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All content created, copyright ©1971 - 2006, Hawa K. Bond, all rights reserved, use of any content without express permission of granted rights from Hawa K. Bond is strictly prohibited and punishable by international copyright and authorship laws.

In other words, drop me a line before you quote or otherwise borrow my stuff. I'm friendly, and I don't bite.

July 06, 2008

Long Lost Mother?

My sweetheart's mother passed away in 1999... seven whole years before I met him. The loss was unexpected so her absence still resonates throughout his life. Holidays such as Mothers' Day are particularly difficult as he remembers mom's laughter and home-cooked meals.

I wear lots of hats, but one day last year I decided to wear my hair out for a date. I washed. I cut. I pressed and curled. Like I dropped a bomb, he declared, "Oh my God. You look like my mother."

We shared the picture with his sister who I have yet to meet. Her reaction.... tears. Without any warning from him, she declared... "She looks like mom."

Here's a side by side so you can decide... Does this look like my long lost mother?

_LostMom

July 01, 2008

How To Get Your Rugrat Kids to Appreciate the Luxury of HOME

Paris_night There's nothing like living out of a suitcase to teach the virtues of "home."

My 15-year old son boarded an American Airlines flight late Sunday night and eventually landed in Paris, France. I sent him on a 12-day tour of France so he can practice all that French that he pretends to know how to speak.

In spite of all the closet crying I did, I'm happy he's officially a world traveler.

At the ripe old age of 16, I did a 28-day tour of 7 European countries, courtesy of my awesome parents.

At the riper old age of 17, I did another 10-day tour of France and Spain.

I'll never forget what those trips did for my understanding that the world is bigger than my neighborhood, my city, and the United States.

Unfortunate children will not have the chance to explore outside their neighborhoods.

More fortunate children will have the option to travel out of the state.

And the blessed children will have options that include a chance to travel the world.

It doesn't bother me one bit that my son is the only brown face on the France tour. Throughout my life, I was often the only Black person participating in opportunities that my amazing parents secured for me. Through that, I developed a love for all people... not just the familiar faces in my family/school/neighborhood.

After 2 days of touring like some kinda International Negro, my son had this text message exchange with me:

"Mom, what's my [ATM] PIN number?"

"####"

"Thanks"

"I hope you're having fun, sweetie."

"I'm a little homesick."


I must admit that my heart exploded in a smile to see him realize that the love of home is more valuable than the thrill of traveling to a foreign country while changing hotels and living out of a suitcase.

I'll help him make good on that comment when I send him to clean the hall bathroom with a toothbrush upon his return to the United States.

June 24, 2008

Mosaic Meme

(Kinda) tagged by elle, phd.

I just returned from a vacation in Baltimore, Maryland. I'm working like a dog to catch-up on my blog reading, and doggone elle, phd catches my eye with a Mosaic Meme.

Before I provide the rules and start calling you out to do one... here's the mosaic about me:

Mosaic5065549

Now I bet you're wondering how Morris Chestnut and his beautiful chocolaty goodness ended-up in my mosaic. As you build your own mosaic using the instructions below, Question #5 will explain everything:

Mosaic Rules

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.

b. Using only the first page, pick an image.

c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

1. What is your first name?

2. What is your favorite food?

3. What high school did you go to?

4. What is your favorite color?

5. Who is your celebrity crush?

6. Favorite drink?

7. Dream vacation?

8. Favorite dessert?

9. What you want to be when you grow up?

10. What do you love most in life?

11. One Word to describe you. 

12. Your flickr name.

And since I'm freshly rested from a fun vacation, I won't stress you by calling you out and tagging you for this meme. I'll leave the decision up to you. Just remember, if you do a mosaic, leave a note in the comments.

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Credits to the original photographers of each of the 12 pictures in my mosaic:

1. Hawa Mahal, 2. Spicy Lemon Pepper Pasta with Broccoli, 3. EHT Graduates, 4. Black & White, 5. Morris Chestnut - Rules, 6. water droplets in the shower - o.k. bokeh, 7. jamaica beach, 8. strawberry shortcake, 9. Seeing a Sunrise Makes a Girl Healthy, Wealthy, & Wise, 10. FRIENDS HOME FAMILY, 11. Friendly, 12. James Bond Aston Martin DBS

June 18, 2008

Day of Blogging for Respect in Media - June 18, 2008

Dog2 In a post on June 10, I issued a small yet formal rant about A&E's choice to resurrect a show featuring Dog the Bounty Hunter. If you remember, Duane "Dog" Chapman's son recorded a private cell phone conversation last October which featured Dog throwing around the word "nigger" like it was a frisbee in a park.


In the phone conversation, Chapman took aim at his son's Black girlfriend and made no bones about his displeasure about her skin color. (Abbreviated conversation available here.)


A&E immediately suspended filming of Duane's television series and removed the show from the air. Duane followed with A Great American Apology Tour (sample here) that wasn't worth the dust off my artificial plant.


The apologies featured all of the usual Hollywood script, including the strain to conceal the truth that he was only sorry for getting caught (not to mention his simmering desire to kick his son a "new one"). Dog even threw in the obligatory "but I have Black friends' during his interview on Larry King Live and rambled about his "respect" for Black people.


The rough-and-tumble Dog sounded like he was giving a speech written by his lawyer - including commentary about 'how much discrimination Black people already had to endure.' As if things weren't bad enough, Dog "The Nigger Yeller" Chapman went on lament that he thought he was cool enough in the Black community to use the word. (I think I just threw up a little in my mouth. Excuse me...)


Dog1 The Ick Factor of the whole mess gets punctuated by a glaring omission... Chapman never called the girlfriend to apologize. The closest he came to actually apologizing to her was paying a lawyer to give her a call and pretend to offer lame apologies. For A&E to overlook it all and resurrect the show after no obvious real effort was made to make sincere reparations... and to pretend that Dog can return to his "justice" role as symbol of moral character... represents a can of whackness.


A&E would have done better to not cancel the show. Where is all that righteous indignation that made them cancel in the first place? Dog's raggedy apologies didn't change a thing - which reveals A&E's actual lack of concern over the whole issue. If the skin colors were reversed, would a Black man ever be able to work the show again?


Dog4 I support Yobachi in his Day of Blogging for Respect in Media. Even if Dog can't film the show, he can continue to make a very nice living with the Bounty Hunter gig that started it all. Go over, read Yobachi's post, and take time to put pressure on the A&E network (plus advertisers) to leave Dog exactly where he is... in the doghouse of our hearts.


For contacts at A&E and show advertisers:
Respect In Media - No Dollars For Dog the Bounty Hunter


For more background on Yobachi's effort:
Help Defeat the Return of Racist Dog Chapman!

June 10, 2008

Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman and His Garden of Racial Hatred

Ahx_219w Timing is everything. Yesterday, I finally saw the movie American History X. And today I learned that Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman is set to return to his hit show on A&E. Let me tell you how these things became related in my mind...

.

In the 1998 film, American History X, Edward Norton delivers a convincing performance as Derek Vinyard, a neo-nazi skinhead. The plot centers around Derek's redemption and his efforts to prevent his younger brother, Danny, from making the same mistakes and living the same hate. Much of the story is peppered with voice-over narration from Danny's perspective as he tries to write an essay paper about his older brother.

.

Throughout the movie, black and white film sequences feature flashbacks explaining Derek's journey from a suburban white kid to a vengeance-seeking white supremacist. Amazingly enough, the radical Derek went from a soft-spoken kid to a radical racist after subtle seeds planted by his father boomed into full blossom. Once his father was killed by a black man, and Derek was approached by an old-school white supremacist, Derek became a full garden ripe with radical racism.

.

In fact Derek's hate wasn't real. He represented the face of fear and anger as misdirected towards "outside" groups through the barrel of xenophobia.

.

I was drawn to the younger brother's realization that the father's (relatively subtle) dislike for Blacks produced a son who eventually was violent enough to murder. And this is where my fire got lit about Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman.

.

You see, I used to watch Dog the Bounty Hunter. His show was on my list of favorites. I was drawn to Dog's apparent love for justice, his raw grit, and what appeared to be his golden humility.

.
Rearlook

My love affair with Dog ended when he "niggarized" his son's black girlfriend in what was supposed to be a private cell phone conversation - and then went on to comment about how he'd feel if his daughters ever dated black men.

.

After I closed my hanging jaw and marooned Dog on Moron Island, I was determined to never watch the show again. And at the time my decision was a moot point. A&E agreed with the outrage and stopped airing the show.

.

Why was I glad to see the show get flushed? Because Dog represents the kind of sick and irresponsible parenting that produces neo-nazi skinheads like Derek Vinyard in American History X. Dog's mouth-service about justice clearly doesn't extend to the moral justice and integrity it takes to believe that all men were created equal.

.

And that's why I'm joining any efforts to prevent A&E from bringing back the Dog series and presenting Dog like some kind of moral compass for fair justice.

= = = = = = = =

Related Posts: Marooned on Moron Island: Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman

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