this is kinda stemming from utma's question # 3, kinda stemming from all our recent discussions abt natural beauty, and mostly stemming from a question that former okayplayer shepoet posed to me the other night-

what, to you, is beauty?

before you give any kind of regurgitated response, please think about the question. after about 5 days of swishin it around my head, i still have no response to the it.

==**peace**==

"baby,
I'd draw yuh bath
like Picasso..

pick you,
like fruit
off yuh family tree. &
eatcha' honeydew ass,
wet"

-Giovanni, rhythmic poet extraordinaire

i believe in education and empowerment through art. i believe that movements happen when ideas are set to music. bodies and people come together through dance and movement, eyes awaken in the face of a good movie, and whatever ya gotta say is useless unless you can use these tools to reach right into people

"The logic of divide and rule is still valid today." Capleton

DomePoem Poets; Vibe Nation; One ppl under the spoken word

: beau·ty
Pronunciation: 'byü-tE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural beauties
Etymology: Middle English beaute, from Old French biauté, from bel, biau beautiful, from Latin bellus pretty; akin to Latin bonus good -- more at BOUNTY
Date: 14th century
1 : the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit : LOVELINESS
2 : a beautiful person or thing; especially : a beautiful woman
3 : a particularly graceful, ornamental, or excellent quality
4 : a brilliant, extreme, or egregious example or instance <that mistake was a beauty>
5 : a quantum characteristic that accounts for the existence and lifetime of the upsilon particle; also : a particle having this characteristic

was abt all i cd come up with

==**peace**==

"baby,
I'd draw yuh bath
like Picasso..

pick you,
like fruit
off yuh family tree. &
eatcha' honeydew ass,
wet"

-Giovanni, rhythmic poet extraordinaire

i believe in education and empowerment through art. i believe that movements happen when ideas are set to music. bodies and people come together through dance and movement, eyes awaken in the face of a good movie, and whatever ya gotta say is useless unless you can use these tools to reach right into people

"The logic of divide and rule is still valid today." Capleton

DomePoem Poets; Vibe Nation; One ppl under the spoken word

to actually think your response can ever be born outside of the social construct that you've been brought up in is arrogance. this is why i gave a denotative definition. EVERYBODY has been bombarded with conceptual systems/ideas/theories of what beauty is. even to the extent of what the word "beauty" even means. being that this is a subjective abstact idea being given a word to represent it, any response is valid.

that being said, what is the above definition saying? once you see the "essential" of the term, you can realize anything is/can be beautiful. peace

as for me, i answered it aboev if you didn't catch it.

anything is/can be beautiful within the realm of the denotation...

personally though:
within my conceptual system the term beauty has no place.

and frequently used terms/concepts out there

and it's that hard to put yr finger on/ that difficult to slap a meaning to

pose a question like that in good housekeeping and what happens? whuddyou cause?


==**peace**==

"baby,
I'd draw yuh bath
like Picasso..

pick you,
like fruit
off yuh family tree. &
eatcha' honeydew ass,
wet"

-Giovanni, rhythmic poet extraordinaire

i believe in education and empowerment through art. i believe that movements happen when ideas are set to music. bodies and people come together through dance and movement, eyes awaken in the face of a good movie, and whatever ya gotta say is useless unless you can use these tools to reach right into people

"The logic of divide and rule is still valid today." Capleton

DomePoem Poets; Vibe Nation; One ppl under the spoken word

Longhair/shorthair
locks/perm
underarmhair
painted toenails
bushy/arched eyebrows
big lips
big lips w/revlon
thriftstore dress
versace dress
black/white/all women.
Except fat women.

---------------------------------------
RAP IS SOMETHING YOU DO. HIP-HOP IS SOMETHING YOU LIVE.

"I'm the assassinator of Rap" - Pharoah Monche.

"Rap is business music, Hip-Hop is cultural music" - Busta Rhymes

"...Even up the ratio of Hip-Hop to that shit they playin on the radio." - Talib Kweli

"Let's say I use my gift of gab to boast and brag in every rhyme I
compose. won't y'all get sick of that, cause I know I do when I hear those
Flows. That ain't hip-hop, you find that shit in the gift shop
But to each his own, my speech is gon', keep that shit up outta my zone." Andre 3000

even the word "fuck" is beautiful. it just roles from the mouth. i agree with utamaroo. everything can be beautiful. peace, love, and soul!!!
-b

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vudu Theme Song (set to Super Mario Brother's underground song):

Vudu-dudududu, Vudu-dudududu
Vudu-dudududu, Vudu-dudududu
Vudu-du-du-du-du-du-du-dudududududu

"in this corner. the soulmexiacan jumping bean.
the un-pc king. more nastier than prince (dirty mind shows were only risque in custume and lyrics only....i never saw prince dry hump vanity onstage) can scream without losing his voice. the king of fearlessness
BILAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" -?uestlove

tell me whatcha do in the morning and why?

==**peace**==

"baby,
I'd draw yuh bath
like Picasso..

pick you,
like fruit
off yuh family tree. &
eatcha' honeydew ass,
wet"

-Giovanni, rhythmic poet extraordinaire

i believe in education and empowerment through art. i believe that movements happen when ideas are set to music. bodies and people come together through dance and movement, eyes awaken in the face of a good movie, and whatever ya gotta say is useless unless you can use these tools to reach right into people

"The logic of divide and rule is still valid today." Capleton

DomePoem Poets; Vibe Nation; One ppl under the spoken word

beauty is perception, though. like someone else mentioned, they said that all -isms are not beautiful. but maybe there is some sick person out there that finds them beautiful. maybe there is someone out there that thinks mushroom clouds and scorched bodies are beautiful. although i would be quick to say that this person does not understand beauty, who am i to judge one's perspective? peace, love, and soul!!!
-b

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vudu Theme Song (set to Super Mario Brother's underground song):

Vudu-dudududu, Vudu-dudududu
Vudu-dudududu, Vudu-dudududu
Vudu-du-du-du-du-du-du-dudududududu

"in this corner. the soulmexiacan jumping bean.
the un-pc king. more nastier than prince (dirty mind shows were only risque in custume and lyrics only....i never saw prince dry hump vanity onstage) can scream without losing his voice. the king of fearlessness
BILAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" -?uestlove

what is your morning routine? what, if anything, do you do to make yrself presentable? do you ever have trouble deciding what to wear? do you wear makeup? do you style your hair? do you wear jewelry of any kind? why? what does that have to do with your idea of what beauty is?


==**peace**==

"baby,
I'd draw yuh bath
like Picasso..

pick you,
like fruit
off yuh family tree. &
eatcha' honeydew ass,
wet"

-Giovanni, rhythmic poet extraordinaire

i believe in education and empowerment through art. i believe that movements happen when ideas are set to music. bodies and people come together through dance and movement, eyes awaken in the face of a good movie, and whatever ya gotta say is useless unless you can use these tools to reach right into people

"The logic of divide and rule is still valid today." Capleton

DomePoem Poets; Vibe Nation; One ppl under the spoken word

oh, i get you...

>what is your morning routine?

wake up. take a shower (because i don't like smelling funky, so i guess that counts). eat breakfast. watch t.v. nothing special.

what,
>if anything, do you do
>to make yrself presentable?

shower, shave, and comb the hair.

do
>you ever have trouble deciding
>what to wear?

yeah. but that's because i have a million different styles and most of the stuff doesn't match. wouldn't be beautiful (can a guy be beautiful? lol) if i didn't match, lol.

do you
>wear makeup?

nope. i'm a guy.

do you style
>your hair?

yep.

do you wear
>jewelry of any kind?

a watch to know what time it is, a ring to remind me of this great vacation i had once, and sometimes a necklace just because.

why?

already explained.

>what does that have to
>do with your idea of
>what beauty is?

not too much. i make myself presentable not because i want other's to notice, but because that's what makes me comfortable. maybe to me beauty is being comfortable in my own skin. but this topic is far too broad, as in there are far too many things that can be beautiful, for this to have a major effect on my perception of beauty. peace, love, and soul!!!
-b

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vudu Theme Song (set to Super Mario Brother's underground song):

Vudu-dudududu, Vudu-dudududu
Vudu-dudududu, Vudu-dudududu
Vudu-du-du-du-du-du-du-dudududududu

Noga-Tosha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! c) me

For me beauty is waking up to a sunlit room and I feel rested and excited to start the day. Beauty is the Donny Hathaway song that makes me well up with tears 'cuz I am feeling him. Beauty is the little girl who tried to hold the door for me even though she could barely reach the bars. Beauty is the light in my eyes, the light in other people's eyes when they are truly inspired. Beauty is my art, my smile and my laughter.

Racism, sexism, elitism (all the isms) is not beautiful and the people that support these ways of thinking are not always beautiful. Violence is not beautiful.

I helped this elderly lady out at the post office the other day and she told me "You have a lovely smile" and I felt good not because I felt beautiful but because actions and my smile made her day and that, to me, is part of what beauty is: giving of ourselves to others.

"Trials and tribulations make you stronger live longer
You wanna reach the nation nigga start from your corner
Everything in life don't always happen like you plan it
Demand it, overstand it, then you handle it
Fuck wishing, you missing the ambition in your mission
Now you switching, why you quitting 'cuz it's heat in the kitchen?
--Big Boi

"Know thyself"

"Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you". So we may boldly say, "The Lord is my helper, I will not fear. What can man do to me?"
-- Hebrews 13:5,6

"There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path"
--Morpheus in "The Matrix"

"It's our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"- Dumbledore to Harry Potter "Chamber of Secrets"

what is your morning routine?

==**peace**==

"baby,
I'd draw yuh bath
like Picasso..

pick you,
like fruit
off yuh family tree. &
eatcha' honeydew ass,
wet"

-Giovanni, rhythmic poet extraordinaire

i believe in education and empowerment through art. i believe that movements happen when ideas are set to music. bodies and people come together through dance and movement, eyes awaken in the face of a good movie, and whatever ya gotta say is useless unless you can use these tools to reach right into people

"The logic of divide and rule is still valid today." Capleton

DomePoem Poets; Vibe Nation; One ppl under the spoken word

Here's my routine: I sleep, lift weights, take long showers, write up appeals, sleep, lift weights...(taken from Pee Wee's Big Adventure). Sorry, I had to do that. :)

Seriously though: I wake up, write in my journal for about 20-30 minutes, take a decent shower, use an astringent & shine free cream on my face, put on deodorant & lotion, eat a healthy breakfast, make lunch, dig around for clothes I haven't worn that week (based on the weather), press whatever needs pressing and go to work (three times a week I workout in the gym for an hour). My hair is in twists so I usually only style it a couple times a week.

Probably the longest activity is the journal writing and the gym. Once every month or two I do the hair.

Now isn't that more than you wanted to know about me? :)

"Trials and tribulations make you stronger live longer
You wanna reach the nation nigga start from your corner
Everything in life don't always happen like you plan it
Demand it, overstand it, then you handle it
Fuck wishing, you missing the ambition in your mission
Now you switching, why you quitting 'cuz it's heat in the kitchen?
--Big Boi

"Know thyself"

"Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you". So we may boldly say, "The Lord is my helper, I will not fear. What can man do to me?"
-- Hebrews 13:5,6

"There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path"
--Morpheus in "The Matrix"

"It's our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"- Dumbledore to Harry Potter "Chamber of Secrets"

Also, my routine is doing what is necessary for me to get to work, to the gym or both. Beauty has little to do with it but I make sure to try to remain peaceful and remember to find joy in whatever I am doing. I think that comes across to people.

"Trials and tribulations make you stronger live longer
You wanna reach the nation nigga start from your corner
Everything in life don't always happen like you plan it
Demand it, overstand it, then you handle it
Fuck wishing, you missing the ambition in your mission
Now you switching, why you quitting 'cuz it's heat in the kitchen?
--Big Boi

"Know thyself"

"Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you". So we may boldly say, "The Lord is my helper, I will not fear. What can man do to me?"
-- Hebrews 13:5,6

"There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path"
--Morpheus in "The Matrix"

"It's our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"- Dumbledore to Harry Potter "Chamber of Secrets"

>Also, my routine is doing what
>is necessary for me to
>get to work, to the
>gym or both. Beauty
>has little to do with
>it but I make sure
>to try to remain peaceful
>and remember to find joy
>in whatever I am doing.
> I think that comes
>across to people.
>

It does come thru...I love being around folks w/ that kind of attitude. :)


~~~SPITFIRE: AUGUST 23, 2001~~~
HipHop. Old school style. In Full Effect. Want Info? Email: carameldom@hotmail.com

"to get inside this head of mine/would take a monkey wrench/and a lot of wine" ~~Res

right question, i don't think. but i'm just trying to get a more concrete- beauty in practice- kinda answer instead of the touchy feely answers that seem to always come as a knee jerk response-

>write in my journal for about 20-30 minutes

ever look at yr handwriting? i love the way handwriting falls on a page. i also love playing with the spacing between thoughts. helps me to clear my head as well as keep ideas separate and easy to get back to

> take a decent shower, use an astringent
>& shine free cream on my face, put on deodorant & lotion

ever get scented lotion or scented deoderant? i have some papaya lotion, and the smell drives me wild. but actually i think i like the cherry almond more. i love to smell almond scented skin throughout the day, though, when i remember to stop and sniff.

>dig around for clothes I haven't worn that week (based on the
>weather), press whatever needs pressing

how do you chose what outfits to wear? why do you press yr clothes? personally, i do the sniff test, and then follow colors, because colors can set yr mood for the day-

>My hair is in twists so I usually
>only style it a couple times a week.

why twists? why style it?

and most importantly, what do these things say about you and your relationship with beauty?

==**peace**==

"baby,
I'd draw yuh bath
like Picasso..

pick you,
like fruit
off yuh family tree. &
eatcha' honeydew ass,
wet"

-Giovanni, rhythmic poet extraordinaire

i believe in education and empowerment through art. i believe that movements happen when ideas are set to music. bodies and people come together through dance and movement, eyes awaken in the face of a good movie, and whatever ya gotta say is useless unless you can use these tools to reach right into people

"The logic of divide and rule is still valid today." Capleton

DomePoem Poets; Vibe Nation; One ppl under the spoken word

I think I am getting to the question.

>ever look at yr handwriting? i
>love the way handwriting falls
>on a page.

I am always practicing being more mindful of everything I do and the nature around me. I do pay attention to my script, especially when I am stressed or have a lot on my mind.

>ever get scented lotion or scented
>deoderant? i have some papaya
>lotion, and the smell drives
>me wild. but actually i
>think i like the cherry
>almond more. i love to
>smell almond scented skin throughout
>the day, though, when i
>remember to stop and sniff.

I love "Ginger Essence" by Origins.

>how do you chose what outfits
>to wear? why do you
>press yr clothes? personally, i
>do the sniff test, and
>then follow colors, because colors
>can set yr mood for
>the day-

I choose sometimes based on color. I like neutrals though. Everything in my apartment is off-white and neutral, kind of like a canvas for me to paint myself on or in.

>why twists? why style it?

I usually put my hair up in various styles. I like to coif my hair and change the shapes on my head based on what brings out my face. I have kinky twists in a spiky ponytail with a cascade down the back of my neck. My hair is natural and long. I like twists because I like the way they look and they are easy to maintain. I can do double-stranded twist cornrows so I do that in the front and I have free/single ones in the rest. I twisted in two butterfly beads and I have two tiny glittery bumblebees clipped into my hair.

>and most importantly, what do these
>things say about you and
>your relationship with beauty?

I think everything I do relates to my art and love of nature, from the tiny bumblebees to the neutral canvases I paint on or put myself in.

This was cool! Thanks for this. :)

"Trials and tribulations make you stronger live longer
You wanna reach the nation nigga start from your corner
Everything in life don't always happen like you plan it
Demand it, overstand it, then you handle it
Fuck wishing, you missing the ambition in your mission
Now you switching, why you quitting 'cuz it's heat in the kitchen?
--Big Boi

"Know thyself"

"Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you". So we may boldly say, "The Lord is my helper, I will not fear. What can man do to me?"
-- Hebrews 13:5,6

"There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path"
--Morpheus in "The Matrix"

"It's our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"- Dumbledore to Harry Potter "Chamber of Secrets"

and knowing that I will always be open to seeing and recognizing beauty throughout my life by keeping an open clear mind.

if that sounds regurgitated..so be it...

i don't think beauty is as complicated as people make it out to be..there is so much beauty around us and most just miss it...

lovely is probably one of my favorite words.

Much love,
Kyle



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altho i can't define it, it means a lot to me.

i don't perpetuate friendships with ppl i don't like to look at. i care abt how things are arranged, whether on a page/in a poem/in the air. i prefer to listen to voices that appeal to me. i have difficulty listenning to voices that don't appeal to me. i cd spend days arranging and rearranging my apt in ways that look good to me. i never just throw sumthin down on the table, i hafta like where it lands, ...

beauty is extremely important to me. arrangements are zen for me. my art is about beauty and arrangements. and rearrangements.

and i'm not about to call that a fault or a weakness, because i'm proud of what i create.

but part of what i create is myself. and it is important to me that i look good when i leave the house, unless i take all the mirrors out, which i do sometimes. keep me away from mirrors and i don't care what i look like. if i forget to look at a mirror (which happens very frequently) it doesn't occur to me to wonder how i look.

now, my kinda beauty stuff isn't abt perming or dying my hair or wearing a lotta makeup. it's abt wearing a scent that i like to smell. arranging things. sometimes it's about inside jokes like funky colored eyeshadow put on real subtly or green mascara that you really can't pick up on, ....

even my toes have rings on them and my husband is so beautiful that i am in awe of him every morning when i wake up.

not to say i think that physical beauty is the end all be all or that i don't believe in inner beauty, but if i lived in a tiny shack it'd be the cleanest best lookin shack around for miles, an i wouldn't rest until it was-

so maybe i'm the only person around here who's into that. if so, i suppose the beauty question is just for me.

where are the artists/painters/drawers when ya need 'em?!?!?!



==**peace**==

"baby,
I'd draw yuh bath
like Picasso..

pick you,
like fruit
off yuh family tree. &
eatcha' honeydew ass,
wet"

-Giovanni, rhythmic poet extraordinaire

i believe in education and empowerment through art. i believe that movements happen when ideas are set to music. bodies and people come together through dance and movement, eyes awaken in the face of a good movie, and whatever ya gotta say is useless unless you can use these tools to reach right into people

"The logic of divide and rule is still valid today." Capleton

DomePoem Poets; Vibe Nation; One ppl under the spoken word

>where are the artists/painters/drawers when ya
>need 'em?!?!?!

Right here! My artwork surrounds me but not on the walls. My paintings are in a section of my apartment just for art. I like seeing my easel with the latest painting I am working on. "Heritage Tree" greets me everytime I wake up. It's beautiful and makes me feel good. I am surrounded by art and I have my paints, palettes and brushes nearby just in case I want to sit and paint.

My apartment is like a kindergarten room. There are little sections just for one activity: artmaking, entertainment, sleeping, reading, etc. I don't have a lot of space so I keep it ordered and utilitarian. I am partial to butterflies and flowers. I love the smell of ginger so I wear it every morning (Ginger Essence by Origins is the shit!).

I value comfort above all else and I love art.


"Trials and tribulations make you stronger live longer
You wanna reach the nation nigga start from your corner
Everything in life don't always happen like you plan it
Demand it, overstand it, then you handle it
Fuck wishing, you missing the ambition in your mission
Now you switching, why you quitting 'cuz it's heat in the kitchen?
--Big Boi

"Know thyself"

"Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you". So we may boldly say, "The Lord is my helper, I will not fear. What can man do to me?"
-- Hebrews 13:5,6

"There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path"
--Morpheus in "The Matrix"

"It's our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"- Dumbledore to Harry Potter "Chamber of Secrets"

Even violence: think John Woo.

------
"And you don't even know the alphabet,
but you still talkin'." --Vastaire

Since you want to know and nobodies been willing to cough it up... my morning routine goes as such...
Wake up
Take a shower, razor free
Brush my teeth, with all the white gook falling out and stuff
If I leave the house, I comb out my hair and either put on a head band and sport a big ass fluffy fro, or pull it back into a afro puff, if it's too hot outside. I am in St. Louis. If I don't leave the house, I don't comb shit. Actually, that is a lie, half the time I do leave the house and I don't comb shit. Either I go out with a big bush on top of my hiar, or a head wrap.
I put a serong(sp) around my body and throw on a pair of jeans and flip flops. same damn thing every morning.

My definition of beauty, being comfortable just being who you sre, being at a place of truth and spiritual awareness. When you glkow on the inside, you will glow on the outside as well. And no matter how ugly you might think a person is, if you get to know them and realize they have that glow, they will appear more and more beautiful everyday. That's what I think. There's something good about everyone. SOmetimes it just takes a little warming up to.

-poeticL

i wanna know how your morning routine relates to your view of beauty

actually, morning routine isn't even all of it

what i'm getting at is the way beauty is at play in our everyday lives, in the way that we run our lives- constantly- and how that interplays with who we are and how we view ourselves

there's a lot of easy answers for this- everything is beautiful, beauty is what pleases us, beauty is inside, beauty is outside- but i don't think any of them really have any meaning beyond some degree of rhetoric

we spend a lotta time discussing natural, but natural is beside the point for me. it's just another aesthetic.

i don't think that beauty is universal or counetrevolutionary- but i do think that beauty has to be, to some degree, on some level, an element of a movement that gains a following

what kinda beauty? what is beauty? what comprises beauty in actuality has nuthin to do with the aesthetics we've been fed our whole lives, and actually, the beauty aesthetics that we ascribe to do tell us a helluva lot about ourselves as people and the beliefs that underlie our actions and methods of living-




==**peace**==

"baby,
I'd draw yuh bath
like Picasso..

pick you,
like fruit
off yuh family tree. &
eatcha' honeydew ass,
wet"

-Giovanni, rhythmic poet extraordinaire

i believe in education and empowerment through art. i believe that movements happen when ideas are set to music. bodies and people come together through dance and movement, eyes awaken in the face of a good movie, and whatever ya gotta say is useless unless you can use these tools to reach right into people

"The logic of divide and rule is still valid today." Capleton

DomePoem Poets; Vibe Nation; One ppl under the spoken word

>what kinda beauty? what is beauty?

What I like most of all is when I paint something that makes me feel joy or feel inspired. I don't do this often but when I do I feel so much peace and I feel re-fueled and re-energized. Art is my soul.

Check out my work at: www.geocities.com/nettrice.rm/index.html


"Trials and tribulations make you stronger live longer
You wanna reach the nation nigga start from your corner
Everything in life don't always happen like you plan it
Demand it, overstand it, then you handle it
Fuck wishing, you missing the ambition in your mission
Now you switching, why you quitting 'cuz it's heat in the kitchen?
--Big Boi

"Know thyself"

"Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you". So we may boldly say, "The Lord is my helper, I will not fear. What can man do to me?"
-- Hebrews 13:5,6

"There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path"
--Morpheus in "The Matrix"

"It's our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"- Dumbledore to Harry Potter "Chamber of Secrets"

i'm on my way home now (i'll be back tomorrow, of course) but i checked quickly and love yr work- we shd talk about this thing the dc okayplayers are doing- you may be interested- where are you agin (again, i won't be back until tomorrow morning)-

as for this beauty thing, i think we get carried away as activists demonizing beauty or losing its place within our own lives when, particularly for artists, it can be a deep and tightly woven aspect of our everyday lives- so we discuss grooming like it's a bad thing, but this is really where motivation comes into it-

does wearing ginger mean that you don't like yr natural smell? (i LOVE the smell of ginger, too-)

thing is, these borders get all bizarre and funny once we acknowledge the integral role that beauty plays in our lives, and i realize i never connected the two schools of thought in terms of beauty until this poet friend of mine mentioned it to me-


==**peace**==

"baby,
I'd draw yuh bath
like Picasso..

pick you,
like fruit
off yuh family tree. &
eatcha' honeydew ass,
wet"

-Giovanni, rhythmic poet extraordinaire

i believe in education and empowerment through art. i believe that movements happen when ideas are set to music. bodies and people come together through dance and movement, eyes awaken in the face of a good movie, and whatever ya gotta say is useless unless you can use these tools to reach right into people

"The logic of divide and rule is still valid today." Capleton

DomePoem Poets; Vibe Nation; One ppl under the spoken word

Thanks! I live way up in Boston but I do travel when I need to. I was thinking about making prints of some of the paintings because I am becoming too attached to a few pieces like the Muhammad Ali ones...well all of them! What's going on in DC? I used to be down with an artists' collective in New York City until I moved further north.

Anyway, I've tried makeup but I just can't wear it. It's not my style but I love messing with my hair and wearing silver hoops and glittery studs in my ears.

>does wearing ginger mean that you
>don't like yr natural smell?
>(i LOVE the smell of
>ginger, too-)

I have no problem with my natural smell and I haven't worn perfume or scents regularly until I got that Ginger Essence stuff. It just does something to me. It's like warm and spicy but also gentle and girlie...makes me feel good!

I am glad we discussed this topic because now I want to finish my latest painting and move on to a new one (it's a series). Also, an old friend is coming to visit me and I haven't seen him in a couple of years. He also sees all the beautiful sides of me and that turns me on, too!


"Trials and tribulations make you stronger live longer
You wanna reach the nation nigga start from your corner
Everything in life don't always happen like you plan it
Demand it, overstand it, then you handle it
Fuck wishing, you missing the ambition in your mission
Now you switching, why you quitting 'cuz it's heat in the kitchen?
--Big Boi

"Know thyself"

"Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you". So we may boldly say, "The Lord is my helper, I will not fear. What can man do to me?"
-- Hebrews 13:5,6

"There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path"
--Morpheus in "The Matrix"

"It's our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"- Dumbledore to Harry Potter "Chamber of Secrets"

Since I am the most spiritual 18 yr. old alive lol...naa, 4 real tho, I am obsessed with spirituality...so everything becomes beautiful to me. A field full of flowers and trees at 2 a.m. is just as beautiful as the ghetto at 2 am to me...but the most beautiful thing in the world is...
sitting in a car with the one person in the world that you have ever truly loved...smokin a blunt, and the smoke just flows through your body when u inhale, like you're inhaling a spirit. And leaning over and kissing him (or her)...the radio is playing Jay Z or Jill Scott and you feel like you're kissing GOD...it's one of those kisses...
I would go into sex...but that might take all damn day...lol, but that is the supreme beautiful to me.

*~Shiloh~*

"The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet; until SHILOH come, and there shall the gathering of the people be" -Genesis 49:10
"I never sleep cuz sleep is the cousin of death" -Nas
"See we be makin love constantly/that's why my eyes r a shade blood burgandy" -D'Angelo
"Love all. Trust a few. Do wrong to none. This above all: to thine own self be true." -Shakespeare
"You can't put the toothpaste back in the tube" -H.R. Haldeman
"Rape my mind/My love is so blind" -me :-)

If I see a person, piece of artwork, sunset or any imagery that takes my breath away...that's beauty.

As far as my morning routine goes, I don't feel complete until I have at least mascara and lip gloss on. I LOVE MAKE-UP...mostly because without it, I look about 12 when I'm actually 22. I also love the way it accentuates my face. I'm a make-upholic and I'm addicted to eyeshadows and lipsticks. It's always amazing what a little color can do for a face...

But enough about me, I think voluptous women are most beautiful. And for men, it's all in a healthy complexion and intriguing eyes and lips.

"We live the now for the promise of the infinite" --Mos Def

"I'm tryin' to soar to altitudes unknown to man, woman or the most agile of birds" --yours truly

"your people first. a quiet strength. the positioning of oneself so that observation becomes reaction, where study is preferred to night life, where emotion is not seen as a weakness. love for self, family, children and extensions of self is beyond the verbal"
--Haki R. Madhubuti

she is the defintion! beauty is in the eye of the whipped man but if someone actually gets more beautiful the longer you know them then i think you might have struck the real deal. beauty is perfect flaws and imperfect perfections.

SIGNATURE STARTS YONDER
"I'm not looking...forward to seeing
him"- Snoop on Suge's release.
understatement of the year :-)
**************************
:-)NE LOVE/N:-(LOVE
(THE C:PHICE IS Y:9URS)
**************************
The emoticon as 'O' symbol is a
registered trademark of dafriquan.
No biting without written permission.
*************************

imani's smile & kevin's eyes


"God is..She's like a motherly
Che Guevara, benevolent,
like 6 feet tall with dreadlocks,
a big machine gun and a
beautiful laugh... maybe."

~ okp DJ Scratch n Sniff

I've seen too many (physically) pretty people w/ ugly souls. So I tend to look for inner beauty--a shining personality, a good heart, a strong spirit--before anything else.



~~~SPITFIRE: AUGUST 23, 2001~~~
HipHop. Old school style. In Full Effect. Want Info? Email: carameldom@hotmail.com

"to get inside this head of mine/would take a monkey wrench/and a lot of wine" ~~Res

symmetry and simplicity and depth.

natural or not. these are the characteristics of beauty which invoke emotions.

Beauty is...

not copping a bullet in my cerebellum

eating a pork sandwich at a nation of islam convention

advil...when i'm on my skeez

actually "coming" after spending so many years faking

my ass basking in the morning sun

my grandmother's hemmroid cream

blessed fornication to a stanley kubrick film












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

"u stupid mothabitch!"

"Um, Well it's because humans wanted to eat cows really. I mean you go to India they don't do that shit."--Evidence,DPs

"Who would have guess it possible that waiting is sustainable, a place with its own harvest or that in Time's fullness diamonds of patience couldn't be distinguished form the genuine in brilliance or hardness." --Kay Ryan

actually "coming" after spending so many years faking

CONGRATS!


==**peace**==

"baby,
I'd draw yuh bath
like Picasso..

pick you,
like fruit
off yuh family tree. &
eatcha' honeydew ass,
wet"

-Giovanni

i believe in education and empowerment through art. i believe that movements happen when ideas are set to music. bodies and people come together through dance and movement, eyes awaken in the face of a good movie, and whatever ya gotta say is useless unless you can use these tools to reach right into people

"the skilled binder uses no strings or knots, while to unloose what he has bound would be impossible." Lao Tzu

"The logic of divide and rule is still valid today." Capleton

DomePoem Poets; Vibe Nation; One ppl under the spoken word

Beauty is uncensored expressions of love and truth... Beauty reveals itself when people are not paying attention... Beauty is the widely unaccepted truth that we are all loved...

how do these beautiful poetic definitions relate with yr conception of self?


==**peace**==

"baby,
I'd draw yuh bath
like Picasso..

pick you,
like fruit
off yuh family tree. &
eatcha' honeydew ass,
wet"

-Giovanni

i believe in education and empowerment through art. i believe that movements happen when ideas are set to music. bodies and people come together through dance and movement, eyes awaken in the face of a good movie, and whatever ya gotta say is useless unless you can use these tools to reach right into people

"the skilled binder uses no strings or knots, while to unloose what he has bound would be impossible." Lao Tzu

"The logic of divide and rule is still valid today." Capleton

DomePoem Poets; Vibe Nation; One ppl under the spoken word

When I think of what's beautiful, I think of my experience of beauty, not my concept of myself. Hope you understand, it's not like I'm trying, it's how I express myself. I get funny looks all the time! Roses

"what, to you, is beauty?"

Beauty to me. Beauty to me is so many different things...
I was beautiful when I was pregnant.
It was a beautiful thing when I saw my godchildren come into the world.
My son of course is beautiful to me even though he is missing some teeth.
Sometimes to me the sunset is beautiful when I'm on my way home from work.

All in all beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.
I think women of any size can be beautiful. I am not just saying that b/c I am on the big side of the scale.:D I think men are beautiful in all shapes sizes and shades of black.
YES I THINK MEN ARE BEAUTIFUL. It is not a term only for women.

For me to be beautiful in my own eyes is the most beautiful thing becasue there was a time in my life that I didn't feel this way. I have to say that any person who thinks of themselves as beautiful is a beautiful thing. I do not do much to make myself beautiful. I do not feel that it is necessary for me to wear makeup and etc to be beautiful.

Another thing that is beautiful is a person with a good attitude. Someone who is always snapping at others cannot in my opinion be beautiful. I know that there are days that you do not feel your oats but it gets better and all things can't always suck all the time. I know b/c my life is sucking but I am not pissed about it towads those that have no affect on it.

Beauty is a picture that touches your heart so that you literally feel it. Beauty can be seen in most things it just has to be seen by the unbiased eye.

I think i have gone on long enough. I am going to end this here.
PEACE and LOVE People.