Gotham City Soul

So here is the thing: June 12 marks the 41st anniversary of the Supreme Court decision on Loving et Ux. v. Virginia . In 1958 two Virginia residents, a black woman named Mildred Jeter and a white man named Richard Loving married in the District of Columbia because it was against the law in the state of Virginia for a white person to marry anyone from any other race except the white race. They were charged with violating the law by the state of Virginia. They plead guilty to the charge and were sentenced to one year in jail. They received a suspended sentence if they promised to leave the state and not return together for 25 years. They decided that they weren't going to accept something so inherently absurd and something so clearly an affront to their rights as human beings, and their case wound up in front of the Supreme Court, which overturned the convictions and ruled unanimously for the couple, the opinion, delivered by Chief Justice Earl Warren stated, in part: "Marr...

"How much would you pay for a drug that takes you all the way out of your head—and into the mind and memories of another?" About a month ago or so, I had the pleasure of attending a reading by Michel Marriott, a technology reporter for The New York Times. His new book The Skull Cage Key was recently published by Bolden Books, a division of Agate Publishing. I'm more a fan of the horror genre than speculative fiction, The Good House by Tananarive Due being the last novel of that ilk that I have read. Due is someone who is often compared to Stephen King. I love Stephen King's works. I like Tananarive Due's books a bit better. Michel's debut novel, which I hope to heaven is made into a movie, is right up there with King and Due. I tore through The Skull Cage Key in one weekend and then was mad at myself for not going a little slower to make it last longer. Michel if you're reading this, I hope you have a sequel in you. I think the thing that caught my at...

I was walking home yesterday and it was a time of the evening when many Muslims in New York City pray to Mecca. We have a mosque in the East Village, the Madina Masjid , located on First Avenue and 11 th Street. The mosque was founded in 1976 by Bengali immigrants, some of whom ran restaurants on "Indian Row" on 6 th Street. On a marquee-like sign you can see that Allah is the true God but that Judaism and Christianity are also part of the true faiths. Listed along with Abraham and a few other prophets, including Muhammad, is Jesus. All this is in large green and red letters. On top of the mosque is a minaret—turquoise with gold leaf. As I walked up First Avenue toward 12 th Street I could see some Muslim men making their way toward the mosque, chatting, greeting each other. I turned the corner and walked down 12 th Street toward home and was surprised by the sight of a large skateboard ramp that had been erected in a public yard adjacent to a yard the members of the m...

I've mostly been quiet on this blog (for me) about the Presidential race, not because I don't have some very strong opinions, but because I was trying not to add to the deafening chatter. Also, this blog is supposed to provide an antidote to the insanity of humans at their worst. It's no small effort to get up in the morning to the news of the world and not just throw up my hands and say the hell with it—why bother writing my small thing in the face of so much that is truly awful? I have no answer beyond because . Because if one person finds relief or inspiration then I've done my job. The Quran (yes, that Quran!) says "If you kill one person, it's as if you kill all of humanity." I'm going to take comfort in the idea that if I help one person, then it's as if I helped all of humanity. Not because I have delusions of grandeur, but because I am such a puny thing in the face of this world, the universe, and beyond. From time to time, though, I will ...

"Brutal subordination of the slaves was also a central tactic in controlling low-status whites who, if not thrown the bone of white supremacy, might have questioned the vastly unequal distribution of wealth and power among whites, which Southern grandees enjoyed and protected with guile and force." " . . . if threats, economic oppression, and political neutering didn't work, denial of education and brute force had to be used to reassure lower-class whites that their central psychological prop in a hardscrabble world—their superiority over black people in all realms of life—would be protected at all costs." Diane McWhorter in the foreward to Breach of Peace: Portraits of the 1961 Freedom Riders by Eric Etheridge

It's not about whose team wins any more: www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/opinion/04friedman.html

Mostly I've been gone because I've been on vacation and moving my office at the same time. But a large part of my not writing any entries is that I've been rendered nearly wordless by some things I've seen lately (I know as a U.S. citizen I shouldn't be one to throw stones, but does anybody care about the Olympic host's involvement in the Darfur crisis, on the wrong side of the disaster ie they're supporting the genocide)? I feel for the Tibetans, but can anybody show the Sudan some damn love? I see Al Sharpton and Pat Robertson together on a public service announcement and wonder if their plea to save the environment is genuine or another political put on. Yes, I'm a little beyond annoyed and since this blog is supposed to be about putting positive thoughts out there and solutions, I've said nothing until now. I'll be back in a day or two with my usual gotham-related tales, just needed to break my silence and say I'm back. Vacation was good ...