricks election tips:
#1: i always vote early w/an absentee ballot

to make sure no emergencies keep me from voting on election day
and to free myself up for get out the vote duty w/some org i trust

as a child of the 60s and the voting rights battles of the south
when folk marched and died for the right to vote, i always vote

it might be a trick and my vote might not count, etc etc etc
but i vote irregardless and do what i can to turn out the vote

i consider it a sacred duty

after the reign of bush the naked emperor, anybody who dismisses
electoral politics is a bigger fool than they play us for

im outta here
rdoc

SATURDAY

playing us for the fools we are

that new woodward book is full of tidbits
cant wait to dig into it

wish it had come out nov 1st maybe
so that anger be still full tilt on the 7th

but one that caught me eye immediately
is the allegation that gas prices have been
pushed down for the election

ever since bonnie brought it to my attention

i been seething as hard over low prices when
i pull into the gas station as i was over high ones

thinking if they could do it for the election they
could do it all the time

but i was wondering how everybodys
price went down at the same time

wondering if maybe my oil conspiracy theory was inoperable
wondering how could they get all the gas companies to do it in tandem

woodward explains it in a conversation between bush and his
boy saudi prince bandar bin sultan

"they could go down very quickly." woodard says bandar told bush "that's the saudi pledge. certainly over the summer, or as we get closer to the election, they could increase production several million barrels a day."

so thats how they did it

these conveniently low prices been irking me
as much as when they were skyhigh

they way they play us
ought to be against the law

THURSDAY

this bug been a revelation
coudnt carry my regular load

there is a certain freedom in being sick
laying there free of obligations and responsibilities

certain sicknesses you feel new upon recovery
like you can start all over w/a fresh slate

brand new you, brand new attitude

gon savor that sensation long as i can
new flowers gon be way more ruthless bout his time

got back in the saddle today, started taking care of biz again
but in my heart im listening to the spheres

everything is on minimum maintenance
and on that note some commentary:

i notice bush complaining
about the leakers of that nie report

"trying to create confusion in the
minds of the american people"

its amazing how so often they indict themselves

thats their modus operandi, creating confusion in the minds
of the american people

whoever leaked it had excellent timing because it
nullifies bushs recent pr push using security and the detainee issue

the basic problem here is that our hamfisted policies
breed terrorists faster than we are killing them

the misery being imposed on the palestinians is
a case in point - its immoral and stupid too

nobody questions that america has to fight terrorists
the question is how do we go about it

this is a war of ideas and bush and crew are clueless
their bumbling incompetence is losing this war and

this is a war we cannot afford to lose

if we do regain power
we progressives will have to have a security plan

unlike some progressives
'i dont mind calling an enemy an enemy

i do say we simply cannot afford 2 more years of unrestrained
republican rule by clueless presidential fiat

and then there is all the hoopla over this guy allen in virginia
is he or aint he a racist

the confederate battleflag and the noose
hanging in his office says all that needs

to be said far as im concerned

give that man some bar b que and
let him go on bout his business

also i notice in darfur that the african union mission
been extended and more boots (4000) on the ground

a fall back position of the global community since the sudan wont allow
un troops in  (of course they wont, why would they)

the arab league has offered financial support in a venal attempt to facilitate
the continued genocide/ethniccleansing/whatever by their 'arab brothers'

if i was the african union - if anybody was paying attention
to what the old conjureman got to say - this my hoodoo advice:

i would use the desperation of the global community
to do something anything in darfur to beef up my enforcement muscle

enhance my ability to discipline rogue african states
and become more of a true force

then i would show the sudan - and the arab league,
what time it is

thats what i would do
if i was in charge

if i had the hoodoo say so

in struggle
rdoc

MONDAY

hello world

i dont believe i told the multicultural folk yes
god flowers, when will you learn

been dreaming lately, laying there all
drugged and feverish

very vivid dream last night, pretty clear
to me and anybody who know me

will use it as seed for a story one day
let me write it down while its still fresh

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

in the village there was a conjureman
the conjureman was once valued in the village

but he was older now and often distracted. listening to sounds only he heard
many began to doubt his value, he began to doubt his own

one day strangers appeared, an old man and two sons
those with vision saw them as malignant forces, many did not

but when they set up shop they drew the worst to them and gave them power, caused
dissention where harmony sat, turned family against family and degraded the village soul

and none dared protest when the old man drew his sign
on the village post

the conjureman found them on the outskirts of the village
i have come to reason with you he said

but when he went close to them a powder was thrown in his face,
he retreated and considered his position

1st he wiped the powder from his eyes, sniffed it, tasted it, rubbed it between his fingers
he did not recognize it and so he ignored it

if it was magical no one could match his magical power
and if it was pharmaceutical his studies could not name it

as is too often the case, his knowledge was lacking
i shouldnt have closed with them he thought, that wasn’t smart

the oldman and his sons said we have nothing to say
well then said the conjureman, what do you have to say to this

1st he floated up into the air in order to better see,
and knowing this would discombulate them

then he gathered his power, every iota of it, and
depleting himself, he flung it at them

the watching villagers saw only his motions
but the two sons fell foaming at the mouth and writhering on the ground

you will remove your sign or your sons will rot

the old man removed his sign w/the quickness
this was a conjureman of a different order

from his favorite hill and listening to the song of the spheres
the village conjureman watched them leave

pleased that he will have the respect of the village again
that if but for the moment he was theirs again

that is all
this work is done

torture light, george saunders mcarthur award and the free show kaiso king

FRIDAY

o ye generations

it is i, rickydoc rootdoctor
de horse of de conqueroo

well i see the repubs have agreed on torture light
about what i expected

not even torture light, more like same old same old
 
thats what we get from trying to hide behind mccains skirts
from trying to make a moderate of a molehill instead

of really trying to stop torture as policy

but as we know its too close to elections
to expect principled democrats

like everything else bush has done
this is more about politics and venality than it is security

protecting his minions from being brought to book for torturing folk
(read just this morning about detainees being tortured to death in afghanistan)

designed to force principled demos to vote against it
and being called soft on terror

it literally says the president can 'interpert the meaning
and application" of the geneva convention to what bush calls
aggressive interrogation and other euphemisms- what used to be called torture

what everybody else in the world still calls torture
everybody but befuddled bamboozled americans

how exactly is this different from his original position
what exactly did we win here

the bush admin has really been a wakeup call for progressive forces
i dont think anybody can say that politics isnt important after this

we had gotten slack, we had fallen asleep

rightwing been cleaning our clocks now for about 20 years
long as it was about prayer in the schools it was a joke

but folk dying in iraq aint no joke, and he woulda took away
social security too if he could have

but this has been a reminder 
that freedom aint free, if you forgive me for falling on old verities

that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance

as a colored person im fully aware that america has always had issues
but at its best it stood for something that it no longer does

instead of the home of the free and the land of the brave
america now stands for torture as policy, renditions and hidden gulags

if we become like our very worst enemies
what are we fighting for

there was an article in the times that tracked
bushs rising numbers with falling gas prices

bonnie mentioned that bush oil buddies probably
arranged recent drops in oil prices for his benefit

i hadnt even thought of that

amazing how those prices rise and fall according
to their own logic

also i see on the front page of the wash post today
not one article about iraq,

another success of the bush admin using terrorism/detention etc
to move iraq off the front page

and rove has been promising rightwing insiders that he
has an 'october suprise' waiting for them

im concerned gang, im concerned they playing
the american people just as strong as always

and we know they have no shame, no matter how
blatant their techniques for manipulating americans

hard to believe america would continue to fall for the bush okeydoke
but they did in 2002, im concerned, this working my nerves

one, the congressional democrats will have to step to the plate on this bill (fat chance)
two, media has to stop parroting the administrations rhetoric (fat chance)
three, the american people will have to reject this current farce (fat chance)
and the one prepared for october (fat chance)

im concerned gang

those of us with some voice, however small, have to keep speaking truth
however frustrating it is and keep hammering away,

october surprise, expect it, reject it
how long will we let these fools

play us for fools

still getting emails from parents about that convocation

been asked to do another parents weekend thing
for the multicultural office folk in october

im probably going to say yes but i feel like
trinidad rio, in that song of his - the free show kaiso king

he say when folk getting paid they dont call him
but when its a freebie he the first one they think of

he say he the free show kaiso king
i feel you brother

thinking about it cause bell hooks is on campus doing
a presentation for the black student association

and i bet she getting big bucks
but me they want for free

no disrespect to hooks but i am likely
to give the more substantial presentation

but for her all the black students on campus likely to turn out
id be lucky to pull 20

i pride myself on the substance of my words
when i deal i deal in words of power

whether i am valued or not

and it irks me that i neither pull nor get paid

and that folk always asking me to do for free
what they willing to pay other folk thousands to do

i get no respect, none whatsoever
and i wonder sometime what am i doing wrong

my ace boon colleague, george saunders
just won the mcarthur (and the gugg) this year

and george so cool i cant even begrudge him
other than myself nobody deserves it more

im real proud of him
he say he feel smarter already

but it really makes me wonder about the way i use my time
this rootsblog, my ideological orchestrations, my activism

all the free shows i do

i know its cost me production wise
i give so much for which i feel unappreciated

then discouragement cause me to falter and stumble sometime
whimper when i should be maintaining my front of indestructibility

feel like i cant get my own work done for all the tribal responsibilities i carry

been wondering if i can afford this destinywork project, etc etc - (decided to hold off
destinywork until i build companion wedsite, hopefully no more than a coupla weeks)

got those wanna be a hero blues

and i got this hope, what neglected artist dont
that one day the mcarthur folk will call me

and say we got a check for you arthur

but you know i probably got to accept its not going to happen
just like so many of my tattered hopes and dreams

and im probably going to tell the multicultural parents folk okay but im
not happy - i cant even get a basic check much less a real one

and its not like you want a lot
just what they would give anybody else

i will accept token appreciation

but folk come to you w/the community service thing
please arthur please, the community needs you 

what can you do
except slip back into harness and say sure i will do it

but ima cut back on my free shows, learn how to say no and make it stick
gon cut back (alas) on my commitments to the struggle,
dont feel like folk appreciate my sacrifices and i got to get my own work done

i can hear that clock ticking - tick tock tick tock
but that just might be my chest noises, maybe i just got the blues today

a bad bronchitis bug got me flat on my back
chest making all kind of wierd wheezy noises

ill probably feel better when i feel better - but today
im playing trinidad rio today:

whenever kings in competition
promoters always leave me out

no matter what their requisition
something im concerned about

though me friends and fans assure me
im a king in my domain

but if you ask for my credentials
this is how i will explain

them big shows up at the forum, the complex
and the stadium - whenever they giving them show

nobody remembers rio

but if somebody have a hole
and they need a charitable soul

im the first one they asking to sing
cause im the free show kaiso king . .

i read an article the other day that mentioned
academics in their late 50s having to accept

that they just might not be the great intellectual forces
they believed themselves to be in their youth

guess that goes for artists too

having to accept that you just might not be what you
always dreamed you would be in the world

just your basic garden variety human after all
kinda like this body, i used to be indestructible

body used to take all kind of punishment and keep on ticking
now any old bug knock me down

okay so i aint young, unique and immortal no more
i got to accept that w/some grace

but my dreams of being a great novelist
and helping my people, i aint giving that up

fuck that

ima keep hammering this mountain till the day i die
hammer in each hand, ringing like silver, shining like gold

and if i dont get the brass ring ima die suprised

been so buried in student manuscripts and schoolhouse obligations
havent worked on my own in 2 maybe 3 weeks, happens every semester

gon have to steel myself, get more ruthless about taking my
mornings for my own work, in spite of my crippling fear of coming

up short in front of my classes

george told me he gets a substantial check every 3 months
for the next 5 years, if that aint motivation nothing is

fuck this, im getting out this sickbed and im going back to the sacred desk
and im getting my obligatory 3 hours in so help me god

and im going to accept that multicultural parents thing too
but this time i will not restrain my politics, they want me to

speak for free they gon have to listen to what i got to say
october 20th im supposed to do that, 3 weeks before the election

gon be anklebells and my longtailed rattle
ima rouse the rabble, my own little october surprise

ima have those kids (and they parents) voting early and often

if i gotta go down im going down like my boy cee lo
ima die trying

theres no way, theres no how
that ima stop now, ima die trying . . .

w/my hammer in my hand
rainbows over my shoulder

destinywork submissions letter: throwing down like stagecoach mary

hello world

for those been following this you can ignore this post
im just working out this inquiry letter to send out

ima do that today, start sending it out, could spend
months cleaning up the concept but thats not what

im feeling, im feeling barrel ahead on this one, just
jump out in the water and start swimming . . . .

if i think about it i wont do it
but the power is on me w/this one

i can feel it turbulating - and i aint never been able
to resist the call of power

feeling like stagecoach mary today
stagecoach driving sister who always came thru

throw a pistol down on whoever come after her
man or wolf, she didnt take no abuse

so i dont care how rough it is
the initial posting is going out today

ive started long overdue upgrade
of rootwork.com too, gon rebuild it

around this project

using this black and broad site as my model
i think this sisters site really smooth, ima riff off this

yall need to check out that flash intro
girl got it going on, she coming thru

and soon as i get thru those 18 manuscripts
for class tuesday ima reward myself

ima push that send button
just like stagecoach mary would

in struggle
rdoc

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

hello blacklist  (kalumulist/orishalist/etcetc/fill in the blank)
 
  my name is arthur flowers, aka rickydoc trickmaster
  novelist, thinker, activist, conjureman

webmaster: rootwork.com and rootwork the rootsblog
some of you know me, most of you dont

im trying to put together this anthology called
destinywork: the longgame and 21st century paradigms of struggle

premise is that we need new paradigms of struggle to meet the challenges of   the 21st century

i am asking you for submissions to this proposed anthology
i have laid out the premise/outline of the text in this posting

while this work in particular engages african american culture and destiny
the request for submissions is nondenominational - i would like a variety of

strategic opinions

am asking potential submitters to engage the premise as a whole
or the outline at any point that calls out to you

for instance somebody might be interested in the civilrights movement
or the black arts movement

another might be interested in community organizing in
the 21st century - or during the harlem renaisance

or the dispersion strategy of the recent covenant initiative
or a theoretical piece on strategy as concept

or speculations on our destiny as a people
the destiny of all humanity

the roles of literature, culture or prophecy in our struggle
the role of magic

whatever
i would like potential participants

to determine where your interest/submission would fit and
do a piece exploring that dynamic in the context of 21st century struggle

inquiries about concept feasibility can be sent to
[email protected]

i would like these pieces to be short and tight
no more than  3 or 4 doublespaced pages (approx. _____ words)

i want to pace this work, i want it to move
say what you got to say, say it clean

i hope this work to be a strategic document
a handbook of struggle

i hope this work to be historically significant
a baldfaced attempt to define the nature of struggle in the 21st century

and i would appreciate in particular
your participation

welcome to submit more than one piece
depending on your interests

this work is speculation at this point

when and if i do sell it i will try to give everybody
a little token something something

but i cant promise nothing

if you do send in a submission i will assume
nonexclusive permission to use in the proposed text

or as an online document

proposed premise/outline is as follows
please engage as a whole or any point therein:
 
id appreciate it
 
in struggle
rdoc

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

Destinywork: The Longame and 21st Century Paradigms of Struggle.
  (for babajohn o killens, the great griot master of brooklyn)

i propose an anthology exploring african american liberation strategies in   the 21st century.

premise is that we need new paradigms of struggle to meet the challenges of   the 21st century.

that too much of african american struggle is caught up in the past rather   than looking toward the future. 

that the old paradigms of struggle, the old definitions and strategies, have   played themselves out. 
that the only way to get ahead of the game is to   come up with new paradigms of struggle

and new strategies for dispersing them into the community.

most recent strategies of struggle

- racial uplift
  - postblack achievement
  - reparations
  - working the system
  - a millionblackmarches
  - the covenant initiative
  - the resurgent right
  -community empowerment
  so on and so forth ......

the need for enitrely
  new paradigms of struggle

in conflicts of this sort, its the side that comes up w/brand new
strategies that prevails, fighting tomorrows game while your competitors

still stuck strategically speaking in yesteryear
you got to get on the cutting edge

adept at cultural adjustment, adept at
cultural orchestration

question: how do we effect political/social/cultural evolution, existential shifts
  into a more engaged mode of life

how do we effect a willingness to concept and embrace
  new paradigms of struggle/life/being -both individual and tribe

a willingness to think/act/be proactively instead of in the same old groove/rut
  a willingness and an ability to finesse cultural challenges w/the quickness

instead of being subject to the winds of circumstance
  and the whims of others

how do we move an entire people into new paradigms of struggle
  so new and innovative they are truly effective in causing fundamental change

in our people, in our world, our destiny

this question is based on a personal assumption that the only
  way we will ever get out of this historical trickbag we have found
  ourselves in is by

cutting the trickster loose

playing the 21st century like champions
  new game, game aint been seen before

weve done it before
  we will do it again

at this point all i got is questions
  what about historical strategies: lessons and legacies

- slavery and abolition:
  - reconstruction:
  - the new negro:
  - the civilrights movement:
  - black power
  - postblackness
  - 21st century empowerment (according to rdoc)

which strategies have been consistent through
  all phases of struggle

- the various empowerments
  - integration and segregation
  - radicalism
  - racial uplift
  so on and so forth......

what were the strategic questions addressed in the age of struggle (60s - 80s)

- political empowerment (phase1)
  - economic empowerment (phase1)
  - cultural empowerment (phase1)
  - blackness as a distinct culture and destiny
  so on and so forth............

what strategic questions addressed in postblack age (90s - 2000s)

- achievement, class and identity
  - economic stability and capital formation
  - community empowerment and dysfunction
  - postblackness and the strategic imperative
  so on and so forth..........

what questions are being asked now, 21st century, the age of empowerment

- our role in the multiculti future (serving two families)
  - how do we empower our people,
  - how do we empower our generations
  - how do we finesse loss of most favored minority status
  - how do we manifest domestic and foreign policy
  - racial identity and unity in a postblack world
  - global black identity and empowerment (the black federnation)
  so on and so forth.........

so, what have been the conventional strategies of empowerment

- integration
  - radicalism
  - segregation
  - economic empowerment
  - political empowerment
  - community empowerment
  - cultural empowerment
  so on and so forth..........

fighting tomorrows battles with
  last years strategies

getting on the good foot:
  tomorrows strategies

what is the current strategic context of african american empowerment
  what is the appropriate strategic posture for the 21st century

how do we account for the inevitability of strategic diversity:
do all roads lead to timbuktu

what are the likely scenarios of the 21st century
  what are the optimal scenarios of the 21st century

what would effective 21st century strategies entail
  what are the challenges of an effective 21st century strategy

- political empowerment  (phase2)
  - economic empowerment (phase2)
  - cultural empowerment  (phase2)
  - personal empowerment (phase2)
  - social empowerment (phase2)
  - destinywork (phase1)
  so on and so forth.......

destinywork and the longgame

longgame strategies and shaping
  future generations

what exactly is destinywork
  and the dynamic thereof

- ideological orchestrations
  of all sorts

- attempts to shape the tribal soul
  and culture

- in particular hoodoo based attempts
  to nurture the tribal soul

- highspells designed to shape
  the destiny of our generations

and all humanity

evolution of destinywork
  and its instruments
  - literature
  - magic
  - ideology
  - education
  - culture
  - religion
  - prophecy
  - activism
  - media
  - vision
  so on and so forth ......

how does all this come together in destinywork
  as hoodoo skill

as hoodoo custodianship

what are the contemporary factors and
  dynamics shaping destinywork

- sophistication of interface w/media and the internet
  - social competence in a multiculti reality

so on and so forth
  but 1st there must be vision

vision and the longgame
  just what is the vision(s)

just what is the destiny of blackfolk
  and all humanity  (these two families we serve)

in ideological orchestration, the test of ideas
  it is the longest and most comprehensive vision

that swallows all others

just what is that vision, just what do we see
  are we or are we not masters of our own destiny

what kind of future do we want
  what kind of futures are likely

likely scenarios
  optimal scenarios

just how do you systematically inluence destiny
  as lifework, what instruments, process, dynamics

what does human transcendence entail
  and why

and if we talking true longgame

thousands of generations
  eventually we have to ask, cadets and rangers

just what does it mean to be a cosmic people
  a star traveling people

seeding cultures amongst the stars
  (one planet is never enough to ensure survival of the species)
  and transcending as necessary

leading humanity
  to its ever greater self

demoja

 

getting my conjure on

SUNDAY

playground rules

bush say if he cant torture people like he want
he wont let the cia interrogate terrorists no more

what kind of kiddie bullshit is this
ima take my ball and go home goverance

threatening to hold his breath
till he gets his way

i wish

im telling you bush jr got to go
we cant afford no more kiddie governance

these are some grownup times
we living in thesedays

in struggle
rdoc

FRIDAY

hello world

runnng and gunning
hitting and quitting it

its good to be the queen

young sister, aspring young actress in la and
adopted from birth, discovers father is a village chief in siera leone

striving young actress and new princess doing quite well by village standards
and as new american representative, finds herself expected to solve all problems

said obligations followed her back to la

initiatally resistant to newfound responsibilities shes started a little village fund
making microloans, doing what she can, when she can

sometime just cant say no
when folk depending on you

when for whatever foolish reason
folk believe in you

republican rhetoric: what you
thought you heard was not what i said

wanted to do this myself
translate republican rhetoric

but who got the time - american hot sausage did

found this link on prometheus 6
him and dr kioni, i like they stylee

man if i only had the time
id be styling like they be styling

specially that kioni
that boy be hoodooing

bout time colin

quote from colin powell in response to recent bush efforts
to bogart congress into letting him torture people legally

"the world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism,"

confessions of the conjureman

i bought a 16 dvd set of 74 amos and andy episodes
for $24 dollars - what can i say - i believe a.j. calhoun

would plead me guilty - he guilty as charged yo honor

thats all folk

i guess on that note im outta here
probably hit it again before day is out

add a couple more commentaries maybe

so i dont feel guilty cause
im just going thru the motions

what i really want to play with is my destinywork project
got the basic layout, whats next

im justifying this by telling myself im showing my young
hoodoos how to run the game according to rickydoc

this how i roll

how i go about trying to
influence human destiny

the nature of my works

thats a standing question with me, bigtime, just how do you influence
tribal and human destiny - in my case as a writer and conjureman

guess thats always a decisive factor in that question
where do you stand on the board

thats the hoodoo board of destiny
for folk who dont know my work

i think i will draft up the inquiry letter for destinywork

go ahead and send it to my friends and colleagues
maybe to the blacklist and kalamus list to start

see what happens
see if i get ignored, or if i get submissions

thats the biggest reservation on running good game
putting yourself out on a limb again

knowing you gon get buked and scorned
again

and got to be patient rick, it will take a minute
for those submissions to start coming in

patient and persistent, get folk to agree to send me
something, then patiently harass them about it

in the meantime flesh out the text
and the concept

sound like a working plan to me
invest one work morning a week 

(alas my novel, that might not work -
what about one morning every other week)

so let me draft that inquiry post

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

hello blacklist   (kalumulist/orishalist/etcetc/fill in the blank)

my name is arthur flowers, aka rickydoc trickmaster
novelist, thinker, activist, conjureman

webmaster: rootwork.com and rootwork the rootsblog
some of you know me, most of you dont

im trying to put together this anthology called
destinywork: the longgame and 21st century paradigms of struggle

the premise is blah de blah de blah . . .

i am asking you for submissions to this proposed anthology
i have laid out the premise/outline of the text in this posting

and am asking potential submitters to engage the premise as a whole
or the outline at any point that calls out to you

for instance somebody might be interested in the civilrights movement
or the black arts movement

another might be interested in community organizing in
the 21st century - or during the harlem renaisance

or speculations on our destiny as a people
the destiny of all humanity

the roles of literature, culture or prophecy in our struggle
the role of magic

i would like potential participants

to determine where your interest/submission would fit and
do a piece exploring that dynamic in the context of 21st century struggle

i would like these pieces to be short and tight
no more than 2 or 3 typewritten pages (approx. _____ words)

i want to pace this work, i want it to move
say what you got to say, say it clean

welcome to submit more than one piece

this work is pure speculation at this point

but when i do sell it i will try to give all participants
a little something something

but i cant promise anything

if you do send in a submission i will assume
nonexclusive permission to use in the proposed text

or as an online document

i hope this work to be a strategic document, a handbook of struggle
i hope this work to be historically significant

an attempt to define the nature of struggle in the 21st century

and i would appreciate in particular
your participation

proposed premise/outline is as follows:

destinywork: blah de blah de blah

(do a condensed version of previous post outline
to send out w/inquiry)

what else has to be done
to make it happen

put expanding version on rootwork.com
so as to let folk explore the project more fully

to let them know what type of submissions i want
hopefully starting dialogues that will generate more submissions

and just to show folk this a real project
hopefully show its potential for true force

do all that this weekend if you can
draft and send out inquiry letters by sunday evening

ask/beg my friends and fellowtravelers to give me submissions
just to get the thing started

choose folk least likely to dismiss
much less snicker

as always pure speculation and counter reality

dont even think about it flowers
if you think about it it wont make sense, just do it

secondguess all you want but the decision is made
lay out the steps and do them one two three

just do it

in struggle
rdoc

Destinywork: The Longgame and 21st Century Paradigms of Struggle

hello world

it is i, rickydoc rootdoctor
de horse of de conqueroo

was thinking about this anthology id like to do
think i will work the concept out online this week

been feeling need to spend this rootblog time more significantly
working out antho idea here will meet my criteria for the strategic use of my time

i do this kind of thing all the time, this what i call game
a baldfaced attempt to define the nature of struggle in the 21st century

gettting my conjure on
just generally i do it in private,
this weblog is killing me w/the disclosures

but if i cant be real i aint got nothing to say, nothing strong and significant, nothing magical

if i speak i got to speak my truth - thats my geas, thats where i get my magic

so sometimes i have to tell you things i dont
really want to tell you, say things i dont really want to say

and it will be somewhat embarrassing for you to see
the 1st sweaty speculations but by working it out online

i justify the time spent on this blog thing and do something real

and this strategy dont call for no investment of my novel time
i just use the time i been giving rootsblog - that'll work

but can i justify moving this one in front of the hoodoo book of flowers, my wouldbe holybook (but man that holybook is a lifework - cant put projects off for that one - that one you work when you can)

this project is good game
and good game demands a move

i often publicly declare project intent so as to put pressure on myself
i got a million good ideas and absolutely no time for follow thru

but once i tell my public, the few folk who actually do believe in me, that
ima do something, then im honor bound to follow thru

i got that flaky leo pride
and i want to be a hero

if its been one guiding principle to my life as wouldbe artist, activist
thinker and conjureman, it is that i will not disappoint the few folk who do

believe in me

by god and all thats holy i will not
if limp i must then limp i will

i talk big game cause ima visionary, thats my job
thats what i do

just got to follow thru and make it happen, stumbling fumbling hook
or crook, make it happen - then i look good for my adoring public -

all 50 of them (and all the generations to come)

and i like looking good - to those who see
(and being a mystery to those who dont)

and if you dont follow thru on good game, well i guess you
just a delusional fool after all

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

Destinywork: The Longame and 21st Century Paradigms of Struggle.
(for babajohn o killens, the great griot master of brooklyn)

i propose an anthology exploring african american liberation strategies in the 21st century.

premise is that we need new paradigms of struggle to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

that too much of african american struggle is caught up in the past rather than looking toward the future. 

that the old paradigms of struggle, the old definitions and strategies, have played themselves out.  that the only way to get ahead of the game is to come up with new paradigms of struggle

and new strategies for dispersing them into the community.

most recent strategies of struggle

- racial uplift
- postblack achievement
- reparations
- working the system
- a millionblackmarches
- the covenant initiative
- the resurgent right
-community empowerment
so on and so forth ......

the need for
new paradigms of struggle

by new paradigms i mean what happened when i read mumbo jumbo
way back when

trying to understand what ismael was saying i moved from a western
worldview to an afrospiritual one

saw differently, different approach to reality, interacted differently with the
world, political (and spiritual) strategies matured -different person

how do we effect political/social/cultural evolution, existential shifts
into a more engaged mode of life

how do we effect a willingness to conceptand embrace
new paradigms of struggle/life/being

both individual and tribe

a willingness to think proactively instead of in the same old groove/rut
a willingness and an ability to finesse cultural challenges w/the quickness

instead of being subject to the winds of circumstance
and the whims of others

how do we move an entire people into new paradigms of struggle
so new and innovative they are truly effective in causing fundamental change

in our people, in our world, our destiny

this question is based on a personal assumption that the only
way we will ever get out of this historical trickbag we have found
ourselves in is by

cutting the trickster loose

playing the 21st century like champions
new game, game aint been seen before

weve done it before
we will do it again

at this point all i got is questions
what about historical strategies: lessons and legacies

- slavery and abolition:
- reconstruction:
- the new negro:
- the civilrights movement:
- black power
- postblackness
- 21st century empowerment (according to rdoc)

which strategies have been consistent through
all phases of struggle

- the various empowerments
- integration and segregation
- radicalism
- racial uplift
so on and so forth......

what were the strategic questions addressed in the age of struggle (60s - 80s)

- political empowerment (phase1)
- economic empowerment (phase1)
- cultural empowerment (phase1)
- blackness as a distinct culture and destiny

so on and so forth............

what strategic questions addressed in postblack age (90s - 2000s)

- achievement, class and identity
- economic stability and capital formation
- community empowerment and dysfunction
- postblackness and the strategic imperative
so on and so forth..........

what questions are being asked now, 21st century, the age of empowerment

- our role in the multiculti future (serving two families)
- how do we empower our people,
- how do we empower our generations
- how do we finesse loss of most favored minority status
- how do we manifest domestic and foreign policy
- racial identity and unity in a postblack world
- global black identity and empowerment (the black federnation)
so on and so forth.........

so, what have been the conventional strategies of empowerment

- integration
- radicalism
- segregation
- economic empowerment
- political empowerment
- community empowerment
- cultural empowerment
so on and so forth..........

fighting tomorrows battles with
last years strategies

getting on the good foot:
tomorrows strategies

what is the current strategic context of african american empowerment
what is the appropriate strategic posture for the 21st century

what are the likely scenarios of the 21st century
what are the optimal scenarios of the 21st century

what would effective 21st century strategies entail
what are the challenges of an effective 21st century strategy

- political empowerment  (phase2)
- economic empowerment (phase2)
- cultural empowerment  (phase2)
- personal empowerment (phase2)
- social empowerment (phase2)
- destinywork (phase1)
so on and so forth.......

destinywork and the longgame

longgame strategies and shaping
future generations

what exactly is destinywork
and the dynamic thereof

- ideological orchestrations
of all sorts

- attempts to shape the tribal soul
and culture

- in particular hoodoo based attempts
to nurture the tribal soul

- highspells designed to shape
the destiny of our generations

and all humanity

evolution of destinywork
and its instruments
- literature
- magic
- ideology
- education
- culture
- religion
- prophecy
- activism
- media
- vision
so on and so forth ......

how does all this come together in destinywork
as hoodoo skill

as hoodoo custodianship

what are the contemporary factors and
dynamics shaping destinywork

- sophistication of interface w/media and the internet
- social competence in a multiculti reality

so on and so forth
but 1st there must be vision

vision and the longgame
just what is the vision(s)

just what is the destiny of blackfolk
and all humanity  (these two families we serve)

in ideological orchestration, the test of ideas
it is the longest and most comprehensive vision

that swallows all others

just what is that vision, just what do we see
are we or are we not masters of human destiny

what kind of future do we want
what kind of future is it likely to be

likely scenarios
optimal scenarios

how do you influence destiny
what instruments, process, dynamics

what does human transcendence entail
and why

and if we talking true longgame

thousands and thousands of generations
eventually we have to ask

just what does it mean to be a cosmic people
a star traveling people

seeding cultures amongst the stars
and transcending as necessary

leading humanity
to its ever greater self

demoja

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

okay, dont have time to do more than start this project
try to lay out an outline of sorts, listings and categories
embarrassingly embryonic

so on and so forth
mean i will work this out later

it would be easier to just do this project as a book
could use this outline to generate a book worth of material easy

but i tried that with mojo rising and it didnt get no play to speak of
this time i will bring in other voices, make it a dialogue

if that dont work i will try something else

i will shape the nature of struggle in the 21st century
or die trying
pull this off be another seed planted

i plant my little seeds, who knows which will take
if any, who knows which will nurture generations

all i can do is plant them
in hallowed ground

im acutely embarrassed to let you see it at this stage
sweat dripping all off my forehead

its all process

will also have to do plan of execution

what has to be done
to make this happen

- draft contributor inquiry (9/10)  text inquiry (9/17)
- refine text, build initial database of contributors (9/24)
- send inquiry to contributors/appropriate forums (9/24)
- push and beg contributors, build database (2006-2007)
- draft text manuscript and online component  (newyears 2007)

book it

(newyears 2008 would be nice, but the one thing i have learned is that
projects always cost you more years than scheduled - a luta continua)

the big question of course is will i actually do it

or will i in a moment of panic decide that i just cant take the diversion of
novel focus, just cant take it

i always say it wont take novel time
but they always do, these ideological projects

i may have to put it on minimal maintenance
just like all the other ones

but im feeling the creative fire and ive learned that you cant fight the fire
no matter what you got scheduled, you try to fight the fire and nothing gets done

beelieve ima have to do this one, but i got to pace it
cause i got to maintain novel momentum

it always comes down to that novel
stuff like this, it comes easy, i put the hours in i get the product

that novel, i put the hours in i get trash

sometime i curse the day i met john killens
wasnt for john killens id be some other kind of writer
some easier kind of writer

but god help me i want to make
my historical bones as a novelist

thats what i want
with all my heart and soul thats what i want

i coulda done most anything with my life
but its like that novel the only thing in this world
i might fail at, never fully express what

i see in my literary soul

must be i love the challenge of that
cause being a novelist is where my heart is

i believe in this novel of mine
this instrument of god

i believe it can do all i need it to do
i believe it can be all i need it to be

i really should not take today (monday) for my novel
it will put me in a catchup mode the whole schoolweek

got manuscripts and paperwork calling my name
yo flowers, class at 330 tomorrow man
hope you aint gon embarrass us w/no subpar performance

but today its me and that novel
its me and you today i hope i pray

- hangingtough
rdoc

redemption thru the word and working the roots of things

SATURDAY

thruthiness: bushwacked by the mouse

apparently abc/disney, which i did not know
to be a rightwing organization, has made their

questionable docudrama, the path to 9/11 available
to rightwing fellow travelers like rush limbaugh (who declares
discrepancies w/9/11 commission the fault of the commission)

but not to the democrats that are skewered in it

to do a politically loaded docudrama at this point and time
is clearly a moved designed to support the bush administration

at least michael moore was open about his prejudices

this move gains my contempt for disney and abc
they will not get a dime of my money for sometime

to come

FRIDAY

first time shame on you

bush been bogarting congress to pass his
legislation on detainees before they adjourn

he say time is of the essence, say they got to do it right now
no discussion, no debate - say its got to be done right now

last time he did that we got iraq

a hurlyburly vote most congressfolk regret
trick me once shame on you, trick me twice

shame on me

TUESDAY

feel like i should post
been a couple of days

but i have nothing to say

really need to move on some kind of
weekly hoodoo report
maybe i will try to work that this week

but today i got 6 manuscripts to read
for thursday class - 18 for tuesday class

it never ends

gotta be ruthless about taking mornings
for my own work - in spite of feeling

desperately behind by definition
6 manuscripts mean i got to forcemarch

otherwise you standing in front of your class
skating - hoping it aint obvious

like bush
it would embarrass me to be skating like bush be skating

was reading the text of his latest speech
on the threat of radical islam

made some valid points
they finally got their pr game going on

cause we know they dont actually change their strategies
just how they selling it, their idea is find the right words

you can sell anything

i thought about posting the text and translating it
what he really saying, or some such comparison to the reality
(but who got the time for all that)

for instance:

we’re fighting for our way of life, and our ability to live in freedom,’’ he said. “we’re fighting for the cause of humanity, against those who seek to impose the darkness of tyranny and terror upon the entire world.’’

you cant argue with points like this and we dont want to
get caught up in crossgame -

(first time using 'crossgame' for when you get purposely distracted
by tactical diversions from your opponent - that gave me idea to use
rootsblog to develop a strategic language for my evolving cosmology - or
should i say afromology - which is i guess what i been doing, trying to
socialize concepts like destinywork, crossgame and countergame -
have to work this out when i get a little free time - -if there is such a thing)

the question is how effective is he
the answer is he is not, he is counterproductive

his actions, all politically based and rovian instead of strategic
aggravate our problems, domestically and globally

i am impressed though with his political skilz

his move to bring the al qaeda leaders out of the
secret prisons and say hes ready
to try them now is a bold political move to take back control

of the torture/trials dialogue, remind folk of 9/11
9 weeks before the election and replace iraq news
with terrorism news

a roll the dice challenge to congress and

one more bid to do it his way in spite of the supreme
court rulings on torture and tribunals

i can only hope it backfires and
further turns folk off from bushs unsavory stylee

of governance

he is a bigger existential threat to our way of life
than these terrorist are

he the one systematically taking away our civil liberties
selling them to the highest corporate bidder
and forging an america that tortures folk as official policy

i have still not gotten over that - what kind of america does he see
and whats with all this faith based theological governance

whats the difference in this faith based reality the christian right wants
to impose on us and what the taliban wants to impose on their folk

the terrorist want to conquer us

but even acts like bringing down the world trade center
dont threaten our fundamental nature (unless we let it)

the only way they can actually conquer us is
to win the global battle of ideas - and in that battle

bush and rove dont have a clue

im outta here
got to get those manuscripts read

in struggle
rdoc

MONDAY - LABORDAY

singing them schoolhouse blues

already falling behind
already running and gunning

manuscripts and paperwork
the deluge has begun

ohwell, one does what one can

would that i were not so conscientious
would that i were not so driven

would that i were not so insecure
that i always have to excel

okay, lets get busy

lets do some commentary, lets hit it and quit it
latest developments in the sudan

un has voted to send troops in spite of sudanese resistance

but still under stipulation that sudan must be in accord
so who knows if boots will be on the ground

the sudan has responded by sending its own troops
into darfur to 'keep the peace' - a recipe for tragedy

sudan unhappy w/african union for agreeing to
fold its underarmed and unpaid troops into un mission

meanwhile durfur still suffering
and rebel armies in a state of flux

thats all i know, not much more than last time
i gave an update, have not been monitoring
this as i would like, i dont know enuf to speculate

likely scenarios, cant see the threads
and you know that irk the old diviner that do

will the un actually deploy
how will sudan respond

i just dont know

ima have to get on that
so many threads, so little attention

also been intending  to respond to bushs
inept beating of the drums of war

the utter contempt of our good sense
offends me

youd think the american people would reject this wornout move
but then i didnt think he would be reelected last time out either

hopefully it will be a replay of his social security drive
more he talked about it the sillier it sounded

bush position: the war in iraq is part of the war on terror now
and if we leave the dominoes will fall

democratic counterposition:
only because you took us there illegitimately
its just a big mess and a diversion and we need to go

is not an effective counterposition - a rhetorical trap
it doesnt lead anywhere - bush has defined the argument again

iraq actually is in the mix now
hard to deny that

rickydocs counterposition:

this conflict w/radical islam is too impo to be left to bumblers
who have shown no interest in true governance

iraq is a diversion and counterproductive, its time to go
classic containment is the calmer strategy

relentlessly point out advantages of
two party state over what we have now

every time they mention islamic fascism
point out the fascist nature of their own domestic program

so far its been our fundamentalists
against theirs and ours been losing

apparently gearing up for the election
dont know why, nobody listening

need to start thinking how i can position rootsblog
for some leverage during the election

readership spiked during katrina because
i was providing a service,

caught up in the redhot fire of the moment
and burning hours without a thought to tomorrow

noting how personal online vehicles like rootsblog and
chickenbones became instruments of empowerment

when necessary

be nice to position rootsblog to perform
some service during critical upcoming election

though i find idea of working for politicians
of any stripe unsavory - you feel used

cause you know you really cant trust them not to
play the game once they get in office - its in the blood
and the nature of the political game

so forgive me if i dont climb on obamas wagon just yet
but in spite of radical residualisms on my part

the democrats are clearly a lessor political evil
these akward and shaky instruments of progressive forces

but its progressive folk sitting out elections
or opting for puritans like nadar

that has resulted in the reign of bush

it will take generations to clean up his messes
we been slack, we been sleeping - well slack no more

its showtime

and i do so like readership spikes, i enjoy them immensely
biggest drawback of course being commitment of time and effort

just dont have it

likely have to restrain myself to
bigpicture observations like this one

stuff dont take no research
i can do it on the fly, i can gun it

still said observations have to be worth the time investiture
preferably strategic information that makes a difference - information that enables

looking for power knowledge
hoodoo knowledge from which to spin

hoodoo words of power

investigative reporter appeals to me
had an investigative column once, crosspoint it was called

i tell you this blog thing lets me play so many games
my kind of games, ideological games, literary games, magical games - prophetic games

playing games with you dear surfer, playing games with the world
and they all come together in me doing what i do - mack the word

im really enjoying myself

so anything you know you think i need to know dear surfer
please pass it on (w/confirming links if possible)

cause i sure dont have time to go looking for it

i look at prometheus 6s operation
and its like where do you get the time brother

i just dont have it
they got me running and gunning

got to figure out those handles
those hoodoo handles

least effort, most effect
least effort, most effect

focus flowers

cause when i work i work the roots
of things, when i work i work the roots

im outta here
rdoc

SUNDAY

hello world

quiet weekend on the production front
mostly kicking back it seems - getting my wind back

went to that confession site

confessions.tv or something, will
have to get that link for you

my interests were purient, wondering what
folk saying on that, got to be salacious

but the intensity of the pieces
stunned me

each little paragraph a story

the writer in me began to feel for
all these potentiial characters

amazed at the insight into them
and the human condition

moved by this desperate belief
in redemption thru the word

walking on shaky ground

hello world
im walking on shaky ground here

still getting emails from parents
talking about look after my child

what on earth did i let these folk see

i keep this job at an emotional reserve
i cannot afford to start feeling tribal about this job

i do my work, i do above and beyond
cause its my nature to overachieve

teaching is a mystical thing w/me

sometime im amazed they pay me to do
what i would do anyway - gather students, run workshops

couldnt live without running workshops
trying to pass on what john killens passed to me

but i dont do social
every found moment goes to my novel

told folk this summer, look if you see me its just a mirage
dont waste your time saying hey

so i dont monitor and maintain my finger on the pulse
the way i do my tribal responsibilities

i canot afford that type of commitment
to this job - i cannot get my work done as is
for all the tribal responsibilites

but thats what i do in my hoodoo soul
because i cant help myself - i take care of the tribe

i may be the slackest holyman ever been
but thats what i am - the tribal shaman

and i dont care what the real world thinks about it
ima do my job - ima carry my load

i make sure they dont starve when times are lean
i make sure they survive the hard winters

i make sure the tribal destiny is strong
i keep the tribal soul healthy and growing

i awaken the sleeper, i protect the weak
and i guide the strong, thats what i do

in my magical world
the world of rickydoc trickmaster

but i keep that world hidden from the
shared world - the socalled realworld

in the real world its arthur flowers jr thankyou

basic academic -  mild mannered novelist and wouldbe thinker
mystic, metamagician

and blogger

you my dear and loyal surfer know all my business by now
but in my personal and professional life i keep my

hoodoo charisma under lock and key
to flaunt that power cheapens and corrodes it

maintaining a low profile is standard
operating procedure

but when im performing i come
out of my magical world

been trained in the hoodoo skill of turning the
charisma on and off as necessary, when i
deal i deal in souls

and thats all a performance is
you put the soul of the audience in the palm

of your hand and you handle it

try to take them to higher ground - make the
moment transcendent

its real primal, gathering the tribe around the
tribal fire like that

if done well its a healing thing, a cleansing thing
been doing it for years now, can do it in my sleep

but if you do touch folk you responsible for them

dont want them to walk off a cliff w/a little happy
smile on they face

and you choose your audiences
the college circuit is my turf

it pays well and college students
are my natural constituency

i like exposing them to the tradition
showing them its potential power

correcting social misconceptions about
african religious, magical and spiritual systems

representing

and contributing something to their evolution
both students and the tradition

but i generally give college audiences
my healing presentation

my we gon wash all your troubles away presentation

as opposed to when im downhome
and in the tradition - when i go prophetic
and speak in tongues - to those who understand

closed presentation wformulaic magical
closure:    that is all - this work is done

whereas its written
that is all - this spell is done

also left off my ankle bells, didnt want to get loose up in there
formal occasion and all, didnt know what they could handle

didnt want the spirit to move me and get to dancing and prancing
and shouting the blues - oh i greatly restrained myself

but clearly i let a little too much of my
hoodoo show

ima have to watch that
rdoc