tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18540171.post114911043478626233..comments2024-01-18T12:02:23.977+00:00Comments on African Shirts: Stranger on the 36Nkemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16179240558587295386noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18540171.post-17619661158521975012008-07-13T03:22:00.000+00:002008-07-13T03:22:00.000+00:00Talk to Strangers - Saul WilliamsNow i wasn’t rais...Talk to Strangers - Saul Williams<BR/><BR/>Now i wasn’t raised at gunpoint<BR/>And i’ve read too many books<BR/>To distract me from the mirror<BR/>When unhappy with my looks<BR/>And i ain’t got proper diction<BR/>For the makings of a thug<BR/>Though i grew up in the ghetto<BR/>And my niggers all sold drugs,<BR/>And though that may validate me<BR/>For a spot on mtv<BR/>And give me all the airplay<BR/>That my bank account would need,<BR/>I was hoping to invest in<BR/>A lesson that i learned<BR/>I thought this fool had jumped me<BR/>Just because it was my turn.<BR/>I went to an open space<BR/>Because i knew he wouldn’t do it<BR/>If somebody there could see him<BR/>Or somebody else might prove it,<BR/>And maybe in your eyes<BR/>It may seem i got punked out<BR/>Because i walked in their own path<BR/>And then went and changed my route.<BR/>But that open-ness exposed me<BR/>To a truth i couldn’t find<BR/>In the clenched fists of my ego<BR/>Or the confines of my mind<BR/>Or the hip-ness of my swagger,<BR/>Or the swagger of my step,<BR/>The scowl of my grimace,<BR/>Or the mean-ness of my rap.<BR/>Because we represent a truth son,<BR/>That changes by the hour,<BR/>And when you open to it,<BR/>For nobility is power,<BR/>In that shifting form you’ll find a truth that doesn’t change<BR/>And that truth is living proof of the fact that god is strange…<BR/><BR/>Talk to strangers<BR/>When the family fails and friends led you astray<BR/>And buddah laughs and jesus weeps and turns out god is gay.<BR/>As angels in disguise love can come in many forms,<BR/>The hallways of your projects or the fat girl in your dorm,<BR/>And when you finally take the time to see what they’re about<BR/>Perhaps you find they’re lonely or their wisdom trips you out.<BR/><BR/>Maybe you’ll find the cycles end<BR/>Right back where you began,<BR/>But come this time around<BR/>You’ll have someone to hold your hand,<BR/>Who prays for you who is there for you<BR/>Who sends you love and light,<BR/>Exposes you to parts of you<BR/>That you once tried to fight.<BR/>And come this time around<BR/>You choose to walk a different path,<BR/>You’ll embrace what you turned away<BR/>And cry at what you laughed,<BR/>Because that’s the only way<BR/>We’re going to make it through this storm,<BR/>Where ignorance is common sense<BR/>And senseless is the norm.<BR/>Infact we’re high above the truth<BR/>And that you never touch,<BR/>And stolen goods are overpriced<BR/>And freedom costs too much,<BR/>And no-one seems to recognise<BR/>The symbols come to life,<BR/>The bitten apple on the screen<BR/>And jesus had a wife,<BR/>And she was his messiah<BR/>Like that stranger may be yours,<BR/>Who holds a subtle knife<BR/>That carves through worlds<BR/>Like magic doors,<BR/>And that’s what i’ve been looking for,<BR/>The bridge from then to now,<BR/>Just watching b.e.t like what the fuck son,<BR/>This is foul<BR/>But that’s where [boston?] represents<BR/>This fear that we live in,<BR/>The world is not a flat screen<BR/>I ain’t trying to fit in.<BR/>But this ain’t for the underground<BR/>This here is for the sun.<BR/>A seed a stranger gave to me<BR/>And planted on my tongue.<BR/>And when i look at you,<BR/>I know i’m not the only one.<BR/>As a great man once said,<BR/>There’s nothing more powerful<BR/>Than an idea<BR/>Who’s time<BR/>Has come.<BR/><BR/>http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/Saul-Williams/Talk-To-Strangers.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18540171.post-1150558061034286292006-06-17T15:27:00.000+00:002006-06-17T15:27:00.000+00:00random toasting? I like that.random toasting? I like that.Kushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09843003070299329556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18540171.post-1149500459924067142006-06-05T09:40:00.000+00:002006-06-05T09:40:00.000+00:00for me when ever i kick some serious convo with a ...for me when ever i kick some serious convo with a stranger we end up becoming friends- exchanging info. it's a shame to not follow up. anyways your style is cool also. one!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18540171.post-1149288758430651102006-06-02T22:52:00.000+00:002006-06-02T22:52:00.000+00:00@delot - have to say that even though people may a...@delot - have to say that even though people may appear to be chattier on the surface in the US, I find it significantly more difficult to actually connect even in passing. There is always the smile that doesn't quite reach the eyes and the absolute lack of anything remotely resembling wit or personality.<BR/><BR/>@nkem - sweet post, great sentimentMonefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04864659934704793785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18540171.post-1149179788010700692006-06-01T16:36:00.000+00:002006-06-01T16:36:00.000+00:00Herr Delot, I admire your chutzpah with moving the...Herr Delot, I admire your chutzpah with moving the bus stop signs. Had me grinning from ear to ear. That action shouldn't be ASBO-able, rather its a very sociable thing to do. As for alchies, is you crazy? Hell hath no fury as an alchie sober. But it seems like an experiment which should be tried. If you were an artist, that would be your Turner Prize entry.<BR/><BR/>I know Morountodun, how ironic. But I'd hope posting on blogs wasn't the height of our interaction with people. We could do better.Nkemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16179240558587295386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18540171.post-1149162313908579252006-06-01T11:45:00.000+00:002006-06-01T11:45:00.000+00:00I feel you on this one. Wasn’t one of Margaret Tha...I feel you on this one. Wasn’t one of Margaret Thatcher’s most infamous comments: “There is no society”. A lot of people were very very peeved off but she was very right. 21st century lifestyles in developed countries don’t promote the kind of social interactions that we grew up experiencing in Africa and generally still exist in a lot of the third world – saying that people are much chattier in the U.S and most Mediterranean countries. I just think what we’re going through (particularly in filthy London) is an adulterated form of British reserve. <BR/>A few years ago whilst having a couple of drinks at the Manchester Uni student union, a few of us pondered this problem and decided the way forward was to go about inserting “interventions” that would get people chatting. We knew that acting as common social cupids by standing in the middle of the road and thrusting people together would only see us all being slapped with ASBOs; so what we decided to do was find different ideas of making subtle differences to people’s everyday agendas which might thrust them together in some sort of camaraderie brought about by common fortune or misfortune:<BR/>Our first intervention involved moving the signs for bus-stops to the wrong locations. It had positive results and people started having long heated conversations; communally slagging off the bus drivers who didn’t stop at the assumed designated busstops. However the topics of their conversations soon changed to more cordial issues and more than a few people walked (the busses never stopped) away smiling with/at each other. <BR/>Unfortunately when we changed the price tags of cider bottles at a local off-licence as our second intervention; we had no idea it would all end in violence. If we had given the scheme a bit more thought, we’d have probably restricted our tampering to the expensive premium larger; as we sadly found out that the ilk of Manchester cider drinker who frequents off licences before lunch time is more than likely to throw a punch over a disputed couple of pence.<BR/>We stopped trying to intervene after the poor sales assistant ended up with a bloody nose – if one chooses to play God the worst place to do it is in North-west England. (Imagine if this had happened in Liverpool).<BR/>Its something to think about though – most people in southern England will only converse if there’s something blatantly conversation worthy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18540171.post-1149153841442643732006-06-01T09:24:00.000+00:002006-06-01T09:24:00.000+00:00Nkem, like what both of the above posters have sai...Nkem, like what both of the above posters have said I think your piece was very well told and it leaves one with the sentimental touch at the end about how in Africa at least we are doing something right. What I can't stop feeling a sense of irony over is that we have all read your piece and we are communicating via the internet from the comfort of our own homes!Morountodunhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00212171263671310647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18540171.post-1149152434601227082006-06-01T09:00:00.000+00:002006-06-01T09:00:00.000+00:00I love this post!Maybe that is why i am comfortabl...I love this post!<BR/><BR/>Maybe that is why i am comfortable in my own company and not to bothered if i see people or talk to people.<BR/><BR/>So true. there is something refreshing about talking to a stranger, having a laugh and goin on your merry way after that.<BR/><BR/>I have to agree with ayoke, in africa its almost impossible to avoid human interaction.Nneka's Worldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06790241470646230047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18540171.post-1149150326083511572006-06-01T08:25:00.000+00:002006-06-01T08:25:00.000+00:00Sweet. Very sweet rendition, this post of yours. A...Sweet. Very sweet rendition, this post of yours. And I do agree that if there's one thing Africa has in abundance, it's human interaction (an almost in-your-face interaction). It's almost impossible to avoid.ayokehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10206990544738744560noreply@blogger.com