For Whitney...and Still For Michael - 2/17/12 (from 2/11/12)

"Michael and Whitney showed us the pinnacle of Black achievement in music...their mass appeal earned them the titles of King and Queen of Pop. But it was not their record sales that endeared them to us. It was their personalities. Beyond immense talent, they were still human beings. Mike was a fun-loving guy, and Whitney was a bubbly young lady with a stunning smile. As it would turn out, their humanness would eventually contribute greatly to their demises...and tarnish their once sterling reputations. However, such twists of fate do not resonate in the heart as they do in the mind. While we attempt to conceive how they let themselves go, what drugs she might've been on, and why Mike was on medication, our hearts are busy singing the songs that got stuck there so long ago, humming right along with the wonderful memories we have. Sister Houston now takes on a new life within us all, one of splendid moments that will be recounted to the tunes she made famous with her incomparable voice. The way that people like she and Mike could bring about feelings in us stretches far beyond what the media could ever make us believe. We know what the music did, what it does, and what it will always do. No pictures could be painted that would make us FEEL any less about her, though we might judgmentally THINK less. She now, or at least her spirit, presumably has peace. And with that said, we must find peace ourselves. How? Just by listening to those songs in our hearts and singing along."

-A. Lewis

There's A Fire In this Room - 2/7/12

"There's a fire in this room, but no candles...when the lights are down low, your hips become handles; rapid respiration within my ribs restrains my random rambles. Intimacy can leave inhibitions in shambles...and my hands amble up and down your spine like young kids in the mall with no place to go at all, dragging in certain spots like vowels in southern drawl. Most brothers are out to love them all, and I am too. The only difference is that while they learn hot spots, a grab, a rub, a pinch or two, I'm learning the key to burning every inch of you. Fingertips like matchsticks, the night is ripe for sensory magic. Speaking of touching though, the romance of our ensnared glances is like a passionate tango dance, with our pupils as partners, our attention as the hands clasped, and our bodies as the dance floor that is traversed as though this was all rehearsed. The intensity is so great that it could be metaphorical, though the silence is allegorical, symbolizing the categorical denial of outward displays of such raw, powerful finesse in the design of nature. It's at times like these when sexy is much less visual and much more visceral...when minds become magnets, privates become poles, bodies begin to bustle, and hormones take hold. The experience stretches far beyond the shallow waters of lust...but getting out to the sea of the feelings that lie within us means we mustn't be afraid of the depth of trust. When two beings can be open, mind, body, and soul, they can allow their innermost desires to take control..."

-A. Lewis

Beauty Is Harmony - 2/7/12

"When young men come to understand that beauty is harmony between appreciation and emotional stimulation, they will treat young ladies differently. When you can appreciate her looks AND be in awe of them, love how intelligent she is AND be captivated by how she much she knows, be grateful that you know her AND enjoy how happy her presence in your life makes you, that's true beauty. That duality is all around is life and nature. Acknowledging it is rare though. Most would settle to have one or the other; to be able to recognize, understand, and take both into account takes a great deal of maturity."

-A. Lewis

A Quote on Leadership - 2/7/12

"A defining trait of a great leader is the ability to utilize exceptional discretion when exercising influence, power, and authority; each is different from the others, they all come with great responsibility, and they all are greatly effective when used accordingly."

-A. Lewis

A Lesson In Oppression Dynamics - 2/2/12

"When an oppressor can play the victim, the oppressed are made to look pretentious, whiny, and focused on trivialities. Pretentious for assuming the worse and feeling as though they're special enough to be targeted; whiny for constantly bringing up what's made to seem to be a non-issue; focused on trivialities for nitpicking at what is a 'minute' part of whatever the greater discussion is. The oppression hides behind itself, touting its minor improvements with major rhetoric, using the simple fact of improvement itself as a crutch, implying that the possibility of improvement makes any issue impervious to criticism. The oppressor gains an upper hand on the one issue that the oppressed always had to themselves: victimization. With the script flipped, the oppressed no longer have any ground to stand on beside the historical, which automatically is seen as 'living in the past' when coupled with the improvement rhetoric. The oppressed are left with their primary soapbox eviscerated, and the oppressor gains a new, powerful, myopic, and dismissive platform to reach people on the fence about the oppression itself. Furthermore, any former victim that is a prime example of the aforementioned improvements will become a shield for the oppressor, used to deflect criticisms as 'proof' of the improvement rhetoric with the idea that if one could succeed, all can. Despite the sheer foolishness of that logic, and the inherent dismissal of the varying degrees of difficulty facing the oppressed, the 'success story' becomes a stalwart talking point of the oppressor, providing a final line of defense: the notion that the oppression is over, that each success story is indicative of the collective and what it can accomplish, rather than a bravura in its own right and a sign of what could be accomplished if there weren't so many obstacles facing the oppressed. In making the oppressed seem as though they're just being lazy and acting helpless, the oppressor has obtained an institutionalization of his oppression, and can now watch it take place on all levels with little to no resistance at all, since his peers will either agree with him or be oblivious to it, and the oppressed will be confused as to whether they're really being oppressed or not. The subsequent division among them will completely obfuscate the matter, ironically leaving them as helpless as the oppressor made them out to be beforehand."

-A. Lewis

Full Circle - 2/2/12

"Break my heart. Smash it into pieces. Rend my hopes, dash my dreams. Make me question everything I feel, question if this is real, question love itself as I fall and kneel. Systematically raze my backbone, telling a lie to eat away at each vertebrate. Darken my happiness with clouds of doubts, and rain on me with a monsoon of sincere ignorance, politely choosing not to care about my feelings at every turn. Watch me drown in the angst; send me down the river, and push me under whenever I reach the banks. Smother me with false affection, so much that I actually think I'm your selection, then show me that it was just a ruse to get deep enough into me to leave a spiritual bruise. Have what you will, take what you want, and leave me broken, hoping that I'm no longer choking on the insecurities you bred. Destroy every bit of my trust with your eviscerating lust. Obliterate my entire ability to love. Once you're done, take a hard look at what you've become, and ask yourself a question. All of these destructive dealings came from you running away from aching feelings; so who will you run to, now that we both need tremendous healing? The only person that knows that you're reeling. Full circle."

-A. Lewis

What Is Love In the 21st Century? - 2/2/12

"#iloveyou is a trending topic. 'Married' is a relationship status. Dates take place over oovoo and Skype, and since the Internet has made the world smaller, we sift through tumblr to determine our 'type.' What is love in the 21st century? Are our ethics so far gone that unless I log on and display affection in the open, anyone can impugn my heart's devotion? Does the lack of a constant commotion mean my relationship is missing the 'reality' quotient, aka drama divided by attention? Televised lies have glazed eyes with a saccharine coat of fallacy. Love isn't take what you want and give what you can; it requires balancing. There cannot be a right selection when someone is dating in search of the right direction. We're constantly shown that we're incomplete if we're alone, so we use social networking to fill needs with hollow connections from our homes and phones. With profiles and bios available, we simply get to know each other through text. When that fails, we move a little further and do so through texts. Divorce is at an all-time high; verbal communication is at an all-time low. Networks are contracting us to normalize these relation-trips, and we should all sign 'no.' What is love in the 21st century? That has yet to be determined. With the lack of genuine connections and television inculcating us with unrealistic ideas of perfection, only insecurity and a scarcity of sureties are certain."

-A. Lewis

For Brother Cornelius - 2/2/12

"On the first day of a month that owes a portion of its lustre to him, Brother Don Cornelius passed away, victim of an apparent suicide. I don't know what drove the Brother to it, but I do know that it's a travesty to have lost such an impactful man in the incipient moments of a time where he would be honored and his legacy cherished. At a time when America was still reeling from the Civil Rights Movement and wasn't fully accepting of Black music and culture, the velveteen emcee brought Black cool and Black soul music to a platform, boarded the train, and chugged his way to a level of success that seemed unimaginable for such a television program. Artists like Al Green, Bobby Caldwell, Earth, Wind, & Fire, and others were given a chance to perform in front of an afro'd, bellbottomed, and youthful crowd like White artists; proud Black teens and twenty-somethings had an outlet for THEIR music and dance moves. Creating, producing, and hosting the show, Don Cornelius took that intersection of culture and music and made it matter on a national scale. The Soul Train was a mode of transportation that took you from your living room to a land of grooves, moves, and sing-a-long tunes, a locomotive that would take Black people and Black music into the mainstream and beyond. Cornelius' legacy is immeasurable. He was a pioneer, a visionary, and, most importantly, a purveyor of Black culture when there really weren't any. That voice, that style, that silently effusive braggadocio; it was a microcosm of his people. He was the face of his audience, of his culture. No one could've represented it better. Now, as we bid the conductor adieu, we should wish him what he wanted for all of us: love, peace, and soul. May he now ride the train to eternal peace."

-A. Lewis