I Shall Be Released

Nina Simone

They say everything can be replaced
Yet every distance is not near
So I remember every face
Of every man who put me here

I see the light come shining
From the west unto the east
Any day now any day now
I shall be released

They say every man needs protection
They say every man must fall
Yet I swear I see my reflection
Some place too high above this wall

Now yonder standing me in this lonely crowd
A man who swears he's not to blame
ALl day long I hear his voice shouting so loud
Crying out that he was framed

I see the light come shining
From the west unto the east
Any day now any day now
I shall be released

My Dilemma

At this point in time, I have to decide whether I want to stay at Purdue for my phd or go elsewhere. at this point, I intend to apply to Boston, UC Santa Cruz, and Purdue, others may cone along later. Alas, I want to be able to feel comfortable in my own skin and I want to be able to breath. I have always thought of myself as a more urban person-- I believe my true nature is that of one who was meant to roam the earth. However, as much as I have not been quite so happy about Lafayette/Purdue, I am comfortable here now, and its something that I know and I am used to. I know,and I always want to be the type that takes risks and goes for the broke, out on a limb, but most times I find myself sticking to what I know. How horrible. I am most definitely the type that would probably stay in an abusive relationship simply because of the familiarity. Alas, if I could rest assured that I would not kill myself trying to make my way through a phd program at Purdue (not in terms of academic roughness, but in terms of playing politics) I would stay here. I have been told and I know that there are no nurturing, motherly phd programs. But at least I can have a little bit of peace, room to breathe. We shall see how it goes. As Susan would probably tell me, I need to get on with it.

I really enjoyed A's party tonight. It was great fun. She is an amazing person-- a maternal/feminist force that could definitely single-handedly change the world.

I'm feeling sick to my stomach and am quite abhorred. Tempering the mindset of lay conservatives (nonpoliticians),the Conservative movement is building up Condoleeza Rice to run as president, presumably against Hillary Clinton. God forbid. Kill me now or buy me a one way ticket to France..... I am absolutely sick...

I am a bit tired. I wanted to blog a bit about my teaching though. I love it. I open every semester with June Jordan's "Poem About My Rights," and it makes a great kick off for my class. I truly do enjoy teaching.

Nina Simone's version of "Just Like a Woman" keeps playing through my brain.

Hugo Chavez is a wonderful man. I will write later about the entire Roberts/ U.S. agenda against Chavez, but for now I just want to say that Chavez is a wonderful human being and I admire his dedication to humanity and his commitment to bettering humanity. Just recently,Chavez has offered to sell cheap oil directly to poor communities in the United States through Venezuelan-owned Citgo corporation to help alleviate the pinch being felt in poor communities because of the high price of Oil. God Bless Hugo Chavez!!!

Right Wing Campaign Needs to be Uncovered

There is a right wing campaign going on now, mostly subtle and semi-covert, to try and persuade Black people that Reproductive Rights advocates are against them and are out to eliminate the Black community. Body and Soul has a great post on this subject and alas, a few months ago I responded to a letter to the editor in the Journal and Courier on the same subject. This needs to be addressed.

What the Hell?

Someone should really castrate Pat Robertson. That son of a bitch.

Before I Forget

Thank you to my Other Mother here in Lafayette, Rosetta. She is the kindest, sweetest soul a person could know and thank you for helping me get a job over at Ivy Tech;-) Thanks to Quinise as well. I love good people. God bless them both.

Today was quite a hectic day. I was running all over town and all of the buses seemed to want to crash into something.

I am supposed to be adding adsense to my site, but I dont know what the hell I am doing.

Something is terribly awry with the rightwing agenda when Chuch Hagel agrees that Bush needs to meet with Cindy Sheehan and compares Iraq to Vietnam.

Something looks terribly a lot like the early Twentieth Century

My Mood Right Now

All Progressive Struggle is effectively dead.

Another thing I find interesting is the whole phenomenon from the 70s and 80s of the actresses with three names... more on that later.

Jessica Lange, Faye Dunaway, and Lauren Hutton, not only look alike, but there is a lot of room for comparison among the three women. I believe all three are very progressive women, all three have been actresses, and all three have been hailed as beautiful women. Faye Dunaway is the oldest, born in 1941. Her first film was Hurry Sundown, a great drama about race relations in the South, co-starring Jane Fonda and Diahann Carroll. Lauren Hutton is the second oldest, born in 1943 and her first film was The Paper Lion in 1968 with Alan Alda. Jessica Lange, the youngest of the three born in 1949, made her first film,King Kong in 1976. All three are known to be strong women and quite outspoken-- Jessica Lange most recently criticized George Bush and the war in Iraq while accepting an acting award in Spain, Faye Dunaway is a seasoned activist and outspoken lefist, and Lauren Hutton has done work on women's issues. Further, both Faye Dunaway and Lauren Hutton are daughters of the South.

Why is it that Lauren Hutton,Jessica Lange, and Faye Dunaway look so much alike? I often get them confused.

Strollin’ in the park, watching winter turn to spring
Walkin’ in the dark, seein’ lovers do their thing, mmm
That’s the time I feel like making love to you.
That’s the time I feel like making dreams come true.
In a restaurant, holdin’ hands by candlelight.
When you’re touchin’ me, wanting you with all my might.
That’s the time I feel like making love to you.
That’s the time I feel like making dreams come true.
When you talk to me, when you’re moanin’ sweet & low.
When you’re touchin’ me and my feelin’s start to show.
That’s the time I feel like making love to you.
That’s the time I feel like making dreams come true
Strollin’ in the park, watching winter turn to spring
Walkin’ in the dark, seein’ lovers do their thing, mmm
That’s the time I feel like making love to you.
That’s the time I feel like making dreams come true.

I will soon provide a review of Nina SImone's Released CD.