Muhammad Rasheed's Blog, page 202

"What's My Name?!?"

Gary McCoy - "If Muhammad Ali weren't black, he wouldn't have had to fight so much."  ~Michelle Obama

Muhammad Rasheed - "I'm not going to help nobody get something Negroes don't have. If I'm going to die, I'll die now right here fighting you. You my enemy... you my opposer when I want freedom, you my opposer when I want justice...." ~Muhammad Ali

Lyn Ouvrier - I wish some people (Michelle Obama included) would one day wake up to the realization that the slavery period is over. It's long gone. Otherwise, they wont be able to stir racial wars the way they do now.

Muhammad Rasheed - There's a lot of history between slavery and today. I wish the folk who prefer to live in La-La Land about it would get out of the way with their willful ignorance.

Lyn Ouvrier - As much as I would love to debate you on this, I don't relish the thought of seeing my name and my FB commentaries in one of your 'blogs' again. So, I digress.

Muhammad Rasheed - 1) You do NOT want to debate on this because you think slavery was the last time the country dealt with race.

2) I only have one "blog."

Gary McCoy - I'm down with the cause, brother. My great-great-great-grandmother was a slave. And I'm still ticked.

Muhammad Rasheed - lol I'm not ticked about slavery. Is that the new thing y'all are floating around at the local pub?

Right now I’m beginning to get ticked as it dawns on me that [all of] y'all actually DO think racism stopped at slavery...

Lyn Ouvrier - 1) I do not want to debate with you for the reason I stated above. You know what I am talking about.

2) You have a blogsite. You post "blogs" regularly. More like excerpts in my opinion. Just saying.

Adios, Rasheed. Just stating my views, same as you. My commentary ends here.

Muhammad Rasheed - 1) You do not want to debate about it because you are ill prepared.

2) The posts in a blog are not called "blogs." Perhaps you should study up on that too?

Lyn Ouvrier - Oh, pardon the ignorance. English is my THIRD language. Anyways... Assume all you want. It's nothing new. I mean, I'm used to the tactic.

Muhammad Rasheed - Hm. Perhaps you should bump it down to seventh...?

Lyn Ouvrier - Am I allowed to raise the racial card too? Just saying.

Lyn Ouvrier - I mean, just asking.

Muhammad Rasheed - Sure, why not?

Muhammad Rasheed - Gary's folk invented it.  lol

Lyn Ouvrier - For your folks to stir? Ooops. #NeverMind

Muhammad Rasheed - Nah. "Race card" is the term that Whites (& friends) use when they get irritated when non-white people aren't willing to pretend racism doesn't exist.

Muhammad Rasheed - "My commentary ends here" obviously means something very different in Tagalog than in English. Apparently it's closer to "chatterbox."

Lyn Ouvrier - Women change their minds all the time. Get used to it.

Muhammad Rasheed - omG, believe me I KNOW they change their minds all the time. >:(

Muhammad Rasheed - Thank you for making it personal now. lol

Okay, you WIN! jesus...

Lyn Ouvrier - Sheesh.

Muhammad Rasheed - *flinches*

Gary McCoy - Muhammad, I'm white and my wife is Filipino. So we've got racism coming from both directions. It's hell, let me tell you.

Muhammad Rasheed - "Filipi NA .” Unless your secrets are even crazier than I suspected. O_O

Muhammad Rasheed - Is this one your sister-in-law or something?

Lyn Ouvrier - And here's me thinking you are smart enough NOT to go personal when the issue being discussed isn't personal. Apparently not.

Tell me, are you really complaining about *cough* racism?

Muhammad Rasheed - 'Cause if she IS then it gives me remarkable insight into your household. #poorGary

Muhammad Rasheed - *yikes!*

Lyn Ouvrier - Keep digging your own grave, Muhammad.

Muhammad Rasheed -   :P   *PLLLTTT!!!*

Muhammad Rasheed - Whatevs!

Muhammad Rasheed - Yes, I'm complaining about the evils of racism. Why? You have most of your stock portfolio in it?

Muhammad Rasheed - Do you think that if it is somehow cured soon, that you won't be able to bag one of Gary's [white] friends? awww... :(

I don't think it actually works like that, so you can relax. lol

Lyn Ouvrier - Well, with the way you are going now, it seems to me you are complaining about yourself.

Muhammad Rasheed - About me? I'm pretty sure I won't be able to keep you from moving up the corporate ladder, or deny you the job you want because you are Filipina. Racism doesn't work like that either. I'm at the bottom of that ladder, Lyn. #stillIllPrepared

Muhammad Rasheed - Tsk.

Gary McCoy - @Muhammad. ..FilipnO

I already defined her gender by specifying my wife.

Muhammad Rasheed - THAT WAS THE ENGLISH PART!

Muhammad Rasheed - Stop messing up Tagalog before this one struts around all her language certs again.

Lyn Ouvrier - "Do you think that if it is somehow cured soon, that you won't be able to BAG one of Gary's [white] friends?"

Seriously???

Muhammad Rasheed - It was a yes or no question. Relax.

Muhammad Rasheed - Do you think my semi-serious probing into the real reason for your passionate dislike of the racism topic more serious than pretending that racism doesn't exist?

Because it really isn't. Calm down.

Muhammad Rasheed - It would've been MORE interesting if you would have posted a 500 word essay on the male/female conjugation of Filipino. lol

Muhammad Rasheed - (which is what i was actually expecting)

Lyn Ouvrier - I have a feeling if I push your hypersensitive race bones further, you will be able to dig a hole deeper than 6 ft. With the way racism is defined by some people today, I'm glad I don't have a single insecure bone in my body. I would really hate parading that race card everyday when what I actually feel is inferiority complex.

Oh btw. Most of the true racist people I've met by far are actually blacks, not white. Just my experience.

Muhammad Rasheed - It's adorable that you used the term "true racist person" after proudly establishing you are very ill prepared for any kind of discussion about the race issue.

Muhammad Rasheed - Stick to your non-love life, and other topics you are far more expert on.

Muhammad Rasheed - "Multilingual boasting?"

Muhammad Rasheed - Hey, how are you a "political blogger" while thinking that the individual posts in a blog are called "blogs?" How does that work?

Did you just jump in and start doing it without reading up on it first? Like that?

Muhammad Rasheed - That's admirable though, if your blog is doing well.

Lyn Ouvrier - The last time I checked, this is not your post. So, unless the owner himself says I bug off, I will. And hey, saying FACTUAL information is not boasting.

Stay to your true form. Asshole.

Muhammad Rasheed - I didn't order you to leave (maybe you should downgrade your English to eighth...?), I just said to stick to a topic you are less likely to embarrass yourself on. I'm HELPING!

You're welcome. Sheesh!

Muhammad Rasheed -

'boasting' - to speak with exaggeration and excessive pride, especially about oneself; to speak of with excessive pride or vanity

Muhammad Rasheed - Note that it doesn't say whether what you're boasting about is true or not? "Factual" is a strawman in this case. I believe you that you are multilingual, sure.

Muhammad Rasheed - Never doubted.

Muhammad Rasheed   :D

Muhammad Rasheed - It's also adorable when racists and/or racism deniers consider ME the "asshole." awww...

Lyn Ouvrier - I don't normally engage in this kind of low level conversation, Rasheed. But I'll make an exception of you if only for tonight. And since we are on the original subject of racism (before you started down the personal attacks path), let me be very frank with you:

Most people I have met who are racist, discriminatory and arrogant so far are blacks. Blacks. Deal with it.

Muhammad Rasheed - I heard you the first time, and since you obviously have zero idea what you are talking about on that topic, I'll just as quickly dismiss what you posted as fanciful & vain nonsense. Again.

Muhammad Rasheed - I consider folk trying to engage in topics above their intellectual pay grade as "low level" too. Take a class, or read a book about racism first, and then come back.

Lyn Ouvrier - And lastly. I hope this thread does not end up somewhere else again, just like the rest of your uhm, what is it again? "Blog" (without an S)? Just saying.

Copypasting debate threads --without the permission of their post owners-- isn't exactly what I would call "blogging".

Muhammad Rasheed - Well, fortunately at no point did I ever feel the burning need to ask you about it, so... *whew!*

Muhammad Rasheed - THAT was close!

Muhammad Rasheed - [looks up "And lastly" in the Tagalog-to-English dictionary]

Muhammad Rasheed -

'and lastly' - (tɐˈɡaːloɡ tongue) to type fiercely; to pace back-n-forth uttering profanities in 3 or more languages of varying proficiency; to get the really, really, REALLY last word in

Muhammad Rasheed –



Muhammad Rasheed - Bye bye, Lyn.

Thanks, Gary! It's been fun as always! Keep those pencils sharp!

Lyn Ouvrier - Feeling proud of your 'accomplishment'? I did say you are an asshole, and I am not going to take it back.

Muhammad Rasheed - Meh. I'll keep it as a souvenir of our One Night Stand.

*kiss*

Love you, Lynn!  ;)

Lyn Ouvrier - Oh I am sure you will.

Muhammad Rasheed - Get your game up for next time, please. Start with this:

When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America by Ira Katznelson

Lyn Ouvrier - No thanks. Your uh "blogsite" is more fun to read. No doubt, you are a very 'talented' blogger.

Muhammad Rasheed - *shrug* Suit yourself.

Artifacts of the Black Superheroes

Long ago, mighty beings convened in a special place set aside to collect the tropes, paraphernalia, costumes, and powers of the people of African descent -- a Museum of Black Superheroes, if you will -- in which they engaged in truly epic HeroTalk.

They discussed the past, possible futures, solutions to time-honored problems, laughed, cried, fought, celebrated, roasted, lurked, posted, bickered, fellowshipped, collaborated, and produced wonderful and inspiring Black Art. It was a truly great time, a personal Golden Age of the Internet for me, and I considered myself blessed to be a member. This sacred Hall of Black Justice was my online homeroom.

But alas, the group broke up and each of the Black Superheroes went their separate ways. With great powers came great egos, and a sufficient amount of petty bickering eventually proving too heavy to bear, caused the Curator to bolt the doors shut on the fabled HeroTalk Conference Forums. The halls are now coldly silent to those curious lurkers who peek in today. The mighty voices are now spread throughout the Social Media-verse.

**************************

Muhammad Rasheed - I cut my teeth on my argument style in those days. When you see me quote something from a debate opponent before I respond, or breakdown their post in multi-quotes, commenting under each section in kind, it is only a nostalgic hold over from the use of the message board quote response option:
                                       
I got used to it as an argument tool, and now rely upon it to help me keep track of exactly what and to whom I'm responding. Today, in other social media sites, I just copy/paste what the opponent is saying (Abdur Rasheed wrote: "Who left that thing on the shelf? Stop it!") and respond under it like I was still in a classic message board forum. Sometimes it bugs the person I'm in the discussion with, who often tries to read something more into it, but I don't care. I do it for me not for them, and usually just advise them to get over it if I feel like responding to their gripe at all.

Most importantly I learned to value a good, rich dialogue to flesh out ideas, and challenge long-held opinions, that often were forced to evolve because they didn't hold up under the scrutiny of my Black Superhero peers. A candid & courageous discussion, with as many game contributors as possible, is vital to learning a difficult subject.

I've learned from my time walking among the Black Superheroes that a sure sign of a weak intellect, is the practice of hiding from those who challenge what they think about a given topic. I WILL challenge your claims... both for you and for me. If you know what you are talking about on a topic I'm interested in, then I want to learn from the expert. If you make a claim, then I WILL push back to test your mettle; to test the strength of your argument. If you cower and run? Then you are a fake. If you say such items as "I WOULD sit and argue this subject that I know SOOOO much about, but you aren't worth my time" then you are a fake. If I ask you to explain a point you made and you get mad and block me? You are a fake.

The true top intellects never have a problem discussing what they know, and fielding questions that probe into the depths of their knowledge. That's a big part of how they got to where they are, and achieved their levels of expertise.

Don't be a coward. Stand and trade and prove that you are what you claim to be. Or don't and prove yourself a fake-ass and a villain. It is all one to me.

“The great outline of research comes to light best in dialog.” ~Otto Toeplitz, mathematician (1 Aug 1881 – 15 Feb 1940)


See Also:  Coming to the Stage

HeroTalk: Master Spy Files

Rest in Peace, Champ!

Muhammad Ali - (17 Jan 1942 – 03 Jun 2016)

Rest in Peace, Champ! You had a GREAT run. You took your religion seriously -- when you knew better you did better, you did your best to please your Lord, and you never cared what other people thought. These reasons are why I count you as a role model. I'm proud of you and will always miss you.

Enjoy your paradise, sir. [salute]

                                      

                                          

                                          

                                                      

                                         

                                                     

♪ What would you have done if you had been me?
I live and breathe what I believe
Now I've found my place in history ♫

BOOK REVIEW - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Muhammad Rasheed - ...or How-To prosper by aligning your life to Correct Principles.

Stephen Covey's ability to breakdown and instruct the reader into how to apply the identified steps for walking out 'correct principles' in our lives, to enable us to live at our highly effective optimum, is truly remarkable. Just casually attempting to practically perform them reaped undeniable benefits that profoundly changed my life, which in turn encouraged me to [slowly] align myself more and more to the principles.  It is absolutely no fluke that this book has attained the status and reputation it has, a place it definitely earned.  God bless you, Mr. Covey... and thanks.

SNEAK PEEK! - Tales of Sinanju: The Destroyer, book ten “Carbon Copy”

Tales of Sinanju: The Destroyer, book ten “Carbon Copy”
COMING SOON!
UNHOLY RESURRECTION - Within the halls of a top stem cell research facility, Ze Chow-Fan manipulates a very special set of RNA material.  Unleashing the one being that causes both friends and enemies of the House of Sinanju alike to take notice, Chow-Fan holds the reigns of the ultimate revenge scheme, and now he gets to call the shots.  The blast from the past proves to be a wakeup call for Remo and Chiun, who find that they will need all of their ancient lore (and then some!) to stop the evil mind lurking in the shadows.
____________
Graphic novel
6.14” x 9.21”
Perfect binding
66 pages, b&w interiors
www.mrasheed.com

Previous

R.I.P., Prince (June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016)

BOOK REVIEW – The Asin Adventures: The Lands of Darke

Although officially labeled a horror/sword & sorcery work, in this self-published introduction to an intended multi-book epic, Brian Colding crafts a tribute to an eclectic wide-ranging mixture of pop culture genres. Strongly appealing to the inner fanboy in this 40-something reader, it didn’t take me long to find myself engrossed in the building tale of The Asin Adventures: The Lands of Darke (Darkayne Kingdom Book 1), especially enjoying Brian’s descriptions of battles between powerful super beings. The author was clearly fondly influenced by properties that included Dungeons & Dragons (both the RPG and the ‘80s cartoon show), J. R. Tolkien’s works, favored stories from DC/Marvel comics, Godzilla films, classic martial art films & lore, as well as mythological elements from cultures around the world, and probably a whole lot of others.

Taking place in a magic-based Other World, built loosely upon a template familiar to Robert E. Howard fans, incredibly powerful, melee weapon wielding super warrior kingdoms jockey for dominance in what very well be the final, apocalyptic battle of their violent, war-torn “civilization.” Unlike most other works similar to this, Brian’s story has a strong empathy for the superhero fantasy sub-genre, with this beginning of his wildly eclectic multi-genre epic being a delight to all of us Gen-Xrs who are fond of engaging in equally epic “What if XYZ fought ABC?!” fanboy debates! This first novel was truly great good fun. I found the battle descriptions so potent, that I wished it was a lavishly illustrated graphic novel instead of prose. This kind of work deserves that treatment since that same type of visual feast birthed it in the first place.

In addition to the battle descriptions, and his ability to play fanboy sensibilities like a finely-tuned instrument, another one of Brian’s strengths demonstrated here is his gift for turning a phrase. “Boy, you SURE talk pretty!” Often within his pages he’ll describe landscapes, or a potent being’s design to reveal the artful poetry in Colding’s soul, making me wish he did it more consistently throughout the tale. Then the book would easily transcend the tribute to genre stage into real art.

Another interesting trait I would’ve loved to see more of (and perhaps I will in future volumes!) was Brian’s generosity in allowing black-skinned, African-derived characters share the stage of high power, and even in some cases eclipse their fellows. As an African-American myself this is important to me, since poor representation in epic fantasy is one of the genre’s well-known shames. Good on you, Brian, with sincere thanks.

On the negative side of this review we have two items… one I’ll label as subjective opinion to of course take with a grain of salt as the reader likes, and the other more objective/technical. For the former, Brian reveals himself to be old school conservative in his depiction of villains, so you can tell they are the bad guys (in a story full of murderers & fiends, mind you) by their acts of sexual deviancy. Brian is quite graphic in his description of these creatures’ habits, and if the would-be reader is of the type subject to over-sensitivity when it comes to such concepts, you should prudently pass on this book. For the latter negative item, this book suffers from what self-publishers typically do: Not enough proofing/editing before it goes into distribution. I can certainly imagine the excitement and eagerness he must have felt trying to get the first title of a long-time gestating epic work finally out to the masses, but it is very important to devote publishing resources towards professional proofing/editing services to make sure the work is RIGHT before it gets into reader hands. It’s not too late, of course. Now that the novelty of being published has worn off, I would suggest tweaking the text by paying a fresh set of eyes to comb through it, and then re-upload the file to the printer. Too easy, and well worth the effort. Better late than never, too.

In closing, I am very impressed with The Asin Adventures: The Lands of Darke thus far, and was highly entertained throughout. I genuinely look forward to the next exciting part in the saga. Keep ‘em comin’!

The Truth About "Islamic" Slavery

Kirb Brimstone - Facinating! Thoughts, Muhammad Rasheed?

SLAVERY IN ISLAM & ITS HISTORICAL ROOTS

Muhammad Rasheed - Do you really find it "fascinating?" lol Why?

Kirb Brimstone - Never heard this articulated like this in this format. What are your thoughts?

Muhammad Rasheed - Well, I hear these arguments a lot actually. They lack depth and insight into the material, but their strength is that the body of Muslim scholars ALSO lacked depth and insight in the material. The latter' opinions in sharia rulings, combined with the fraudulent hadith, and the problematic practices of the body of believers themselves, seem to give support to the arguments.

My counter is that, the problem ISN'T in Islam, but in the "Muslim World." They need to re-evaluate their understanding of the message of Allah and His prophet, and calibrate themselves to the Path. They do this by studying the Qur'an according to the BEST meaning in it -- with 'best' defined from a righteousness perspective, not a perspective of greed/lust which seems to have been the norm, especially into the modern day.

For example, God lists "freeing the slave" as a Great Good Deed, one of the most potent of righteous acts. Shouldn't it be common sense that to do the literal opposite action -- to take a slave -- would be the exact opposite of a righteous act, i.e., a sin? So why would they think that it was okay to do so? That Allah would actually encourage it? The "Muslim World" slave trade is driven by greed/lust and is not supported by the Qur'an. He said you aren't going to get into paradise without believing in Him, avoiding evil, and doing good deeds. Freeing the slave is a good deed, and taking a slave is a sin. This is a 'no brainer' and slavery should have been wiped out in the "Muslim World" a thousand years ago just by following the SPIRIT of the Book and the prophet that walked it out "in the best example."

So yeah, I disagree that it is an "Islam problem," as that is a shallow and quite inaccurate claim. The problem is actually, as usual, the fault of those who follow their sin/greed/lusts instead of the Word of the One God. It's even worse when they lack insight and pretend that the practices have the sanction of God.

Kirb Brimstone - Why?

Muhammad Rasheed - Because it's easier to be lazy, and follow your lusts, than study and raise yourself up to the highest ideas of whatever ideology you claim to follow. People being people. It's the reason the Word is on earth in the first place as a guide to correct behavior, but if the people don't USE it...

They will not be wronged on the Last Day when they find themselves being dragged towards the Pit for their lifetime of foolishness on earth.

Kirb Brimstone - No why do you say it's an Arab problem not a Islamic problem? Do you not recognize the hadiths?

Kirb Brimstone - Also what branch of Muslim are you?

Muhammad Rasheed - 1.) I recognize the hadith that are backed by the Qur'an as authentic.

2.) I don't follow any sects/branches because of what God said about it in Qur'an. I'm wary of any hint of "sect-ism."

Adam Thompson - Kirb, have you seen this? What does the Quran really say about Jesus

I know it's a bit off topic, but thought you'd appreciate the perspective.

Muhammad Rasheed  - My response to that is here: Wait... You Converted to Christianity Because of What the Qur'an Said About Jesus??? ...and continued here: Mario's Conversion Revisited - A Dialogue

Creating From the Right Side of History

Inspired by Brandon Easton’s Eisner Awards nomination last year, I decided to submit my own original works for the 2016 contest. Over a year of building excitement heralded the eventual disappointment I felt this morning when I discovered that the first 6 of 10 titles of my Tales of Sinanju: The Destroyer graphic novel series didn’t make the nominees cut.

I’m proud of my story, developed from the love of a True Fan’s sensibility, in the mode of skilled writing talents like Kurt Busiek and Alan Davis. Readers appreciated that I was able to capture the essence of the mainstream pulp fiction novel series and its main characters, as was my goal. “This should be the guy to write the new movie screenplay!” one Amazon reviewer remarked and I liked that, too. lol  A True Fan’s sensibilities certainly weren’t used during past efforts to translate the property into different mediums, with it often falling victim to the infamous corporate executive meddling into the creative process that genre works are traditionally abused by. But now is a different day! Today the most successful movies took the fans of the translated properties VERY seriously, which really validated the decades-long fanboy grumblings.

In addition to this, I also brought my own sensibilities as an African-American to my story. Since the novel series has always be written from the Caucasian-American point of view, there were many times when I frowned reading the author’s treatment of my people between the pages. My graphic novels presented an opportunity to calibrate the Destroyer-verse’s racial dynamic to a more balanced center. Racism is EVIL, and the only people who should engage in it at all in this story are the bad guys. Some can argue that Master Chiun has shown racist traits within the mainstream novels, but that was clever projection from the authors that made little sense from the storyverse’s perspective. ‘Racism’ as we know it is a Western world invention, birthed from the unprecedented practice of delegating a specific racial group to permanent chattel status. Someone like Chiun would have no reason to be racist; his prejudices would be ethnic group and national origin based, not physical racial group based. The House of Sinanju has worked for powerful empires throughout history, and all over the world – seen world leaders of literally every skin tone. His character would know above all others that “race” doesn’t mean anything, and I've always found it unbelievable that he would continuously harp on Remo’s “whiteness.” I left that out of my books, and instead had Chiun zero in on Remo’s Western-American birth for his teasing.

Of course the ghost writers on the series didn’t echo that opinion, with one in particular going so far as to turn me off of the mainstream books altogether. The character Harold W. Smith is a WW2 era, former OSS/CIA field agent, and occasionally the original writers would have him come from behind his desk and kick butt himself. Tapping into their influences from characters like Steve McQueen or Clint Eastwood, those scenes with Smith would be great good fun! Full of old school macho swagger, and no-nonsense, tough guy stuff from ’60s-70s action films, it fit in with the Men’s Adventure tradition and worked well. Unfortunately this ghost writer didn’t do any of that. He had Dr. Smith frightened and confused as he confronted a group of Black youth, and proceeded to slaughter them all with his revolver. The scene was a projection of all of the “black thug” paranoia directly responsible for the abuse and deaths of unarmed Black people in the news today. I was FURIOUS, and couldn’t bring myself to pick up another novel. What I DID do was seek to address the issue in my comics, depicting my people where they weren’t evil and worthy of being killed in the streets just because they were Black and poor.
When my Remo Williams says he's not a racist, you can actually believe him.I felt that all my decisions actively improved the Destroyer Universe. As a fan myself, it deserved better than being allowed to become a sounding board for ignorant intolerance and a hateful mindset. Other groups were reading it, too, so why deliberately slight them by sounding like an anti-minority propaganda piece? All of this made me proud of my story, and I talked about it with friends and family enthusiastically. I felt it was a no-brainer I would get nominated for SOMETHING! But then I saw the 2016 Eisner Awards nomination list this morning, beginning with this line:

“The biggest news this year is that 49 women have received a record 61 nominations (compared to 44 last year) and are represented in 27 of the 30 categories.”

That made me pause; took me aback. Instantly I realized that there was no way my six books would get the nod. The members of the Eisner Awards committee were on the right side of history, and ruled from such. For all my personal pride in having carefully excised the vile racism tumor, I deliberately left another one in... one that’s a far worse evil. Misogyny.

The Masters of Sinanju are men trained in a super martial art that makes them kickass better than anyone else on earth. It also makes them irresistible to women, and of course the perfect heterosexual male fantasy projection tools for the readership. “Men’s Adventure!” was the technical category on the book shelves, and the stories featured all that the title may imply. In my books, I refused to allow them to take on the ‘between-the-lines’ true title of “White Men’s Adventure!” that mainstream genre books traditionally fed, but I didn’t think of my other sensibilities as an African-American MALE.

I told myself that I significantly softened the misogyny part of the story because, even though I did have women treating Remo Williams like he was God’s Gift to the gender, that because I didn’t show him having hot, buck-naked, uncensored sex with them like the mainstream novels would often graphically describe, that my stories were somehow more progressive. That’s literally what I’d been brainwashing myself with all these months, that my books were healthier and better for the woman’s rights movements because I had left out the graphic sex scenes. Meanwhile I actually thought I would have a shot at getting nominated, when I saw the percentage of males in the judges’ box. I was NOT operating from the right side of history, but living and breathing the foulest part of the Men’s Adventure spirit I was channeling to write my tales.

When I saw that line about the record number of women nominees on the Eisner Award page, I felt a tinge of guilt that I even submitted them in the first place, which meant, that my conscience knew better. I love my story, and will always be a True Fan of the property, I just no longer believe that we should be rewarded for creating beloved tributes to properties that hold concepts within them that represent the worst aspects of our society – aspects that NEED to be left in the past to die, and reexamined only as lessons to learn from, not resurrect. I shouldn’t have written the misogyny scenes into the story in the first place, and thought about the potential psychic damage as carefully as I thought out the removal of the racism aspect, and now that I am confronted with the stench of having deliberately overridden my conscience to put them in there, genuinely regret not doing so, and will withdraw from other contests I've entered as well (When researching the judges for this year's ECBACC, I noticed that one of them has me blocked on Facebook!  I have no active memory of arguing with her, and certainly not over anything feminist since that group isn't my enemy, but I suspect it may be a residual blocking as support for a different opponent she may have felt I disrespected.  Who knows...?). 
I am not changing my books, but will let them stand as a memorial to the Death of the Old in my own personal character, and do my best to do better now that I know better moving forward as a responsible genre creator.

Nephew Spelled Backwards is DEATH!!!

I'm kinda pumped right now, people!  We're almost at the finish line.  Just one more Tales of Sinanju: The Destroyer title in the 10 book series left... and it's the most awesome adventure to date.  Wait till you get a look at "Carbon Copy" by M. Rasheed (based on characters created by Warren Murphy & Richard Sapir), only from Second Sight Graphix!