Last month’s issue of The Economist featured an article examining the continued implementation of affirmative action and the legitimacy of such a strategy as a means of promoting diversity. The article highlights the artificiality of the affirmative action initiative, and the potential need to eliminate this strategy all together.

Affirmative action, while seeming to promote multiculturalism, is merely fabricating an inauthentic pluralism, one based on either very false or limited notions of human character and identity.

The suggestion that ethnicity is enough to unify groups and categorize people in this manner is extremely narrow. This limited view ignores socio-economic, political, personal traits, upbringings, religious affiliations and other factors relevant in creating identity.

Constructing a false equality based on limited categorizations is not only inaccurate, but damaging.

The fear however, is that without an imposed or regulated form of diversity (like the official form of multiculturalism seen in Canada), groups will be insular and exclude ‘others’. Is a forced and artificial equlity preferable to an organic, and perhaps less diverse, alternative?

In my previous post , I described the generosity, kindness, support and sense of unity that disasters or horrific events affecting a large mass can often generate. But simultaneously, the aftermath of such events also leads us to ponder WHY- WHY here, WHY now, WHY us, simply WHY? Whether on a large or small scale, unfortunate events ranging from a stroke of bad luck or injury to sickness and death to a vicious crime committed often cause us to search out answers for why they have occurred to this person or group at this particular time and place. It is a reflection, not only on the humanity that binds us, but our mortality. If harm was done against us, we want to figure out the motives, understand the psyche of the perpetrator and/or torture ourselves with the “what ifs.” When bad luck or ill health strikes us, we often try to find a reason in the larger scheme of things as to why here and now. “Everything happens for a reason,” “it is a blessing in disguise,” “it’s in god’s (or the universe’s) plan,” are some of the common refrains we tell ourselves or others to provide some solace during moments of personal struggle or duress.

But, sometimes instead of providing calm, such refrains may cause us to more furiously try and find the lesson or silver lining out of a situation or the strength we are supposed to extract despite the potentially devastating immediate pain we are experiencing. There is the pressure that we must move past this as fast as we can, but perhaps in the pressure of moving so quickly beyond the pain we forget to take the time to just stop or sit and take stock of how we are feeling…to notice our sensations and emotions, even when they are painful…and just simply be in the moment.

Just be in the moment-what does that even mean in this day in age when almost every answer is at our technological appendages? How-with multiple work assignments and meetings, several appointments, networking, interest groups and social obligations, plus all the other unexpected that come up throughout the day? As someone who has recently embarked on my own personal journey towards a peaceful calm through yoga and meditation, it is easier said than done.

And in the city that never sleeps, where a typical morning commute is something like this (on a good day), it is especially challenging…

But in assessing life’s roadblocks, daily annoyances and difficult relationships, we can either, let them build up and overtake us, heading towards self-destruction (à la Fitzgerald’s Gatsby) or become mindfully aware and eventually remove ourselves from the negative dynamics and more effectively move past them.

So, as we are about to embark upon our journey into the summer, we can use this as a time to re-evaluate, take the good and leave the bad, embrace the positive energy and block out the negativity surrounding us in order to find our inner peace and the strength to deal with all of life’s challenges, whatever they may be.

And whether or not you’re fully on board or still feel like this, a little inspirational music to get you going…

Fom yoga driven motivation-

I Am- Aykanna

I Am by Aykanna

to the Icelandic mysticism of Jónsi-

to reaching for that “higher love, <you’ve> been thinking of…”

If it comes to men there are machos what means just ‘men’ in their understanding. Not as it is in Europe where this word has rather negative meaning (according to the presenter). Their multi-relationship attitude to women stems from historical times and wars which make the number of men very small.

But what interested me most was image of woman and fashion connected with it. For example there is no pressure for girls to be slim. Quite contrary – the more broad woman is, the better (only a little exaggeration). It is known fact, remains of the cavemen’s era, woman with broad hips is considered to be more attractive for men because of having apparent ability to bear children. But in Latin America it is visible in fashion too.

When going to shop even mannequins are different from our European ones. Not only they are much wider in hips but also in breasts.

We can also see such picture:

These panties are very good help for women who aren’t attractive enough or just think that.

How peculiarly, European girls want to be as skinny as possible, they starve themselves while in other countries would be really appealing.

Via Flickr:
Ibadan Oyo State, Nigeria

www.JujuFilms.tv

One of our long time supporters messaged us couple of days ago and told us that if we raised funds to help the victims of the Oklahoma tornado this week, he would match the first $100. We jumped at the opportunity to help right away because we knew the people of Oklahoma need it the most right now and our hearts were going out to every singe victim we had seen on the news. Helping people who need it is what Life Out of the Box is all about. So we went to our local artisans, picked out a few new bracelets in honor of Oklahoma and have posted them on our store www.LOOTB.com. Each bracelet will donate a portion directly to the OK Strong Disaster Relief Fund–a fund that was recently established by Governor Mary Fallin and United Way  to assist with the long-term medical, emotional and educational needs of victims of the May 20 tornado in Moore and the May 19 tornado near Shawnee.

The red and white bracelets represent the colors of the elementary school, Seven Plaza Towers, that was destroyed by the natural disaster. The crimson and white bracelet is in honor of University of Oklahoma and the orange leather bracelet is for the Oklahoma State Pokes. The $15 bracelets will donate $5 to the fund and the $30 bracelet will donate $10 to the fund. Jonathon is currently getting his Masters in Entrepreneurship through OK State and has met some amazing people from fellow classmates to life changing professors–so this disaster hits home for us both.

We wish more than anything we could physically be there in Oklahoma to help, but can’t and therefore are doing whatever we can to make a difference from Central America. Together we can make a difference.

Our thoughts are with the family, relatives and friends of Lee Rigby.

© tallinn, estonia

All that aside… I perused the Drudge Report over lunch and got a belly laugh over the headline concerning Anthony Weiner announcing his candidacy for Mayor of New York.

FYI: The story behind the headline “PREMATURE ELECTION: CUOMO SLAPS WEINER” is that New York governor Andrew Cuomo considers it too soon for disgraced pervert Congressman, Anthony Weiner, to re-enter politics; and said “Shame on us” (New Yorkers) is we elect him.

But based on the headline… I defy anyone who says we conservatives don’t have a since of humor and just look at the material handed to us on a silver platter.

Talked about the Merida makeover scandal and other issues about gender roles in modern culture and in the past.  We also raised the important issue about how girls are forced to make a binary decision between being sexy OR strong. WHY NOT BOTH!?! we’ll devote much more time to this in the next show.

Tonight I wandered the chaotic streets of “Old Delhi” in the dark. I took a photographic stroll between Chandni Chowk and the Chawri Bazar. I found myself in an alien world. Here is the first of many photos from that very peculiar experience.

Chawri Bazar At Night

New Delhi, India (Spring 2013)

A rude kid with bionic arse

The sharp-eyed among you may have spotted a tinge or two of melancholy in yesterday’s neo-poetry post (term coined by David Hewitt and I rather like it). I wasn’t certain where it came from but it hung around a while, also inspiring (if that’s the right word) a very short and rather sad story.

There was no residue of the emotion this morning, however, and I have enjoyed a pretty normal day. Now normal for me is not necessarily normal for many but that’s fine by me. Normal Harris days, though, have been thin on the ground of late. Wat with a chest infection in late February and March and then all the troubles with my back, normal for Harris days have seemed an endangered species. So to find one just plop into my lap unexpectedly is all a bit hey ho, pip and dandy.

I have talked with folks in a meandering, start nowhere in particular and end nowhere in particular sort of manner. I have wandered around a little, letting the sun touch my face yet covering my chest from the breezy coldness that winded through the High Street. I saw my favourite dog in the world. I smiled at strangers and strangers smiled at me. I listened to my headphones at high volume and nodded my head a lot. I sang silly little things to myself in the bathroom. I even sang in the shower.

All that singing gave me an idea. Whatever the cause of yesterday’s melancholia, one trusted resolution down the years has been to strap on my old guitar and have a bit of a sing song. The lung flare up and the back pains have made playing and singing extremely difficult of late but this afternoon I managed to belt out a few old favourites. It was like I was treating myself to some of my own golden oldies out of my extensive back catalogue of songs.

And yes, those who know about that song that haunts me still, 24 years after I first wrote it, I did indeed play Waterfall to myself. I regularly play Waterfall for myself. It was the fact that it became the only bloody song audiences ever seemed to shout for that stopped me playing it in public. Perverse of me to stop playing a song people actually wanted to hear? Oh well, that’s Steve the musician in a nutshell: contrary and pig-headed. You can find some of my music, but not Waterfall, here, if you fancy hearing a tune or two.

Man it’s good to sing. I can’t begin to adequately describe why it feels so good. It’s just woven into my DNA. Although I am far from being a performer these days singing itself is still essential at times. As important as shitting and pissing, even. I don’t want to have a musical colostomy bag, I want to squeeze the fuckers out in the old-fashioned way. Er, that analogy ran away with me a bit.

I am tired but joyful after making mouthy face noises. Time for some home-made stew and a DVD I think. I hope there are more normal for Harris things to come over the next few days. One of my favourites has to be telling random kids that the reason I am wearing odd coloured shoes is because I dress in the dark. Love the puzzled look on their faces and the little smile their parents give me, parents who had initially looked worried that their child’s vocal impertinence might annoy or upset me. Ha ha, of course not. Kids are great because they say what the rest of us are thinking but have become too socialized to admit to any more.

Somewhere in the history of libertarianism, this rejection of the State has been eroded to the point that anarchists are now aspiring politicians and can hear the words “anarchist Senator” without flinching. No longer is libertarianism directed against the positions of power, against the offices through which the State is manifested; the modern message — complete with straw hats, campaign rhetoric and strategic evasion — is “elect my man to office” as if it were the man disgracing the office and not the other way around. Those who point out that no one has the right to such a position, that such power is anathema to the concept of rights itself, are dismissed as negative, reactionary or crackpot. They are subject to ad hominem attacks which divert attention from the substantive issues being raised, the issues which will be discussed in The Voluntaryist.

The Voluntaryist is unique in that it reflects both the several centuries of libertarian tradition and the current cutting edge of libertarian theory. The tradition of American libertarianism Is so inextricably linked with anarchism that, during the Nineteenth Century, Individualist-anarchism was a synonym for libertarianism. But anarchism is more than simply the non-initiation of force by which libertarianism is commonly defined. It is a view of the State as the major violator of rights, as the main enemy. Anarchism analyzes the State as an institution whose purpose is to violate rights in order to secure benefits to a privileged class. For those who believe in the propriety of a limited government it makes sense to pursue political office, but for an anarchist who views the State as a fundamentally evil institution such a pursuit flies in the face of the theory and the tradition which he claims to share. Thus, the political anarchist must explain why he aspires to an office he proclaims inherently unjust. Perhaps one reason for the erosion of anarchism within the libertarian movement is that many of the questions necessary to a libertarian institutional analysis of the State have never been seriously addressed. A goal of The Voluntaryist is to construct a cohesive theory of anti-political libertarianism, of Voluntaryism, which will investigate such issues as whether moral or legal liabilities adhere to the act of voting someone into power over another’s life. Perhaps by working out the basics of this theory the unhappy spectacle of “the anarchist as politician” can be avoided.

Another major goal is to examine non-political strategies. In constructing anti-political theory and strategy — which was assumed by early libertarians without being well defined — we will be labeled as merely counter Libertarian Party by those who innocently or with malice are unable to perceive the wider context which leads to a rejection of the political means itself. The myriad of non-political strategies available to libertarians will be dismissed or will be accepted only as useful adjuncts to electoral politics. It is ironic that a movement which uses the free market as a solution for everything from roads to national defense declares that political means, the antithesis of the free market, are necessary to achieve freedom.

As Voluntaryists we reject the Libertarian Party on the same level and for the same reason we reject any other political party. The rejection is not based on incidental evasions or corruption of principle which inevitably occur within politics. It is based on the conviction that to oppose the State one must oppose the specific instances of the State or else one’s opposition is toward a vague, floating abstraction and never has practical application. Political offices are the State. By becoming politicians libertarians legitimize and perpetuate the office. They legitimize and perpetuate the State.

If libertarianism has a future, it is as the movement which takes a principled, resounding stance against the State. Those who embrace political office hinder the efforts of Voluntaryists who are attempting to throw off this institution of force. It is common for libertarians to view anarchism and minarchism as two trains going down the same track; minarchism simply stops a little before anarchism’s destination. This is a mistaken notion. The destination of anarchism is different from and antagonistic to the destination minarchism. The theory and the emotional commitment are different. Murray Rothbard captured the emotional difference by asking his famous question in Libertarian Forum, “Do you Hate the State?” Voluntaryists respond with an immediate, heartfelt “yes”. Minarchists give reserved, qualified agreement all the while explaining the alleged distinction between a government and a state. Political anarchists are in the gray realm of agreeing heartily in words to principles which their actions contradict. It is time to have the differences between Voluntaryism and political libertarianism clearly expressed and for non-political alternatives to be pursued.

It is time for The Voluntaryist.(http://voluntaryist.com/articles/001b.html#.UZ5S9aJJOiw)

With many taking note of this important publication, Dr. Bodomo is now the regular go-to consultant when it comes to analyzing and discussing issues related to Africans in China. He was recently on NPR to discuss the analysis of cash flows of the African diaspora, during which he revealed that Africans living outside the continent send more money home to their families than is sent by traditional Western aid  donors in what is called Official Development Assistance (ODA).

In addition to being sought after by media outlets for his expert opinion, Dr. Bodomo also will giving talks at various universities–two upcoming ones are at the Africa – China Centre, Shanghai Normal University (May 25) and at the School of International Studies, Tsinghua University (June 17).

For those who will not be able to make it to these talks, a recent TV interview with Dr. Adams Bodomo can be seen here!

Add New Cambria Press – Africans in China

Recommend this Cambria Press book with so many excellent reviews to your library today!

There are also affordable Cambria Press e-book versions of this title for those who like easy access to it on their Kindle, iPad, Nook, and other e-readers.

Professors, if you would like to use this for your class, refer your librarian to the Cambria Press Desk Copy Plus Program that helps you get free versions for your students!

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© amsterdam, holland

Resurrected from the ruins of Katrina

New Orleans has been reborn – 
loud and lively as ever

Horns scream, their melodies careen off of
buildings
in 
the
French Quarter

People step out in their Sunday best — hair greased
pants creased
for Jazz Fest
and
Super Sunday

New Orleans has been reborn

Crawfish carcasses strewn City Park in Spring
snow-covered beignets to warm you up in winter
And don’t forget about the
gumbo,
jambalaya,
and red beans

Flava Flav!!!!!  Ain’t got nothin’ on the
flavor of New Orleans

New Orleans has been reborn

Katrina tried to tear her asunder
but…

New Orleans has been reborn

Loud and lively as ever
except

in her quiet moments

alone

when she remembers
her loved ones lost
to
hateful, merciless
Katrina

One of the most unusual and useful aspects about the conference was how live art was actively blended into the program with graphic illustrations of each presentation prepared by Ronna Alexander as the presentation was actually taking place. Her images brought new life and dimension each presentation in a way that many of us had never experienced before, while also pinpointing the key points made by the speakers.

Below are a series of photographs of her amazing work from today’s Spring Institute – posted on this site with her permission. My thanks to Ronna for allowing them to be posted.

Ronna Alexander

Graphic illustration as it is under construction.

“Enjoy time. Enjoy life.” –Cameron McCaa

Time will never wait for any of us, but we can maximize it while it’s still on our side. For us to fully enjoy ourselves and those we love, we need to learn how to appreciate time. Far too often we enable stresses to hinder us from benefiting from all of what life has to offer.

Do you have a dream vacation? Would you like to pursue your purpose full-time? Are you unsatisfied with life? What areas of your life would like to see improve?

Ways to maximize your time:

1. Write down your dreams

2. Write down the required things necessary to achieve them

3. Pursue them step by step

Be inspired by reading the following poem “Tick tock”  by Pesha Leah Azoulay below:

Tick Tock, Tick Tock,
Glancing up at the clock,
The sound it makes resounds within,
So many mixed messages lie therein.

Tock Tick, Tock Tick,
Does time move on slow or quick?
Looking back, time is passing all too fast,
And yet it crawls by when we’d like it to pass.

Tick Tock, Tick Tock
That sound gives quite a shock,
When there are so many things we need to do,
Yet the day’s gone by, it’s almost through.

Tock Tick, Tock Tick,
To our choices, we must stick,
It’s frustrating to hear that ticking sound,
Cuz, what’s done is done, time can’t turn around.

Tick Tock, Tick Tock,
Time can seem like a rock,
Solid still, inert, nothing will penetrate,
When there’s something special to anticipate.

Tock Tick, Tock Tick,
It can be akin to a candle wick,
On which the flame consumes the wax,
Ablaze, but, impossible to get it back.

Tick Tock, Tick Tock,
If only we could control the clock,
Special moments are worth repeating,
Yes, sometimes it seems oh so fleeting.

Tock Tick, Tock Tick,
Change is automatic,
It’s obvious that things don’t stay the same,
That begs the question, is the clock to blame?

Tick Tock, Tick Tock,
Does life revolve around the clock?
Or does the clock revolve around what we do?
You decide, because I’ve got work I must go to!

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 This all seems strange when you consider the world of comics to contain a diverse number of male and female heroes (or at least a large number of female sidekicks, in the case of DC Comics). While the comic book world has many issues, specifically the inclusion and representation of race, sexual orientation, and gender minorities, it’s also a realm of escapism that once attempted to be the first area of fantasy where it didn’t matter who you were; a reader could look up to the heroes depicted within their pages.

When the writers of Green Lantern decided in 1971 to conclude Hal Jordan’s adventures by having his death lead to the first ever African American Green Lantern, John Stewart, there was backlash, but the creators, Dennis O’Neil and Neal Adams, defended their choice, citing that the mantle of Green Lantern went to the person most deserving and best suited to be the protector of planet Earth. Stewart’s predecessors were first an All American Air Force pilot with merits of courage, and second, to Stewart’s creators’ disbelief, a gym class teacher. They looked at the death of Hal Jordan as an opportunity to say, if aliens would endow the powers of good and the Green Lantern Corps, would it, given the diversity of Earth populations, be to another white man?

Stories like those of John Stewart, or Miles Morales (the new Ultimate Spider-man, an African and Latin American teenager) are uplifting, and not just in the pages of their respective paperback-trades. It’s not hard to understand the appeal and why there is such a large, diverse fanbase even though the fanbases diversity is rarely treated fairly by the comics they love. And with many fans coming into comics from the Avengers franchise, or cartoons based on the comics and geared toward children, the fanbase is ever changing.

 My own history with comics starts with 90s and 00s television and the number of cartoons on at the time that were based on the Batman or Spider-man series. Everything from the X-Men to Teen Titans made some appearance, and my brother and I watched, enraptured. We could recite the opening themes, and we still have arguments about the 90s Batman film franchise (which I continue to enjoy wholeheartedly, George Clooney in rubber nippled suits and all). It was all a part of my formative pop-culture education, and I have since had a diverse reading history with both the DC and Marvel Franchises. I am far from what would be considered new to comics and yet – every time I find myself in a comic book shop, even when I am in the same shop on multiple occasions, I am treated as if my presence is a lark, and that my information on comics could only be a result of having seen the Avengers films.

 There’s an idea created within the “boys club” of comics and perpetuated in popular culture that there is a “right and wrong” way of being a woman who enjoys comics. There are the “fake geek girls” who according to some sort of logic only like geeky endeavors to appear hot. It’s a trope well expressed in its own meme (see left). In “Nerd Culture” there is an ingrained idea that to have the “proper” interest you ought to have expert knowledge on the subject, lest you be demonized for it. I know women who have interests in comic books but refuse to admit to loving them before they can garner enough knowledge on the subject in case they are called upon to prove that they are a “true fan.”

Unfortunately, there isn’t enough time to memorize every detail about every universe Marvel has for X-Men, let alone for every comic book series under their logo. And yet, I can be talking with co-workers about the DC mantel of Robin in what I thought was a safe environment and in the next moment be subject to an interrogation on the subject. After interrupting our conversation, a male comic book fan then began condescending to my two female co-workers and me about Dick Grayson (the first to take up the mantle of  Batman’s sidekick, Robin), who he called a “lesser known” character (as if to say I couldn’t possibly know who Grayson is) only to be surprised by my knowledge, and follow up the shock with outright sexual comments to me.

I have been treated like an idiot in comic book shops when my cleavage or bare legs are visible. Male employees at the shops are more likely to ask me if I need help being introduced to comics than if I need help finding a particular collection in their inventory, especially when I look feminine. Jessica Bagnall remarks in a blog post for Feminspire how often she’s been “asked if, or more frequently, told that I’m shopping for my boyfriend.” Whereas, if I’m wearing a shirt with a geeky subject on it and look anything but conventionally attractive, I’m left alone.

This discrepancy presents another way of being a woman in comics: this one, unlike the “fake geek girl”, is a “proper” way to be interested in geeky topics. This is the “nerdy girl”, like Amy Farah Fowler on CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory” (a show that, to note, isn’t very kind to its own nerdy demographic), who is almost the same as her male counterparts except for the fact that she, upon second glance, possesses breasts. A true nerdy girl doesn’t appear to have an interest in the feminine, and is as aggressive in revealing who is and isn’t a true fan. She’s the butt of jokes however, and seemingly safe in the geeky community because she isn’t attractive enough to be sexually interesting to her fellow fans.

This past week when I went into a comic book shop that I had been in previously, and had liked despite my issues with their customer service, I was greeted at the door with a surprised, “Hello miss,” that I thought was more funny than off-putting. As usual, I found that an employee was hovering beside me, waiting to help introduce me to the basics of comic books when really, what I was looking for was anything Beast Boy related, without luck.

When I went to the register to purchase the latest issue of Hawkeye instead, I had what started as a pleasant conversation about how depressing DC’s New 52 has been of late, especially in the Batman series, only to leave me with whiplash when I was asked a breath later, “Oh did [the hovering employee] introduce this to you? Is this your first venture into Marvel, because it’s a good place to start.” Even though I had just, seemingly, passed the test of knowledge, I was being seen as someone who needed to be taught the basics of comic book appreciation. All in an agonizingly pleasant and well-meaning tone that I’ve watched be used on friends of mine, who even meet the “proper standards” for being a comic book loving girl, that in any other situation would make for great customer service, but in those instances means something more.

Comic books, like a lot of fantasy and science fiction, are about escapism, and are meant for anyone with a need to be somewhere or someone else.  You hear stories of how Spider-man saved some kid’s life and taught them how to stand up to bullies. It’s great, and tear-jerking, and part of the reason I love comic books so much.

But it’s not a safe, accepting place for everyone. Between the writers, the franchise CEOs, and their fans who can make shops and conventions hazardous places, the comic book world outside of the paneled pages isn’t as accepting as the message displayed inside the comic books themselves. It can leave a foul taste in your mouth when something you enjoy, while bringing no harm to anyone else by happening to enjoy it your way, whether it’s gender-bending your favorite character while cosplaying, being a person of color and cosplaying as your favorite hero who happens to be white, or just disliking the first three Robins and preferring Stephanie Brown, is disallowed. That there is a wrong or right way to enjoy that harmless past-time because one section of the readership doesn’t like it.

I think one of the best things about escapism arts is they can be places where you build a world better than the one you’re in now. And you can use that to explain to someone how wonderful the world could be. Or how awful the world could turn out if we’re not careful (such are the parables of The Hunger Games). While I wasn’t alive when the mantle of Green Lantern went to John Stewart, I remember the announcement of Miles Morales, and when Barack Obama appeared in the The Amazing Spider-man comics. These are the sort of change seeking comic stories that make the readership think that the franchise is trying. There’s hope.

But then I walk into a comic book store to buy that issue of The Amazing Spider-man and I’m treated like I’m dumb because of my low-cut shirt, and all of the uplifting spirit is crushed.