As the 747 banks gently, gracefully descending toward Hong Kong, two things quickly become obvious to the first-time visitor. The first is the proliferation of skyscrapers, gleaming, anxiously reaching for the clouds you’ve just departed while simultaneously clamoring for precious horizontal space upon the lumpy little green islands. The next thing you can’t help noticing […]
hi-tylertraveling
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alt.politics?
On the eve of electing the president who will lead this nation into–drum roll, please–the next millennium, I find myself thinking, “Damn, this is the best we can do in a country of more than 300 million people?” All hail the infallible Constitution, our leadership choices have been winnowed down to Al Gorp, the monotonous […]
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Infrequent flyer
I’m an infrequent flyer. Never signed up for all those miles and merchandise rackets that seem to preoccupy so many people. I fly about once or twice a year, on average, and, that being the case, I don’t consider air travel to be “routine.” As a computer consultant, I work with a lot of folks […]
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Jurassic Five
Jurassic 5, like the name implies, comes fly with a blast from the past … old school hip hip for that ass. Consisting of two DJs and four emcees, what the J-5 lack in math, they make up for in music and history. Jurassic conjures classics, like young lions in jazz who manage to capture […]
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Being While Black
yet again, i feel my chest tighten, pulse quicken, knuckles whiten, blood thicken, muscles stiffen. through shallow breaths i detect the dread stench of apprehension. i dare not move. my head, immobilized in tension, avoiding attention, forehead glistens with perspiration through tight lips, i flip quick prayers and incantations to avoid observation … and confrontation. […]
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Hot fun on the cul-de-sac
I heard the piercing scream first. Startled, I looked up just in time to see something small and furry fly across the room and land in a pile of clothes in the corner. The Unidentified Furry Object turned out to be a hamster named Snowball. His source of jet propulsion, my wife, was standing on […]
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Reading, writing, rebelling
My fingers trembled slightly as I turned the page. Sure, my eyes saw the glossy jacket cover, saw that it opened to reveal crisp white sheets of paper bound within. Yet my mind still envisioned crumbling yellow pages, musty and age-worn, full of faded secrets dimmed but undaunted by decades of dust. And so I […]
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Black to the future
Despite the generally chilly temperatures that accompany February, for many African Americans, this little month is our moment in the sun–Black History Month, a time when we combine celebration of past achievements with remembrance of bygone suffering and sacrifice. The spirit of “didja know?” is palpable, particularly for those unexposed to the now-mythic exploits of […]
