Skin Color @ MindSay 
Be proud of your new blue contacts. You earned the money to buy them and chose carefully the color. Your natural eye color? Just a given.
Be proud of staying out of the sun and having a porcelain complexion, or tanning and getting an even, gorgeous tan. You worked hard on both. Again, your skin color? Just a given.
Be proud of moving to the best mass of land possible for you needs, your family etc. It was a choice you made. Where you were born? Just a given.
Be proud and grateful for your degrees you hold. You worked hard to get them. Your family's money? Just a given.
Be proud/grateful for opportunity that you took advantage of. You made a wise choice. Gifts? Just a fortunate given.
Be proud of your long walk with a child or two on hip at 5 am to the daycare in order to make it to your job interview, as you fought to keep your appearance fresh in the 100 degree sun. You worked hard. The position behind the desk awarded you by grandpa that you don't like? Just a given.
If all you got or can come up with are "givens" You got nothing. Don't be proud. Get to work on change. Most importantly, don't be jealous of those who take advantage of opportunity and work hard to achieve what you want to whine about. All anyone starts off with are their "givens" some more fortunate than others. Those who show up and obtain something (employment, education, money, food, etc) through hard work and belief, despite greedy obstacles laid down before them by the more fortunate with nothing but "givens", should be cheered on by us all, and should be proud.
Just a few thoughts that hit me and I thought I'd share.
Enka!
If you don't know what that means you should really learn the language if you want to live here. It's American, look it up.
Her layers were formed like that of an old chair, passed down generations too long to recall its first love.
Nothing in its formation gave any hint of the previous owner or the reason of the color chosen.
Could have been the tint of the day or simply hand me down from another neighbor cellar.
Who knows?
Could anyone have been prepared, for the beauty that lay beneath the rainbow on the floor as each scar healed?
Ten layers later and with less than a cup of furniture stripper mahogany was shinning through.
Her beauty was captivating and translucent at the same time
Had her layers made to hide what someone simply could not take with them? On the other hand, had this been another victim of beauty only skin-deep.
How many other mahogony chairs echo this one?
i am mulatto, as it's been said often.
but i don't necessarily look white OR black. i like to think of myself as a healthy mix between the two. my hair can be straightened, but it's a mess when it's natural. i have dark reddish-brown hair and my eyes are so black you'd swear you can see into them forever. my lips are full and i have black features, but i appear to be white.
my girlfriend is the whitest of the white out there...just like my grandparents are. they seem to find that okay, but i know if i'd have brought a black girl home, they would've thrown a fit. i mean, nothing against black girls, but i just am not attracted to them. maybe it's the fact that i was raised and sent to a white dominant school. we had 2 black students, then 4...and now 1...and i was the only mulatto kid there was. i never hung out with the black kids, mostly because they were assholes, but i don't think that i was influenced by skintone.
children tend to cling to what is familiar. whiter skin is familair, so therefore, i clung to it. now that i'm an adult, in college, i tend to cling to everything.
i wish that when i was growing up, i'd been more exposed to my other culture. my adoptive parents won't admit that i'm mixed...they say i'm "native american", but it's obvious that that's a load of crap. my biological mother told me about my father. she's white as sin...and he was blacker than black...and here i am, a perfect, creamy blend of the two.
i describe my skin as the color of fresh-brewed coffee being mixed with smooth white milk. but just a little...and then stirred slightly...a little sugar, and there i am. my skintone is more like a french vanilla cappuccino, or a rich mocha...more that than black or white.
i had ONE doll (of several) that was mixed. my mom said she was "tan", but oh well. she looked like me and was my favorite. all of my other dolls were white with blonde or red hair. my mom bought me lots of cabbage patch kids. but cindy was my favorite...she was one of the original toys r us kids, and she was my friend. the other dolls, i played with the placate my mother.
my friends were all white, almost aryan, growing up...so it was sad. everytime i met a black kid, they didn't want anything to do with me. they'd say i was too white to understand.
i wish kids weren't so cruel. society makes them that way...can't we just fix that?
Howdy Howdy all!
This blog is becoming the Journal I always wanted it to be......
I went to the movies today and saw The Color of the Cross. The movie is about Jesus as a dark-skinned man of the Jewish faith. The primary cast was played by people of color. I say people of color because there many different shades of folks who are not necessarily black but of color nonetheless. The title role was indeed played by a black man and the director of the film Jean-Claude LaMarre.
Casting: My biggest issue with the casting was with the title character (not his acting really). The producer, co-writer also plays Jesus. He does a decent job but I think he stretched himself too thin. He was a capable actor but he was a bit too composed in some parts and very animated in others. He needed someone on the other end of the lens to direct him as well.
Story: Well you can't really get the story to wrong ya know but there were some variations I found interesting. Judas is still black but really comes across as tormented and confused about his role in the destiny of the Messiah, which I found to be very engaging and apt for the most part. The portrayl of Judas a man( human) rather than the hyper-villain we are taught of in bible study was refreshing for me. He loved and was jealous of Jesus. He wanted the attentions of Mary Magdelane(sp) and the certainty he wanted as man and jew really forces the viewer to see him as someone you might know or might be yourself. I didnt like his over aggressiveness when it came Mary Magdelane (it was a near rape). It just seemed a bit out of place for me.
The man who played Peter STOLE the film in my opinion. He was so emotional and passionate (when he cries during the seder meal after the revelation that one of them will betray the Messiah I thought I was gonna loose it myself). I like that the secondary characters were so very human. The confusion, fear, and concern for one another was nicely portrayed.
Leaders of the Jewish community: In this film the religious leaders were less unanimous than those in Mel Gibson's film. In LaMarre's version they were more torn about the decision to turn over a fellow Jew over to Roman authorities. I appreciate this because I would imagine that because of the importance of faith at that time (not that it isnt now) there would have been some disention as to what to do about a man professing to be the true son of God and interpreting the Torah without the input of the leaders of the community.
Black and White issues: Okay there was a lot of attention given to the fact that Jesus is black in the film. He is constantly referred to as the "Black Nazarene" by Jewish leaders and townsfolk. One Rabbi announces that a black messiah is blasphemy when another counters that No matter what his skin color he is STILL a Jew and therefore a brother. A Roman soldier even asks if "anyone as seen a black jew?" Mary asks Joseph if he is being persecuted because he is black. Joseph assures her that he is being persecuted because he is the Messiah. My issue with this is that it is woefully overdone in my opinion. Every other scene his skin color is referenced.
Scenes that got me: I cried when Jesus washes the feet of his disciples after the seder meal. When he tells Judas that he loves him I was very moved. Then Right before Jesus is to be siezed by the Romans he goes off to pray and begs his father (God) to spare him. "I dont want to die". I have to admit that it was so moving that I cried. He cries openly and thrashes about when his father tells him that he must fulfill his destiny. (There is no voice of God or anything but you get the message). He comes back to his disciples to find them sleeping and seems utterly alone (very powerful scene in that the human part of him is clear and visible once again).
In the end, LaMarre (Jesus) concentrates on the teachings of the prophet rather than his journey to Golgotha and tortures. He leaves us with the message of solidaridy instead of divisivness(sp). I wish that the filmmaker had left out the accents. They were poorly done in some cases and just should have been left alone. It cost about 2.5 million to make and was shot in Santa Clara. They do a good job with sets and period clothing but some of the acting was lacking in a number areas. This film is not for the neophyte. You really need to know Christianity to be able to follow but then it was made for Christians. I think that it was a very positive depiction all in all and suggest it to anyone interested in another view of the Cross.
I wonder how well the movie was received overall. I was the ONLY person in the thearter so maybe not so well. Oh well.
How about some poetry...here goes....(I think of you when you are not thinking of yourself)
IT'S HARD TO MAKE A GRACEFUL EXIT:
as all scenes peter out in awkward ways. Someone's left thinking
of the perfect remark, a remark that'll sink like an ax blade, the
kind that are never on hand when needed, so that you end up
shouting, spluttering Oh yeah?! Oh yeah?! Oh Yeah?! like a moron,
like a damn fool, crying on the last step, in front of strangers,
without a Kleenex.--Erin Belieu
Goddess Bless
“I don’t see any black skin,” he added.
“Everyone here is brownpink or pinkbrown.”
He took another look.
“Correction,” to himself he said.
“Several here are freckled-brownpink or freckled-pinkbrown.”
He counted and recounted, then recorded in his book:
Black...........................................0His hunt would go on.
Brownpink…………………....443,661
Freckled-brownpink…………35,444
Freckled-pinkbrown………….41,113
Pinkbrown…………………...388,022
White…………………………..............0
Next on his list was a man who swore he was white.
The job of Mr. Skank was to teach this man to write.
But to write well, thought Mr. Skank, well he ought to think.
For this unhappy thought he had himself to thank.
P.U. was enough. No need to spell - - - - - .
One more time he rang his bell:
N N N
K K K
X X X
L L L
