michael causes a revelation- hee hee!!!

so... i was on my way to the radio station from work (to work on more things, of course) and i pass by this mexican restaurant i always pass by... it's usually lively when i pass by but being that it was a monday night into tuesday morning, it was quiet, with a few people conversing at the bar, from what i could see... but! when i pass by i hear nothing other than the MJ singing a live version of 'ben' emanating from the mini speaker outside. i walked inside the establishment (my first time ever stepping in there) and i asked one of the men working there if this was the 'jacksons live' album they were playing (since that is where the performance was from, i was sure of it). he said, 'no. michael jackson number ones'. for some reason that amazed me. an almost empty restaurant playing a full michael jackson album near midnight. i told him, 'you don't understand, i love michael jackson' and walked off as he gave me a look like, 'okay... so you love michael jackson.' i decided to walk back inside as 'ben' was at it's conclusion, and proceeded to show him one of the michael dolls i had.

of course, he gave a bit of a snicker/laugh. an insane fan i must be.

the truth is, i actually do have 9 MJ dolls (as i speak); and since there can only be one michael they have all gotten the names of the other family members (janet is coming soon!!!). i have 8 dolls from 1984, and one 1995 version... they are quite cheap on ebay; which is why i have the number i do... and yes, i do bring them all to work with me... the kids love it, some adults love it and the rest think i am absolutely crazy. do i look like i care?!

don't answer that one.

the deeper i become in this project called a book, the more involved i get with finding out so much. it's definately a journey i've committed myself to.

as i write this, i am listening to the song 'take me back' from the forever, michael album, over and over... it's one of my favourites in his catalogue. it's perhaps, the most underrated MJ album there is, and one of my top four.

no matter how insane people think you may be, never give up on your goals, or your dreams...

michael jackson practises islam...

i would like to see michael state this before i find this to be true... there have been rumors for years about this. if he has come to practise islam, that would actually be amazing... michael is indeed, an extremely spiritual person; if this brings him happiness and inner peace, this is wonderful. if this is the case, it will be he and his brother, muhammad abdul aziz (best known as jermaine) in the family to practise islam. i know that rebbie and katherine jackson are still practising jehovah's witnesses. here is a set of clips of muhammad abdul aziz:



and this is beautiful...


i remember living in brooklyn, walking downtown in the mornings and hearing the prayers off atlantic avenue... it was one of my favourite things in the world about living in brooklyn. i would be close to tears as well.

however, there have been unfounded statements that michael (who, according to reports is now called Mikaeel, a name for one of Allah's angels- he has chosen not to be named Mustafa, which is translated to 'the chosen one') has become a member of the Nation of Islam in 2003, amongst many other statements. so, i will hold on to my suspicion until he makes a public statement.

under islamic law, one is not supposed to be involved in the music industry- it is haraam: that which is forbidden under islamic law. one is to only perform the nasheed (that is, song without instrumentation). song with instruments in islam is of course, controversial; however, it is growing. of course, secular music in islam is even more controversial. where would michael fit in with this? i've actually been curious as to where he and his family fit in, in terms of being jehovah's witnesses, where you're not supposed to perform secular music either.

here is a converstion with (ex)napoleon, who was in the group the outlawz...


and some views on the merging of islam and hip hop...




here is miss undastood...


here is adisa banjoko speaking on it...


there are, of course, a number of jazz musicians, such as abdullah ibn buhaina (aka art blakey, my favourite drummer in the whole world); idris muhammad, ahmad jamal, yusef lateef, sulaimon saud (mc coy tyner), sahib shihab, liaquat ali salaam (kenny clarke),
damu dustafa abdul musawwir (james 'blood' ulmer), omar ahmed abdul kariem (jackie mc lean), jamil bashir (jaki byard), rashied ali, who have turned to islam and/or have taken islamic names. also, of course, many folks in the music industry have turned to islam, and do drink alcohol, smoke and many other things. no one is perfect, and i do not judge. but i am curious as to how all of this plays out. particularly with the MJ.

it is said that he has participated in a shahada, which is the muslim declaration of belief; the profession of faith as a muslim. it is part of the five pillars of faith; which consist of the shahada, the salat (prayer), the zakat (giving a portion of your income to those who are in need), siyam/sawm (fasting), and hajj (pilgrimage). michael has indeed taken part in these activities in various parts of his life, except for, i would say the shahada and hajj.

much peace to michael (or mikaeel...), in whatever journey he takes...

the black house, figuratively...

YO! THE BLACK PRESIDENT!!! I WAS SERIOUSLY ROLLING ON THE FLOOR IN DISBELIEF... I CAN'T BELIEVE IT... I MEAN, I KNEW IT WAS GONNA HAPPEN BUT TO SEE IT, IT'S REALLY CRAZY!!! to see the words 'president elect' with the words 'barack obama', i have to keep doing double takes...

i proudly voted for a mc kinney/clemente ticket, but come ON, people... i will admit that i am looking at this from a historical perspective right now, and even though i had a hunch he was gonna get it since a week ago (look at the polls, and what the pundits are saying) it is still unbelievable- i never expected to see someone not (fully) european get accepted like this. and... he won by a landslide in the electoral votes. i am not a fan of the electoral vote either (i find them to be majorly un-democratic), but both the electoral votes and the popular vote had obama in the lead... this is crazy... i am scratching my head...

and just to think about this too, obama is married to a strong, extremely smart black woman, with some strong black daughters. their notion of a family is more functional than most we have seen habitating the oval office since... the johnsons? the roosevelts? i don't even know. to look at black love as successful in america. i have to say, that makes me proud.

and yes, i do not agree with obama's voting records and policies. we MUST, MUST, MUST hold his administration accountable for whatever they do. let us not get lazy. but i am still scratching my head in disbelief. this is amazing.

the black president. wow.

let's take this next couple of months to reflect, then when the 20th of january comes around, act. let's remain pro-active, and seriously look at policy.

george clinton is probably smiling now. and james brown is dancing, wherever he is.

now do we get together and buy some land...?

thrill the world 2008 in portland, oregon...

yeah, i was there; i am the one in the mask...

mc cain: caught out there!!!

did mc cain just give this away? or is this a response to the whole 'troopergate' thing, and he's just trying to cover himself and palin?

so, is mc cain a prisoner too?

i was having a conversation with my friend, and he feels that this was no slip simply to say that we citizens are gonna be prisoners (which he feels is the case as well)... but there is something more. he feels that mc cain has been drugged, and has been subject to mind-altering techniques... another 'manchurian candidate' situation, possibly? his estimation: mc cain is being told what to do. and we are in trouble.

who ARE you, michael??!!

there was a song played on the radio this morning, by taurus riley, covering the MJ's human nature... i go to work on things for the radio, and i look down and there is a 'book to tape' thing called 'chaos', as read by none other than michael jackson... no, not THAT one... i think i am SUPPOSED TO BE TOLD SOMETHING, BECAUSE HE KEEPS COMING UP IN MY LIFE, AND IN MY DREAMS...