Cafe Closing

The cafe has been closed for a while now. If anyone has even noticed. We don’t have a new location yet but it will be up soon.  If you follow, hang in there.  Our new location will be up soon enough.

Exposing the Petty Bourgeoisie 365 | People Of Color Organize!

Exposing the Petty Bourgeoisie 365 | People Of Color Organize!.

 

This is a great writeup on a wonderful blog page about Henry Louis Gates.  In question are intellectuals of color whose work may be in benefit of white supremacy while portrayed as work in struggle.  This topic and the text involved I believe are a great place to start and have discussion.  If you have not followed this blog give it a chance.

Recovering

The date for the video in this post is so important to me. It is a memory hard to let go of. It was the last day that I saw my son this year. This is by far my most favorite Erykah Badu song ever. Not sure that she can produce another that will engage so much meaning in my life.  Lately most my posts have circled around relationships and breakups.  The politics of being a partner to someone and not being a partner to someone.  What it’s like to be a radical thinker and have actions in my life that don’t live up to my radical politics.  Of course then having to lay in bed at night and try to fall asleep while the brain races a million miles an hour with questions, regrets and wishes of what could have been. All this is part of the recovery. Part of my and our healing. The in between time I have Ms. Badu to help soothe those aches.

Pierre Fournier plays Bach

There is a Pierre Fournier album; ‘The Bach: Cello Suites’ that I fall asleep to all the time. It is a beautiful collection of music that I found at a local library.  It is possible that the Cello catches my heart because it is a stringed instrument and I have a love for my former musical companion the guitar.  I still play from time to time but the years when I dreamed of becoming a performing guitarist are gone.  Over the last year I have taken a few music courses and attempted to retain some of my lost playing abilities on the guitar. This semester has been good. In class I found a new friend and practice partner that could not have come at a better time in my life. We are both trudging past recent failed personal relationships, in the midst of relocating to new housing and dealing with being broke and trying to see some light in our darker days.  When we practice there is frustration with sheet music, tears that roll down cheeks from being overwhelmed with life and the occasional melody that lurks out our finger tips. I believe this is called making music.

Serenade

This afternoon was pleasant. She serenaded me in a small practice room.  Her voice cracked, ran off pitch at times but blossomed fully for both our souls.   Sharing art just for the sake of sharing.  No reasons, intentions or motivations. There were tears, a long walk and breakfast on a counter in a cafe with simple conversation.  All of this just because of music.  A few chords and a taco and we called it a day. Thanks my new sister!

Getting Better Everyday.

Every day gets better the further away from it I get.

Good Karma & Child Custody

Good food with good karma is a good way to end a trip. Of course my trip over the past three days was not for pleasure.  It was for family business that is difficult to deal with.  Child custody!

But I was able to find some time on my last day to go visit places that made me feel better.  A favorite vegan spot and a great bookstore. As I filled my tummy I sat there and enjoyed the atmosphere.  Ending this trip without seeing my son was not the best thing.  It was how things worked out though so I tried to make it the best I could.  Maybe one day he and I will enjoy some of that tasty vegan food together. Until then…….

 

Single, Middle Class And Getting By : NPR

The further I get into debt and then add a child custody battle to that debt amount, the more I begin to realize my situation in this world. My grandparents were poor. My mother was poor but scratched, clawed and pulled her way into a different economic situation for her family. Now I find myself in my mothers same predicament. The difference is that I found my way to higher education. Years later the reality of what a college degree can do or not do for you slams into my face. Right behind it is this ever growing debt that does not seem to go away. Not being able to find a job beyond entry level pay appears to be the one thing that will not go away. The story below is about middle class single people and the struggles that are faced. Although I don’t consider myself middle class because I sit alongside working class people in my everyday life. I am working class. My days are about working class struggle and the custody battle I am in now is the frame around the picture of my life that is a working class portrait. Enjoy!

Single, Middle Class And Getting By : NPR.

 

Machete & Maize

Reflections from a Zapatista community.

Women and Patriarchy

‘If a woman is patriarchal, it can be present in a single-parent home with no adult males present.’

Bell Hooks

from, ‘The Will to Change; Men, Masculinity, and Love.”