The My-Stery: Haunted by the Record Part 2 – Rethinking Time Travel

Last week, I read a post about time travel in Black Nerds Network. While we have not reached physical time travel yet and I am not sure I would want that, let’s consider mental and spiritual time travel. The imagination is probably our first vehicle of time travel. Through media, art, artifacts, symbols, stories, traditions, […]

The My-Stery: The Unreality of “Keeping It Real”

We should be “…moving past keep it real…let’s keep it surreal.” Musician Vernon Reid said this in his presentation of Artificial Afrika and it stirred some thoughts on “keeping it real.” I see it as reality that is presented to us and the reality we create or perpetuate can always be called into question. Reality changes, […]

The My-Stery: Black Women Who Are Philosophers

Online PhD sent me a link to this list about female philosophers and the post generated some thoughts about the lack of attention around women in philosophy, particularly black women, leading me to a few interesting finds. Philosophy, which means “love of knowledge or wisdom,” is one of the oldest studies in human history. Afrofuturism itself can […]

Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth: Myth in Brown Girl Brownstones

Last week I read Caribbean-American Paule Marshall’s novel, Brown Girl Brownstones, and to put it simply, I was blown away. It definitely on par with The Invisible Man. It is a coming of age story that follows a Bajan (Barbados)- American girl, Selina Boyce, who is finding her own path amidst the destruction of her […]

The My-Stery: Sacra Vulva

With issues concerning women consistently headlining in the news in not just the past few weeks (ex. Malala Yousafzai), but for months now with examples like Todd Akin, I want to take some time to write about one aspect that goes unmentioned. Many of these discussions about women show a fear and lack of understanding […]

The My-Stery: Frankensteinian Females

Last week, I wrote about how the ideas about creation in Frankenstein can be found in records like “Dr. Funkenstein” and “Monster.” Since Nicki Minaj is on “Monster,” I want to continue the Frankenstein theme with women. Although Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein, most of the women seem to be weak, secondary characters in the story. […]

The My-Stery: The Alien Perspective

Despite this hilarious shallowness of this trailer, The Brother From Another Planet actually presented a number of deep ideas. A few days ago, I watched it, and some of the obvious themes were immigration (“the brother” crash lands on Ellis Island), migration, fugitivity (he is on the run from two white alien bounty hunters and […]

Otherworldly Videos: ‘The Peculiar Kind’

“Party Etiquette” “Gender Roles” I came across this web series while at Afropunk Fest this year. It covers different topics discussed by people in LGBTQ communities. Watch the rest of the episodes here and read the Afropunk interview.

The My-Stery: Invisibility and Anti-Matter at the RNC

Watching veteran actor Clint Eastwood’s “act” with an invisible President Obama in a chair may have been the highlight of the Republican National Convention, but as several commentators have mentioned, it ironically represented the Republican platform and treatment of Obama in this election. Through their words and actions, this is what I have heard from […]

Rethinking the ‘Fantasy’ of Africa in Roots Reggae

Professor, author and cultural analyst Louis Chude-Sokei speaks in his lecture, “When Echoes Return: Roots, Diaspora and Possible Africas (A Eulogy).” The lecture centers on the death of South African reggae singer Lucky Dube and how the fantasy of a singular Africa in roots reggae music has been both a dangerous space and a space […]