Greetings, Earthlings!
We are so excited about the launch of our podcast, The LJL Show! Be on the lookout for dynamic interviews with the artist, activist, and scholar communities. Also, you will get the chance to enjoy a ride through the minds of the contributers of the LJL blog, Zenzile, and yours truly!
On Episode 1, Zenzile recaps the Punany Poets show and I ramble through a few thoughts about eroticism. Expect us to post once a month and you don't want to miss it!
Without further adue, simply click Play, sit back, enjoy -- but most of all, comment, comment, comment. Your feedback means everything to us!
With love,
C. Kamaria
Showing posts with label LJL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LJL. Show all posts
Monday, March 14, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Status Changin'
Greetings Fam!
Zenzile has filled you in on what’s been going on these days with us at LJL. We’ve been dealing with the brushes of issues that accommodate the art of loving fiercely. I could go into all of the details but then I really don’t want to bore you with them, no, that’s not true—actually, I don’t want to intimidate or discourage you. Instead, I’ll use my situation to illustrate a larger point.
Remember my post on Love Meditations? At that time, I was standing on the verge of an impasse and hesitated at surrendering as I was completely unwilling to give up on this particular love affair. Vested time was the primary motivator for trying to hang in there. But then, one had to eventually come to one’s senses to surmise that wasting time is just wasting time. The attempts at mulling it over to find a new spin had completely grown stale.
When Zenzile started this blog, I was grooving to a composition filled with desires for passionate encounters with my lover. My writings were sweetened with the delicious morsels of loving a man who held real estate in my heart. Now, it seems as though the tide has shifted, simply because I made a status change.
Love called….he didn’t answer so….
At first, I did not want to own it fully—going from one state of vulnerability to another – initially open to my lover’s strategy until he abandoned it and now I’m wide open to the flawed possibilities and new opportunities that comes with starting over. Let me forewarn you that there may be times when melancholy notes will seep through my writings on this blog. Bear with me. I’ll get over it. I’m in a place where I feel as though I am betraying myself if I continued to desire him. Of course, that won’t go away overnight. It has to fade away a little bit with each passing day.
Zenzile asked me about my new plans as if I’ve had time to develop any. Because I’ve been consumed with what my status change means to me, I haven’t given much thought as to what to do with it. During our conversation, I gave her an overdrawn explanation that culminated in a sophisticated answer of ‘I don’t know’. To be honest, I’m not really sure where to go from here.
Have you ever been in this position? If so, share. You never know who you might be helping.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Baby Makin’ Music
These days, it seems as though the concept of baby making music has become like those microwave versions of dinner entrees that you can find in your grocer’s freezer section. Same great taste, maybe, but the preparation has been drastically reduced for the sake of convenience. While that’s laudable, some of the blessing comes from the fact that someone took their time to pick the best ingredients and spent their most valuable commodity, which is time, to prepare the meal.
If you’re a ‘70s baby like me, then there’s a strong possibility that you were conceived under the auspices of baby makin’ music. I’m not exactly sure what’s supposed to be passing itself off as the melodic magic filling the air when it’s time to get down to some serious lovin’ these days, but for me, I dig to find my own as this is the way of the Love Jones Lifestyle. It could be joints from a couple of decades ago that still has the hypnotic effect to get the juices flowing (pun intended) or it could be something that rides the underground.
This new joint from the spoken word half of the former London-based duo, Floetry, has the same kind of feel as the Mellosmooth version of Maxwell’s ‘Sumthin’, Sumthin’ from the original soundtrack of Love Jones. Indeed, I like the direction of the Floacist’s solo effort much more than the whole vindictive vibe of Marsha’s first single. The addition of Musiq Soulchild’s crooning is like having the cherries with the whip cream. Anyway, enough of me. It’s late as I write this and I am yet nursing another unfulfilled jones.
Enjoy this delightful morsel of visual bliss and sonic sensuality.
Forever
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
The Good News? Sisterhood!
"Love, is a many splendored thing"…And today, we here at LoveJonesLifestyle are excited to participate for the first time in the Good News Tuesday Blog carnival initiated by Wayne Hicks over at The AfroSpear .
Today’s good news celebrates the love of sisterhood, the magic of the internet and the operation of the Universe at its most divine heights.
About two years ago, while recovering from a very painful breakup and the subsequent end of a six year relationship, I embarked on a process of reinvention. The steps I followed, almost instinctively, mirror those of the 31 Day Restart
organized by Ms. Rosetta Thurmond of www.happyblackwoman.com
One of the most important steps I took was joining an on line community of women, known as the Black Mom’s Club founded by Sister LaShanda Henry. The women of BMC as we affectionately called our group consisted of women from various walks of life, a few men who supported us in our efforts, and lots and lots of love, advice, expertise and desire to connect.
That fateful decision made literally years ago, in the midst of a pieced together recovery process led not only to my first experiences at blogging, but to the knowledge that I was not alone, an entry into a healthy community of women who were willing to discuss difficult issues in parenting and relationships, and a treasure trove of resources related to education, health, wellness and support. There were hundreds of groups in the club, from moms of boys all the way to home schooling. We engaged in spirited and lively debates, shared resources about relocation, and supported many a single sister through pregnancy and the early stages of motherhood.
Recently, I had the opportunity to bring an on line friendship into the real world, and was pleasantly surprised that instead of a casual acquaintance, I ended up meeting a woman with whom I shared so much in common that our meeting could not simply be attributed to mere coincidence, but to the divine orchestrations of the Universe itself.
Over a two hour coffee date, we discovered we not only attended the same school, but held the same major, and similar career plans. We had worked in the same field prior to completing our educations, and both appreciated the necessity for mentorship as a part of our relationships. We even delved a bit into our relationships with men, spirituality, and the need for sisterhood. The recognition of this need was a turning point in my view of my new acquaintance. For all of the negative publicity women receive (See the Crunk Feminist Collective’s take on RHOA and other Black Woman Drama here ) I was happy to meet someone who operated in the spirit of true friendship and sisterhood. It was truly pleasant to encounter someone who had a healthy view of herself, others and life in general.
In our pursuit of the LoveJonesLifestyle we often become consumed by the process of creation, our art, and “keeping our heads above water”. However, we know, without a doubt that community and often for women, sisterhood is the place that offers us the safety and strength to ply our wares in the marketplace. Our communities nurture us and encourage us to share our talent with the marketplace. Without those special sister to sister relationships, we are often left unanchored, lost and alone. How do you take time to create the community you want, need and that will ultimately allow you to flourish?
* photo courtesy of www.corbisimages.com
Today’s good news celebrates the love of sisterhood, the magic of the internet and the operation of the Universe at its most divine heights.
About two years ago, while recovering from a very painful breakup and the subsequent end of a six year relationship, I embarked on a process of reinvention. The steps I followed, almost instinctively, mirror those of the 31 Day Restart
organized by Ms. Rosetta Thurmond of www.happyblackwoman.com
One of the most important steps I took was joining an on line community of women, known as the Black Mom’s Club founded by Sister LaShanda Henry. The women of BMC as we affectionately called our group consisted of women from various walks of life, a few men who supported us in our efforts, and lots and lots of love, advice, expertise and desire to connect.
That fateful decision made literally years ago, in the midst of a pieced together recovery process led not only to my first experiences at blogging, but to the knowledge that I was not alone, an entry into a healthy community of women who were willing to discuss difficult issues in parenting and relationships, and a treasure trove of resources related to education, health, wellness and support. There were hundreds of groups in the club, from moms of boys all the way to home schooling. We engaged in spirited and lively debates, shared resources about relocation, and supported many a single sister through pregnancy and the early stages of motherhood.
Recently, I had the opportunity to bring an on line friendship into the real world, and was pleasantly surprised that instead of a casual acquaintance, I ended up meeting a woman with whom I shared so much in common that our meeting could not simply be attributed to mere coincidence, but to the divine orchestrations of the Universe itself.
Over a two hour coffee date, we discovered we not only attended the same school, but held the same major, and similar career plans. We had worked in the same field prior to completing our educations, and both appreciated the necessity for mentorship as a part of our relationships. We even delved a bit into our relationships with men, spirituality, and the need for sisterhood. The recognition of this need was a turning point in my view of my new acquaintance. For all of the negative publicity women receive (See the Crunk Feminist Collective’s take on RHOA and other Black Woman Drama here ) I was happy to meet someone who operated in the spirit of true friendship and sisterhood. It was truly pleasant to encounter someone who had a healthy view of herself, others and life in general.
In our pursuit of the LoveJonesLifestyle we often become consumed by the process of creation, our art, and “keeping our heads above water”. However, we know, without a doubt that community and often for women, sisterhood is the place that offers us the safety and strength to ply our wares in the marketplace. Our communities nurture us and encourage us to share our talent with the marketplace. Without those special sister to sister relationships, we are often left unanchored, lost and alone. How do you take time to create the community you want, need and that will ultimately allow you to flourish?
* photo courtesy of www.corbisimages.com
Thursday, December 9, 2010
The Kanye v Barack Chronicles
I’ve never had a problem finding a man.
There, I’ve said it.
Not to be arrogant, or egotistical, or even boasting.
Just.being.honest.
I haven’t.
Whenever I’ve wanted a boyfriend, I’ve had one. When ever I’ve been single, I’ve had, shall we say, options.
My problem, rather, has always been choosing the right man.
You see, I’m an intellectual at heart. I love art, music, and theatre. I’m a cultural strategist. I love history, politics, and international intrigue. I’m a Libra; I love beauty, nature and balance. I love passion. I live by passion, if it doesn’t give me absolute bliss, then to hell with it. This goes for food, people, places, jobs, and activities. However, due to very practical, down to earth, Southern, working class parents, I’m also very pragmatic. I want the basics, I want them to be decent, and I’ll fill in the blanks for the extras.
However, this is *not* the best way to operate when selecting a mate…hence the Kanye versus Barack conundrum in which I always find myself.
It goes like this, I’ll be single, doing my thing, concentrating on a particular goal, living my life, y’ know, being ME- Zenzile- a woman who can overcome life’s obstacles, and make a way for herself…and along comes Kanye. Kanye is an art/music/book/everything beautiful lover like myself. Kanye, in fact IS beautiful. Kanye is always charming, energetic, exciting, off on a new adventure and ready to take you with him. Kanye takes you new places, introduces you to new things, and seems too good to be true. This, of course, is because Kanye IS too good to be true. Kanye is Peter Pan. He is a child in a man’s body, with male privilege, and free reign to pretend he is an adult, until he doesn’t want to be. Kanye pouts when the real world rains on his adventure parade. Kanye may or may not want to do what you want to do on any given day. Kanye is NOT practical…
In the midst of feeling an inkling of something maybe being a little wrong with Kanye, Barack shows up. Barack is solid. He’s a gentleman; he’s smart, intelligent, but not brilliant, like Kanye. Barack is polite, thoughtful, and would never drag you running through the rain to a shack by a lake and call it an adventure, he’d call it an inconvenience, and you’d have to sit in the car quietly waiting until the rain stopped, making polite conversation.
Barack appreciates that you know about art, theater, and literature, in fact, he respects your intelligence, and never tries to compete with it, or you. Barack is practical, he is protective, he is proud of you, hell, he’s proud just to KNOW you.
And there you are, sitting there, the choice, ever so softly, landing in your lap…you know good and well, things with Kanye will end badly. He’s an overgrown child. He’ll try, he really will. Maybe even masquerade AS Barack, for a while. But he can’t hold back who he is, and soon, just like in the story, Pan must fly back to Neverland. If you try and hold him to you, beware, for then you’ll be introduced to a completely new side of him…left wishing you had indeed followed the REAL Mr. West’s advice to “Run away”.
Barack, however, is loyal. He listens, he watches you, and he knows exactly what you need, if only you’d allow him to share it with you. And one day, when you tire of chasing rainbows, you’ll allow him to share it too. You’ve seen glimpses of Barack’s kindness. He’s been there, painfully listening and watching when you inevitably have to pick up the pieces of your broken heart left by Kanye. He lets you fall asleep on his sofa after trying to distract you with pizza and movies, leaving his favorite sweatshirt tear-stained. He hates seeing you this way, but is smart, perceptive, and patient enough to know that no matter how badly he wants you, you’re not ready for him.
So this is where I am. I’ve met Kanye and Barack at least three times in my life, but this time, this ONE time, I’m submitting to a higher power, I’m allowing myself to be guided by something more divine than my passion, more developed than my “taste,” bigger than seduction. I’m choosing Barack, and not because I’ve been burned by the Kanyes, I still love them, their sense of adventure, boyish good looks, talent, brilliance, and charm, but I’ve finally realized what I overlooked in my pursuit of passion. With Barack, I can be both grounded and lifted, I can be supported and offer support, I can build and be sheltered, I can plant, and grow. Barack will offer me the balance I so desperately need, allowing me to be a better ME.
With Barack, I no longer have to pursue passion vicariously. He provides the foundation that allows me to actually evolve and experience my own passionate self. He is gentle, quiet, and still enough to be a mirror, allowing me to finally see my own fire, my own value, my own shine. Once I finally decided to get out of my own way, and accept that there was something better, different, more powerful, exactly what I needed showed up.
This is a key part of living the LoveJonesLifestyle. We must learn to get out of the way of the blossoming of our talent, our goals, even our love…Have you ever gotten in the way of receiving your BEST?
There, I’ve said it.
Not to be arrogant, or egotistical, or even boasting.
Just.being.honest.
I haven’t.
Whenever I’ve wanted a boyfriend, I’ve had one. When ever I’ve been single, I’ve had, shall we say, options.
My problem, rather, has always been choosing the right man.
You see, I’m an intellectual at heart. I love art, music, and theatre. I’m a cultural strategist. I love history, politics, and international intrigue. I’m a Libra; I love beauty, nature and balance. I love passion. I live by passion, if it doesn’t give me absolute bliss, then to hell with it. This goes for food, people, places, jobs, and activities. However, due to very practical, down to earth, Southern, working class parents, I’m also very pragmatic. I want the basics, I want them to be decent, and I’ll fill in the blanks for the extras.
However, this is *not* the best way to operate when selecting a mate…hence the Kanye versus Barack conundrum in which I always find myself.
It goes like this, I’ll be single, doing my thing, concentrating on a particular goal, living my life, y’ know, being ME- Zenzile- a woman who can overcome life’s obstacles, and make a way for herself…and along comes Kanye. Kanye is an art/music/book/everything beautiful lover like myself. Kanye, in fact IS beautiful. Kanye is always charming, energetic, exciting, off on a new adventure and ready to take you with him. Kanye takes you new places, introduces you to new things, and seems too good to be true. This, of course, is because Kanye IS too good to be true. Kanye is Peter Pan. He is a child in a man’s body, with male privilege, and free reign to pretend he is an adult, until he doesn’t want to be. Kanye pouts when the real world rains on his adventure parade. Kanye may or may not want to do what you want to do on any given day. Kanye is NOT practical…
In the midst of feeling an inkling of something maybe being a little wrong with Kanye, Barack shows up. Barack is solid. He’s a gentleman; he’s smart, intelligent, but not brilliant, like Kanye. Barack is polite, thoughtful, and would never drag you running through the rain to a shack by a lake and call it an adventure, he’d call it an inconvenience, and you’d have to sit in the car quietly waiting until the rain stopped, making polite conversation.
Barack appreciates that you know about art, theater, and literature, in fact, he respects your intelligence, and never tries to compete with it, or you. Barack is practical, he is protective, he is proud of you, hell, he’s proud just to KNOW you.
And there you are, sitting there, the choice, ever so softly, landing in your lap…you know good and well, things with Kanye will end badly. He’s an overgrown child. He’ll try, he really will. Maybe even masquerade AS Barack, for a while. But he can’t hold back who he is, and soon, just like in the story, Pan must fly back to Neverland. If you try and hold him to you, beware, for then you’ll be introduced to a completely new side of him…left wishing you had indeed followed the REAL Mr. West’s advice to “Run away”.
Barack, however, is loyal. He listens, he watches you, and he knows exactly what you need, if only you’d allow him to share it with you. And one day, when you tire of chasing rainbows, you’ll allow him to share it too. You’ve seen glimpses of Barack’s kindness. He’s been there, painfully listening and watching when you inevitably have to pick up the pieces of your broken heart left by Kanye. He lets you fall asleep on his sofa after trying to distract you with pizza and movies, leaving his favorite sweatshirt tear-stained. He hates seeing you this way, but is smart, perceptive, and patient enough to know that no matter how badly he wants you, you’re not ready for him.
So this is where I am. I’ve met Kanye and Barack at least three times in my life, but this time, this ONE time, I’m submitting to a higher power, I’m allowing myself to be guided by something more divine than my passion, more developed than my “taste,” bigger than seduction. I’m choosing Barack, and not because I’ve been burned by the Kanyes, I still love them, their sense of adventure, boyish good looks, talent, brilliance, and charm, but I’ve finally realized what I overlooked in my pursuit of passion. With Barack, I can be both grounded and lifted, I can be supported and offer support, I can build and be sheltered, I can plant, and grow. Barack will offer me the balance I so desperately need, allowing me to be a better ME.
With Barack, I no longer have to pursue passion vicariously. He provides the foundation that allows me to actually evolve and experience my own passionate self. He is gentle, quiet, and still enough to be a mirror, allowing me to finally see my own fire, my own value, my own shine. Once I finally decided to get out of my own way, and accept that there was something better, different, more powerful, exactly what I needed showed up.
This is a key part of living the LoveJonesLifestyle. We must learn to get out of the way of the blossoming of our talent, our goals, even our love…Have you ever gotten in the way of receiving your BEST?
Monday, December 6, 2010
Real Jonesin...
we here at LoveJonesLifestyle are all too familiar with the challenges of Love...when what you really want is this:
but, like Darius and Nina, miles and miles apart, sometimes you have to settle for something, well, a bit tamer to put you to bed...so, as the aroma of cinnamon filled my bedroom, I thought I'd share a small offering of late night comfort...
Zenzile's LJL (nonalcoholic)Nightcap
heat 1/3 cup of hot water
scoop in 1 1/3 TBS of Cocoa Powder
scoop in 1 1/3 TBS of Sugar in the Raw
add 1/8 tsp of ground cinnamon
stir until thick
add 1 cup heated Lactose Free/Almond/Soy milk
stir until mixed well
drop in 1-2 drops of pure vanilla extract
add 1 stick of Cinnamon
...optional add a dash of cocoa chile powder to really heat things up...
pour into your favorite mug, then Download the rest of Raheem DeVaughn's new Mixtape, Jacking 4 Beats and enjoy!
Yeah, its not what you want, but it sure is beautiful music and a tasty treat, and if you're a true connoisseur of the LoveJonesLifestyle, then you know that that's not such a bad way to end the day. At least we'll send you off to sleep feeling warm and toasty on a cold winter's night.
but, like Darius and Nina, miles and miles apart, sometimes you have to settle for something, well, a bit tamer to put you to bed...so, as the aroma of cinnamon filled my bedroom, I thought I'd share a small offering of late night comfort...
Zenzile's LJL (nonalcoholic)Nightcap
heat 1/3 cup of hot water
scoop in 1 1/3 TBS of Cocoa Powder
scoop in 1 1/3 TBS of Sugar in the Raw
add 1/8 tsp of ground cinnamon
stir until thick
add 1 cup heated Lactose Free/Almond/Soy milk
stir until mixed well
drop in 1-2 drops of pure vanilla extract
add 1 stick of Cinnamon
...optional add a dash of cocoa chile powder to really heat things up...
pour into your favorite mug, then Download the rest of Raheem DeVaughn's new Mixtape, Jacking 4 Beats and enjoy!
Yeah, its not what you want, but it sure is beautiful music and a tasty treat, and if you're a true connoisseur of the LoveJonesLifestyle, then you know that that's not such a bad way to end the day. At least we'll send you off to sleep feeling warm and toasty on a cold winter's night.
Friday, December 3, 2010
About This Jonesing…
It’s interesting. My friend, Zenzile, decided to start this blog as a way of giving people like us an opportunity to express ourselves freely. Honestly, it had to be a whim of hers in the midnight hour while she dreamed wide awake about the lives we are chasing. In a sense, she was straight jonesing then…..desiring a rich life full of music, art, literature, revolution…and oh yes, love. I agreed to contribute because my musings about this Love Jones Lifestyle could potentially help me push out my second stage play, Honey’s Kitchen. At the center of the story is the high-minded concepts of love and revolution in which one cannot exist without the other. Think about it.
Can’t have a revolution without love…..and love has always been revolutionary. The latter point is something that apparently many are forgetting as we continue our treks on this side of the world, hunting for love and all of its splendor. Essentially, revolution is about change…and nothing changes people more than love. Ok, follow me, over the weekend, a couple of my friends and I were enjoying our Saturday night so much that we didn’t want it to end right away – so we caught the 9:30pm showing of the animated feature, Mega Mind. Yes. I know. Here’s three educated, well-rounded men and women sitting in the theater enjoying a family flick in 3-D. So, you wanna make something of it? Hey, sometimes even the deepest of us don’t want to bask in profundity every single damn day.
Anyway, not to give away the story, but it hinged on how a person has the choice of being good or evil. The main character was the villain who eventually became the hero – and his choice to turn around came about as a result of love. Things change when love is present and whether embraced or denied, it always comes with good intentions. Never mind the bullshit we see in pop culture addled with all of its melodrama. Those iffy, illogical stories leave much to be desired as they are largely based on simplistic notions that even my six year old niece can analyze. In today’s dizzying times, the idea of love has become a passive uncreative parade of lustful thoughts twisted together with urban euphemisms (think: FWB – Friends With Benefits which has replaced the age-old label of ‘Lovers’) and anchored by wack ass lyrics served over looped tracks dubbed erroneously as ‘love songs’. Somewhere between Trey Songz and Jerry Springer, the concept of love is a mind numbing experience—robbed completely of its vitality and power.
You see, love and revolution inspires action. It ain’t no way in hell one can be loved seriously and somehow is unable to come into another awareness; thus moving differently. Revolution will not allow anyone to sit still, or else, it’s counterrevolutionary. If there is not an urgency for change through the undergirding of love, then it is not love nor is it revolutionary. At the same time, if revolution is not motivated by love, then it is an attempt at tyranny.
What is the point? Simple. If you’re gonna do some jonesing, then do so under the right premise. Jonesing is nothing more than a synonym for lusting. We’ve all been taught that lust is a bad thing, however, anything with the improper motive can be deemed detrimental. If lust clouds our moral judgment, then Houston we have a problem. But, there is such a thing as having a healthy lust. We can have a lust for life – now what’s so bad about that? So, come on everyone, let’s jones unashamedly for love and revolution so we can make this world a better place.
I’ll stop here for the sake of pondering more, but I will indeed revisit this concept. It just may take another course when I pick it up again. Until then, continue to enjoy the Love Jones Lifestyle.
P.S. Here’s the mood music for my abstract ramblings on this post.
Andreya Triana–Lost Where I Belong
Monday, November 29, 2010
Why LoveJonesLifestyle?
Love Jones Lifestyle was started because we believe in living the dream. We want to follow our passion whether it be through relationships, our art, community work, skills, talent or activism. We believe in being fluid, free and optimistic enough to know that in the end, everything works out blissfully. We follow the example set forth by Darius and Nina...art makes life beautiful and love makes life full. We suggest taking big bites, filling life with friends, family, laughter, food and sharing. We do it all, from creating, to loving, to parenting, to gigging, to working, speaking, confessing, and sometimes just trying...We hail from the South and we love it!! We are committed to going where the muse guides us, and we invite you to join us too! How do YOU live the Love Jones Lifestyle?
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