Everything I Miss At Home

Mood today. Everything I Miss At Home by Cherrelle. (You Tube link)

It's fun coming home, even if it's just for a few days. Love being spoiled by sleeping in, having non-stop food, and lounging on the back porch. And the weather in Detroit isn't that bad. Mid 70s, cool breeze, partly sunny. I should be a meteorologist, huh.

I'm taking part of this time putting the finishing touches on the edits for the next novel, Right Side of the Wrong Bed. My editor, John, gave me a few extra weeks because he's been overwhelmed with extra books he's had to take on. I don't mind the delay. It might push me back to an August or September 2007 release date, versus a June or July 2007 release, which is kinda okay. Not like I have a choice in the matter. But... I'm making mad progress on book three, and at the rate I'm writing (and hope to continue), there might be something ready for a Summer 2008 release. We'll see.

There's a lot I miss about home. I think a lot about summers with my family growing up. Going downtown to Belle Isle. Drinking Vernors pop. Not too many high school friends here anymore... they're all over the country now. But I don't really need them right now.

Just enjoying some down time with the people who always make me feel at home.
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Wknd Wrapup

Mood tune: Nicety by Michel'le (You Tube link)

Crazy good weekend. Spent my b-day on Sunset Blvd., listening to the tunes of Millie Jackson, Ashford & Simpson, and the best old school Chicago house music. Too bad hip hop displaced house on the club scene. Anyhoo, Sunset Junction festival was tons of fun. Spent time with my new best friend, Eric B., and it's always a treat hanging with him. Just a low-key fun day. Saw the Emmy Awards too.

Anyhoo, I'm still around. Will be heading to Detroit for a week to see my family. A last-minute end-of-summer time off.

Have any of you read Toni Morrison's Tar Baby? I picked it up over the weekend and will try and get through it in the next few...
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The Low Down on Sundown Towns

You've heard of "sundown towns" I'm sure.

Those places where, if you're black, Latino, gay, Asian Pacific, etc..., you better not set foot in after sundown... if at all. Or if you're there, you'd better get out.

Kinda like how the Katrina survivors were treated by neighboring towns after the hurricane a year ago. Or when you're driving back to college and know not to stop in "that town" for gas or food.

Yeah, those places.

This morning, I heard the most fascinating interview with Dr. James Loewen, author of a new book called Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism.

The interview was on my morning fave, Front Page with Dominique DiPrima.

James Loewen talked about the spoken and unspoken practices towns used to keep people considered "different" out, but he also put several current areas in the United States on check for continuing the practice of restricting its real estate and living quarters to white only, explored the idea of white people leaving white suburbs for even whiter rural 'burbs, and what language codes are hidden in real estate listings and town papers.

Very fascinating interview. And of course, most of us know the places in our areas where we shouldn't be after dark because the residents don't want us there. If you don't know what areas have historically been "sundown towns" check out the interactive map. You probably have one near you.

And if you're not familiar with Dr. Loewen's work, your mind might be refreshed with this book title: Lies My Teacher Told Me. He wrote that book too, to correct the misinformation in a majority of our high school history textbooks.
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The Leo Virgo Cusp

OK.

If you haven't listened to Feast of Fools podcast, you gotta listen. It's hi-LAR-i-OUS! Today's show, Osama Bin Ronnie, features Miss Ronnie from the show, and she's a riot! The whole show is a great companion for your ears and workday or commute!

Anyways...

So we're at one of my favorite times of the year, when so many people I know are celebrating birthdays... Keith Boykin in a few days, and my buddies Eric B. and Daryl G. and Helen D. and Intef W. and Rowena T., and yours truly. They aren't bloggers, so you can't see them today.

And for those on the Leo/Virgo cusp... and just plain Virgos, this is always a time of reflection and retrospection. Here are a few books that might help provide some perspective on birthdays and relationships... if you're into horoscope type books.

The Secret Language of Relationships by Gary Goldschneider

The Secret Language of Birthdays by Gary Goldschneider

Black Sun Signs: African American Guide to the Zodiac by Theresa Balfour

Sexy Black Sun Signs: African Americans, Relationships, and the Zodiac by Theresa Balfour

I don't know if you believe what "they" say about your zodiac sign, but I tend to fall within many of the characteristics attributed to Virgos. What about you?
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Sunset Junction

The Sunset Junction Street Fair is one of the annual festivals in L.A. that many people look forward to.

Part LGBT Pride, part neighborhood celebration, part homage to artists who've contributed to our musical lives, the SJSF will take place this weekend, August 26 and 27 in the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. Lots of people watching, dancing, and celebrating.

Looking forward to seeing Ashford & Simpson and Millie Jackson perform. And hanging with a few of my buddies. It'll be fun, especially on Sunday my birthday.

Now, just gotta find the right shorts and shoes to wear for the day... and night.
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IDP in L.A.

Another club/promoter supporting the black LGBT community in L.A.

Ivan Daniel Productions, with Club Metro on Wednesdays (where you can also catch Noah's Arc on the big screen), and First Fridayz on well... the first Friday of the month.

Ivan's a cool guy. And was very supportive when I was promoting my novel last summer. He still is supportive and doing much to enhance the social scene in black LGBT L.A.

Good spots to visit while on your next visit to L.A.
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No More Country in L.A.

OK. So I'm probably the ONE black guy who listens to country music now and then. Not all of it. And that guy on the left is Charley Pride, the most successful black country music artist of all times.

Just a few artists, primarily female artists: Dixie Chicks, Dolly Parton, Faith Hill/Tim McGraw, and Lee Ann Womack. Well, Tim's a male. They make country cool, and they're progressive artists in the genre not promoting war or confederate "good ole days" lifestyles.

So every now and then I'd click on KZLA 93.9 in L.A. to hear an occasional song or two that I liked. Until this weekend, when I was greeted with the sound of J-Lo, Madonna, Nelly Furtado, and Black Eyed Peas. I figured it was just a station format change, like stations often do. Though I was a little shocked. It was the only country outlet in L.A.

Well, it WAS an official format switch (L.A. Times story). Again, not a major deal. Demographics are changing in major cities, and country does way better in places like Indiana and Nebraska and South Dakota. That's the theme of the news story.

However, one fan's response to the format change was quite eye-opening, and well just a little not too open-minded. As quoted in the L.A. Times story listed above, after Keith Urban transitioned into Black Eyed Peas, one listener said, "I almost threw up, I was so upset," said longtime KZLA listener and Mission Viejo resident Ruth Rogers, 53. "I think it's racist. This is becoming a nation of minorities... Country music promotes patriotism and family values, and they've replaced it with something that just promotes money and hate."

Uh, well I wouldn't go that far. But it does say a lot about what's really in the minds of some folks.

The good thing is that L.A. residents can still get their share of blues on KKJZ. Blues tells the same kind of stories as country, but with a little more diversity of listeners and artists.

But for the meantime, there's no more country in L.A.
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Clik

So I know a lot of you already get Clik. But for those of you who don't, subscribe. It's a great magazine and definitely keeps you in the know.

And while you're at it, maybe think of subscribing to a few other magazines in addition to Clik. In addition to ad revenue, subscriptions add to the overall success of your favorite publications. It shows advertisers there is a long-term commitment from readers to the magazine.

In the meantime, head over to Durante Vita, where I'm blogsitting over the next week or so. I hope I do justice... his writing on life in L.A. is great! My buddy Durante is heading to Vancouver for a commitment ceremony/marriage to his partner, and then a week-long Alaskan cruise for a honeymoon. Congrats!

And if you're in L.A. this weekend, you might catch me at the African Marketplace and the Serafemme Queer Women of Color Music Festival.

Here's to a great weekend!
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