Baby, au naturale

So, I love where I live. In fact I got a pretty sweet set up going on. One roommate is a massage therapist addicted to late night baking, and the other only lives there temporarily as she travels to and from Jamaica for her fashion business. No one is ever home when anyone else is. There is always good food in the fridge and on the off chance we are all home at the same time, there is always lots of baking, cooking and good music to be had.

Now, you may ask yourself, what could possibly go wrong in a haven such is this? What about this cookie havin' haven could turn someone off? Well, I'm going to tell you my friends.

Two days ago my supposed Jamaican entrepreneur of a roommate had a baby. Never mind the fact that no one knew she was pregnant when we moved in, or the fact that she is not supposed to live here full time, but this girl straight decided she did not want to have her child in a hospital. No, no, hospitals are full for sick people and disease. The way to go is obviously a home birth. That's right I said it. Call the doula and boil some water 'cause this girl is having a baby.

Granted the stress and panic I felt as a member of the household can in no way compare to the stress that a pregnant woman or a soon to be newborn, may feel, but good grief, the only time I have seen anything like this is on T.V., and it's never really real. Not like, homegirl's "water" broke and now there is "matter" on the bathroom floor, real. I, in actuality, missed a good part of the festivities because I spent about 14 hours out of the house that day. When I came home, I hid in my room until I absolutely had to come out, only to find that oh, look . . . baby.

Newborns, I will say, look a lot more animal like than human like. I mean, this child was shriveled, non pigmented and squinty and yet . . . it was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. There was no drama fanfare or father of the child pacing going on. Instead, there was silence and then there was child. Life came out of nowhere. It was amazing. And now, after the fact, I am not upset in the least. It is kind of difficult to be upset with a baby. It's not his fault he was born into the middle of my world uninvited. And now, it's his world too right?

But enough of the sentimental hooplah. Ten million things could have gone wrong with that child being born in the next bedroom. But it didn't. He could have been born stillborn, but he wasn't. Could have had one of those crazy newborn diseases yo see on Grey's Anatomy or ER requiring he be immediately rushed to the ICU. But none of that happened. Life happened without any crisis requiring immediate attention. So does that mean television is lying to us?(Gasp) Why do the accepted norms of modern society lead us to believe we need more to sustain ourselves than can be found in the average man's medicine cabinet? As it turns out, life is way easier than most folks would like us to believe. And why not? In this do it yourself age, why not . . . do it yourself. Nine times out of ten it will probably be o.k. I ain't going that route (when the time comes of course), but if the next woman feels so compelled, let go and let live, my friend, let live.

Barack Obama, man of the people

So here I am up late trying to get my life in order and of course a staple on that list is checking the good ole' email.  Through my own network of friends and family I came across this video which is being circulated by the Barack Obama presidential campaign.

http://my.barackobama.com/yeswecanvideo

Let me preface this by saying I do not consider myself a political person by any stretch of the imagination.  I am not afraid to say I did not vote in the last presidential election or even in my last local election.  The whole electoral college thing has me feeling a bit cynical about this country's political process.  But, at the end of the day, in America (The United States of) money talks and if you can get people to raise enough money on your behalf, the machine known as the U.S.A. just might let you call some shots.  That being said . . . 

The song itself is quite amazing and somewhat reminiscent of a spoken word piece set to music, which given Obama's cadence and rhythm is essentially true.  And of course the video as an artistic work is very thoughtful.  Shooting in black and white and utilizing shots of each supporter against the white backdrop speak to the level of bare humanity the Obama campaign presumably seeks to reach.  The style of the video appeals to a variety of ages and walks of life, not falling prey to any particular demographic in terms of tax bracket, former political affiliation or set political issue.

The question then becomes, is the message sincere?  In a world where even the news is scripted and spoonfed to us, how can we, as objective viewers, truly see anything objectively?  Is there a manner in which I can watch this video without thinking "damn, that is a great campaign idea" or "Nice way to skirt the real issues and appeal to an emotional response."  The idea that the video itself does exactly what it aims to achieve, makes me slightly suspicious of it, and generates the opposite of the desired response.  Instead of being sure that my vote counts I want to know: 

Does this man really mean what he says or is he just really good at playing the game?

More food for thought on Obama: 

Is he destined for assassination? Pearl Jr. writes about the fear held by many Black women.

http:/hiphoppolitics.blogspot.com/2008/01/will-they-kill-barack-obama-by-pearl-jr.html