The Swag Report » Entertainment

Interview With Osama Bin Laden’s Former Mistress Kola Boof

Knowledge — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 07:00:24 +0000

She is an Egyptian/Sudanese-American, award-winning novelist, poet, television writer, activist, and one of the many women entangled in the life of one of America’s Most Wanted Individuals – Osama Bin Laden. Kola Boof, mistress and confidant of the well-known terrorist responsible for the many lives lost during the 9/11 World Trade attacks, came out not long after the death of Osama, revealing their insane relationship that began with the rape he conducted against her the first night they met.

She describes “Somi” (her nickname given to Osama) as a “monster, genius, poet, racist, woman-basher, very passionate, deeply sensitive, and confused” human being. She also speaks about his love of Western Culture –including an obsession with singer, actress, Whitney Houston – and Marijuana.

What has twitter been like for you?

Twitter brings the whole world together, but it’s been awful for me because I can write in English faster than I can think in English. I tell too much I’m afraid.

Can you give us a brief history of your life..for our readers who don’t know who you are?

I am an Egyptian-Sudanese-American novelist and poet. I was born in Omdurman, Sudan and my birth parents were murdered when I was six for speaking out against slavery and genocide in Sudan. I was then let for adoption and ended up with a Black American family in Washington,D.C. in 1979. I was eight and I grew up in America as an out-patient in Psychiatric Care. I credit the love of my Black American parents with saving my life and my sanity. I have become a successful television writer and novelist but most people know me right now because of Osama Bin Laden.

In 1993 after getting my American citizenship, I traveled back to North Africa and became a model and actress. I was young and dumb and became the mistress of Sudan’s Vice President Hasan al Turabi and later Osama Bin laden. Hasan mentored Osama and the son of Hasan, Isam, was Osama’s closest friend. The relationship was against my will but I have not denied doing everything I could to make Osama happy because I feared for my life.

A diplomat of the Sudanese government (Nadeem Gamal Ibrahim Quttub) wrote a book claiming you married Bin Laden, that you had a child with him and that you were happy. Mr. Quttub says that you’re just pretending to hate Osama because you’re in America.

That’s completely false. His entire book is a lie. I have never loved Osama and I was never his wife.

When you heard the news of Bin Laden’s death how did you feel?

I felt a huge range of things. It’s hard to say to an American audience what I felt…they wouldn’t understand all of it. But I am glad he’s dead and I applaud President Obama for making the world a safer place. There is a misconception that I loved Osama and that’s not true. I never loved Osama. I had to survive and thus I did whatever was necessary to do that. Many have misconstrued my articulation of his complexity as romantic love. It’s more pity and compassion, because I actually knew him as a person long before he was famous.

Do you feel like the U.S. Had the right to go into Pakistan to find Bin Laden?

Humans never have the right to do anything on either side, so I will not take sides. All men are guilty of everything we’re suffering.

What kind of relationship did you and Osama Bin Laden have?

It started very abusive with rape. Then out of fear for my life I did everything to please him; I catered to him. It lasted for six months and it changed constantly. We had a lot of sex, but I also accompanied him and his men on hunting expeditions every Friday at Dahkla and we wrote poetry together. He liked to smoke a lot of weed and ramble for hours about how the world would be once he saved us by forcing the planet to become Muslim.

Did you know about his 3 other wives?

He had four wives in 1996 when I knew him. As far as I knew, they were in Khartoum. The lead wife, Najwa, hated me and tried to be difficult to no avail.

Recently you sent out a pic that showed nudity on twitter..would you say you’re comfortable with your body?

I come from a Nilotic river culture in Sudan. I don’t see nudity as sexual or particularly unconventional. I believe it’s an abomination for a woman’s breasts to be covered. I am a Womanist.

How people first react to you when they found out you were Osama Bin Laden’s mistress?

At first, because they only had my birth name…Naima Bint Harith, they were very professional and serious. I was treated with utmost respect. But after they saw that I was Black, and as many stated, not even Mixed Black…they became hostile and very cruel. Particularly Peter Bergen, a supposed Bin Laden expert, who makes his fortune writing books about Osama. He did a smear campaign against me and was very cruel and punishing. He said that I was jeopardizing the credibility of the books he’d already written. Americans didn’t want a Black woman to be called Egyptian for some reason. That was another issue. Derrick Bell, the famous American legal scholar told me that they didn’t want to put a Black face on Egypt.

In the raid..they found a huge cache of porn..was Osama a porn addict?

He loved sex period, but he was deeply ashamed of it. His men watched the porn probably more than he did. But yes, he watched. He had a thing for Whitney Houston and to a much lesser degree Julia Roberts and Iman. But that movie “The BodyGuard” was a big deal with Osama. He watched it all the time. He obsessed over Whitney Houston and rambled on about kidnapping her one day.

What’s something about Osama Bin Laden that people may not know?

That he rarely ever yelled. He was extremely sensitive and very soft spoken. He cried once when I saw him order someone in Ethiopia to be killed. He was a genius intellectually, he had a huge heart…but our Arab culture…and I can say this because I’m half Arab. Our Arab culture and the Islamic religion creates the breeding ground for this delusional type of warfare and machismo. Osama was a victim of Arab Islam as far as I’m concerned.

How has your life changed since your newfound fame? Better or worse?

My life is simply different. I am not comfortable in public, I fear for my children and we live in hiding. We move a lot. I am trying to continue my literary career with my latest novel, The Sexy Part of the Bible. It’s getting rave reviews and I’m glad that so many Black women love this book.

Do you like hip-hop music? If yes..who’s your favorite artists?

I like the old school hip hop. I grew up on KRS ONE, MC Lyte, Eric B. and Rakim. I guess Lauryn Hill would be my favorite hip hop artist. But what I hate about Hip Hop culture is the chronic Colorism, the Anti-Black imagery in the videos and magazines. They all want to be White, everything is all about
Mulatto women, they’re all fake and bling bling. I don’t enjoy the Anti-Black images and the hatred for the mother of our race, the Dark skinned black woman. She is the real true Black woman, the Mother of Africa and all humans. It’s a disgrace that she is not celebrated as young, beautiful and hip and hopping because she’s the eternal goddess. Don’t give a fuck what rappers say. They’ve become the new White trash.

What are your future plans? Any movies or documentaries in the works?

The rights to my autobiography, “Diary of a Lost Girl” are up for sale and I hope to see it made into a movie. I want Naomie Harris to play me. If not her, then I really believe the model Naomi Campbell should be given a chance. She’s interested in the part.

Eso Won Books in Los Angeles has banned your new novel “The Sexy Part of the Bible.” Why did they do that?

They haven’t given any answer other than they feel that I hate Black men and mixed race/biracial people—which is totally not true. But from earlier novels I’ve written, they feel that I unfairly attack Black Men and that my refusal to see Mixed people as Black means I hate them. It doesn’t. No one in Africa sees Mixed/Biracial as Blacks. Period. It’s an African thing its not personal. I love anyone who loves me.

Any shout-outs or acknowledgments that you’d like to do?

Yes, a shout out to Johnny Temple, publisher of Akashic Books, for making my latest book “The Sexy Part of the Bible” available in England and Africa. It reveals the horrors of skin bleaching in African cultures and that’s a story that needs to be examined. I also thank him for letting Jesus be Black and leaving the controversial sex scene with Jesus in. Many find the book shocking, but it’s important to challenge the status quo and to make new artistic expressions.

Official Website
http://www.kolaboof.com

Kola’s Books on AALBC.com
http://aalbc.com/authors/kola_boof.htm

www.twitter.com/Kolaboof

Buy her latest book “The Sexy Part of the Bible” on Amazon.

This Exclusive Interview is courtesy of: The Black Urban Times

An Open Letter to Tracy Morgan

Knowledge — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 17:40:19 +0000

Vladimir Marker

Kamora Herrington, who leads the mentoring program for True Colors, a Hartford-based youth and family services organization for gay, lesbian and transgender teens, had this to say about the comedian’s anti-gay remarks:

Dear Tracy,

I woke up to your apology this morning and was disappointed. You apologized to your fans and the gay and lesbian community; that missed the point for me.

You know that your words offended the gay community because Kevin Rogers, an out gay man, was able to blog about his experience and share it with the world.

I can’t pretend to know Mr. Rogers’ situation, but I’m going to assume that he’s found a way to live his life in an out and proud manner, and while your tirade against us was offensive to him, it didn’t create a life or death situation.

Mr. Morgan, I’d like you to consider your position in the Black community. While you are a comedian and people expect that most of what comes out of your mouth will be jokes, there are certain cultural norms that you have the ability to perpetuate or reject or come up with something in between. Personally, I’d say examine them, but that’s me.

When you perpetuate negative stereotypes towards the gay community, much less violence towards us, you’re reinforcing the belief that Black people hate gay people. I’m tired of defending my community against my community and you don’t make my job any easier by inserting yet another quotable example of Black people hating on gay people into the cultural and political discourse.

Mr. Morgan I am a bi-racial, lesbian mother who works with LGBT teens on a daily basis. Most of these teens are youth of color – that’s us Tracy. Because of what they see and hear on t.v. and the radio they know that when they come out as gay they are losing the Black community. Imagine if someone told you being funny wasn’t a Black thing so you could only hang out with white comedians. And if you’d try to hang out with Black folks they’d reject you. And when you hang out with your white comedian friends, sometimes some of them would make Black folk jokes because Black folks are funny. That just doesn’t feel right. Does it?

Mr. Morgan you’re an intelligent man. You wouldn’t be where you are and have achieved the accomplishments you’ve achieved if you weren’t. While my Black comedian example is a bit of a stretch I hope you get my point. Our children need to be accepted and loved for who they are. When you ridicule and advocate violence towards us as teens; when we’re just growing into who we are, you validate stereotypes and create unsafe living situations for our children…hear me out.

Other than Mr. Rogers, I don’t know who was in the audience that evening. But let’s say there was a Black single mother in the audience who’s just figured out that her son is ‘that way.’ She hasn’t told any of her girlfriends, they’re just out to have a good time. Then you start Tracy. Her son is the same age as the son you’d stab. And you tell your joke and her friends laugh…and she laughs.

What happens next, Tracy? I can tell you what I see. I’d LOVE to tell you what I see. Better yet, I’d love for you to come to my office and SEE what I see. Your apology may have come from the heart, but it missed the point. Some people will be happy with it, some won’t, some are going to want to flush out your bank account.

I don’t want your dollar. I don’t want your apology. I want your ear, your time, and your understanding. Come to my office and meet the LGBT teens I work with or find other organizations and inpiduals working to support these marginalized children. Because again, Tracy they are us. Please, educate yourself on who these children whom you would theoretically stab are and consider their parents when you tell these jokes. When Mr. Rogers went home, he blogged. The theoretical mother out with her friends may have found a different outlet for her emotions. I’ve seen mothers like the one I described handle it in the most beautiful after-school special way. But I’ve seen far too many families torn apart by scenarios similar to the one you described on June 3rd.

Sincerely,

Kamora Le’Ella

Re-Introducing Rebel & Rene

Knowledge — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 18:00:16 +0000

I’m not easily impressed, but I was impressed from the start with her ability to captivate an audience with a unique writing style full of prose, poise, and excellent story telling. Her pen carried with it a certain grace that was evident to me, and many others by the looks of her comment section, from the start. While I tend to be long-winded in my writing, she would seemingly get straight to the point, not concerned with beating around the bush unless there was a bush that needed beating. One thing that stood out was how I would never get bored of her posts no matter how many of them I’d read.

Reading about the events that happen in ones personal life can become a compulsion, as bloggers who write about their personal lives know all too well. I try to shield my readers from my life as much as possible, but I do thoroughly enjoy being the documentarian and historian of my own slice of life where no one can mitigate or elaborate on my experiences as well as I.

I found within A Brown Girl Gone Gay writing that exhibited that same determined drive. She told her stories and experiences in a way that others could relate to over and over again, and that is the primary key to being a successful writer and blogger. On top of being balanced, poignant, passionate, and extremely artistic, of course.

Fast forward: One year ago.

I was approached by Alix, the writer and blogger from A Brown Girl, about a short story series she wanted to collaborate on for her online literary magazine i-bleed-ink.com. The series would be a romantic drama of sorts centered around two distinctly different characters telling the same story, but in their own words.

I was flattered by the offer, having never written any serious fiction before. I was ready to take up the challenge, and so I accepted. It was then that we began writing the beginnings of the series we now know as Rebel & Rene. It is a monthly feature on the site and it’s one of many short story series currently featured.

I’m proud of the story we’ve breathed life into. I’m happy to add that after a few months of hiatus we are ready to begin where Rebel and Rene left off last year. The series will start exactly where it stopped and you can look for it on I Bleed Ink every 2nd Saturday of the month.

Writing this story has helped me redefine a word that has been a part of my vocabulary ever since I realized I was the shortest person in my family. I’m referring to the short in short story. Although writing short stories was not my forte, she wanted to work with me anyway. And while hesitant as hell, I challenged myself to step outside of the comfort zone shop I set up long ago and embrace something new. Short story writing cannot be accomplished without focus, dedication and attention to detail. The length of my first draft is laughable when I look back now, but Alix did no such thing upon reading it, I’d like to believe.

And so the story of Rebel and Rene began, and now continues as their journey takes them places they never expected.

To give you an idea of how the story is told, here’s a taste.

Please do enjoy.

Rebel:

Taking a deep breath, I rushed out of the powder room bumping into a customer in my haste. A tall customer with hazel eyes and locs. Any other day, I would have flashed her my dimpled smile, but I wasn’t my normal flirtatious self. She placed her hands on my hips to steady me as I felt myself ankles wobble courtesy of my ridiculous 6 inch stilettos. Her hands were warm at my waist and even in my grouchy mood, I couldn’t help but notice how the finger tips of her hands almost met. Gotta love a girl with big hands.

“Oh, excuse me!” I said, as I tried to talk myself out of blushing. My cheeks weren’t listening.

“Excuse me, too, beautiful.” She spoke and I found myself looking into thickly lashed hazel eyes. I put an extra swing in my hips as I glided away from her, causing my dress to flow around me. I looked behind me, catching her smirking at my swaying my ass. I rolled my eyes. Pervert, I thought with a smile.

Rene:

As I entered [the bathroom], a short, petite, pale-skinned sales girl was exiting. We bumped into each other hard as I reflexively reached down to steady the camera hanging from my neck. I thought she was going to stumble so I grabbed her around her waist and pulled her toward me to steady her gait.

I felt my face get all hot and my head rushed a little while I considered, for a moment, how good my hands felt around her tiny waist, before quickly retracting them.

”Oh, excuse me!” she exclaimed, in a southern drawl that I just knew had to be exaggerated ‘cause whoa. I hadn’t heard an accent that heavy, deep, and sexy since I first watched True Blood.

I said, “Excuse me, too, beautiful,” as she slipped past me and headed toward the front of the boutique. I watched her hips and ass sway as she walked away. She turned and saw me staring before I caught her roll her eyes as she turned around and continued on.

Make sure you catch Rebel & Rene every 2nd Saturday & Sunday of the month on I Bleed Ink beginning June 10th!

Interview with Leisha Hailey of Uh Huh Her

Knowledge — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 19:52:17 +0000

I hope you enjoy this interview courtesy of Stine @ www.TheNewGay.net

It’s almost May 2nd! And yes, it is three days before Cinco De Mayo, also known as Thursday, but more importantly, Uh Huh Her will be taking the stage at the 930 Club. Much to my glee, I had a chance to speak with Leisha Hailey last week.

What ha’ happened was:

The New Gay – You are touring in support of the Black and Blue EP with Nocturnes set for release this summer?

Leisha Hailey– That’s our plan, we’d love to have it out this summer. I believe we just worked out an appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel show. So we will try to have out our pre-sale out at about the same time.

TNG – Do you feel your audiences interact with you and your music differently than when you were supporting Common Reaction and the I See Red EP? Black and Blue has a much different sound.

LH – No, when people get behind a band, hopefully they are along for the ride. You grow and change. That’s whats great about the music. We have definitely grown as a band. Gotten to know each other and our sound has changed.

TNG – When the band started in 2007 you were still filming the L Word. How does it feel to be focused on one major project?

LH – I like it. There was definitely a point where I was overwhelmed time-wise just balancing things, flying back and forth. I actually enjoy just doing one thing at a time. It actually works for me.

TNG – On a scale of openly hostile as a 10 to totally indifferent as a 1 where irked is a 5, how do you feel about people calling you Alice?

LH– I don’t know I can’t even put a number on it. I can tell you I think it has gotten a lot better. I think the people there are there for the music. But, a lot of people wouldn’t have known about our band otherwise, and I’m grateful for the exposure. The only thing is: I’m not a character.

TNG – So from what I’ve read you and Cam (Camila Grey – vox and keys) weren’t super well acquainted when you started the band. How did you come to name the band after PJ Harvey’s album? I’m imagining late night beer sesh over a box of records…

LH– No, we were a three piece at the time, Alicia Warrington on drums, and we couldn’t agree on a name. We would all come everyday for weeks with a list of bands and no one liked each others. I think we found it in a book. It just fit. I can’t even remember whose list it came off. And it fit. It kind of a relief. We had our EP finished and the record company was like “we need a name!”

TNG – So you’ve had a lot of exposure from the L Word. Is it weird to have fan girls? In my experience, queer girls tend to be very devoted to their musical icons. MEN were in town a few weeks ago and I’m pretty sure the audience would have changed all the tires on JD Samson’s van if given half a chance.

LH – Uh – weird no, what? I mean, without anyone in the audience, you’d be playing to no one. It is fantastic, we are so thankful, and seriously it is an amazing thing. I think the audience is changing….we even have boys in the audience now.

I don’t think it is specific to queer girls. I think as a music lover you become invested in the music. You feel it and it becomes a part of your life.

TNG – Do ya’ll design your own merch? I’m specifically enamored with the “Heartless Robot Tee”

LH – We usually have people throw ideas out. If we can agree on something we go with it. It takes Cam and I a while to agree on that. Someone else did Heartless Robot and then it became a competition. That was the one I liked and Cam picked the one with hearts all over it. Hers won though. It sold more.

TNG – Are you still running Plaid Records? How does being on your own label shape who you are as a musician?

LH – Well Plaid is our record label and it makes sense because it has everything we need to run our band, and as an indie artists its an ideal situation.

I think it’s incredible to self release records and tour through our own funding. It helps you grow as a band because you grown through so much together. It’s a daily struggle and exciting. When you are on a label things are being done around you and you don’t have any say and you kind of lose touch and things just kind of happen. When you are making every single decision you feel a more a part of it.

TNG – You had your rainbow tattoo removed…. Tell me more….

LH- Well I got it when I was 23 or 4 and uhm and I never intended it to be a gay rainbow. I really loved stars at the time and I really loved color. I still love color. I wanted it to be the most colorful tattoo that ever existed. And the tattoo artist went over it twice, so it was really inked on there. After a while, I couldn’t stand that it was an armband more than anything. I felt like Nick Lachey.

TNG – You are based out of L.A. So – Prop 8. How important is the repeal of Prop 8 and DOMA to you?

LH – (Politely demurring) I’d rather not talk politics.

TNG – Okay. When you were the Murmurs the digital “online persona” aspect of being in a band seems like it must have been totally different. Have Facebook and Myspace become the new “street team”?

LH– It is completely different. With street teams back in the 90s you would meet people that were hanging your posters and flyering records stores for you. It was very hands on. Such a different world and it’s really exciting . You can do so much now and you are so connected to your fans.

I don’t know if you know about this, we ran out of money on Nocturne, we ran out of money but we need to mix it, and we had this offer from our friend Chad (I missed his last name – sorry Chad) who agreed to do it for a really low price. So we had an online auction and sold all the things we made, and all the money that we made went back into the album almost to the dime it was exactly how much we needed to finish the album.

——-

TNG TV: Chris Pureka Sings Out Against Queer Teen Suicide

Knowledge — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 18:45:04 +0000

I hope you enjoy this post, courtesy of Zack Rosen – www.TheNewGay.net

Queer singer Chris Pureka performs her song “Cruel and Clumsy” as an addition to the It Gets Better project, which is meant to help queer teens through rough times. The lyrics are below.

reverbnation.com/chrispureka

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doxrg3M2By4&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

You’ve been low,
you’ve been thinking about the last time,
but I know
there’s still a window that leads outside…

Sweet air through the summer screen,
tall grass and warm stones,
where are you today?
’cause you’re missing it all…

You were twisting the lens,
but it never stayed in focus,
so you laid on your bed,
and just lost track of the seasons…

And now you know the feel of cold steel to temple
and you know the feel of razor to wrist
and you’re lost in a room
that rocks back and forth like a ship deck…

Sweet air through the summer screen,
tall grass and warm stones,
where are you today?
’cause you’re missing it all…

But we never explain
why we treasure our secrets,
how we’re in love with our sadness sometimes…

But you wanted something you saw in the sunset,
so don’t you leave her ’til you know what it is
and let’s turn to the west
and let’s turn up the music
and let’s hope it’s always as good as this…

Life is cruel and it’s clumsy
(but we never explain)
I wish I could say that it’s better than that
(why we treasure our secrets)
but this is our time
(how we’re in love with our sadness sometimes)
this is all that we have ’til we turn out the lights…

Life is cruel and it’s clumsy save its very best moments
(but we never explain)
I wish I could say that it’s better than that
(why we treasure our secrets)
but this our time
(how we’re in love with our sadness sometimes)
this is all that we have ’til we turn out the lights…

(source)

Review by Zack Rosen: Stephen King and The Case of the Psychotic Lesbian

Knowledge — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 20:26:24 +0000

This article courtesy of Zack Rosen, Thenewgay.net

Oh, overused tropes of fiction: Psychotic homosexuals be thy name. High art and low have dipped into the well so often that it’s a miracle Baby Jessica isn’t hanging out in there with Bart Simpson’s tape recorder. Battlestar Galactica, one of the modern age’s best queer allegories, featured two subplots involving the show’s only gay characters proving themselves to be evil, masochistic or murderous. Those characters, though, were fully-formed and perhaps just extensions of BSG’s larger points about identity and hardship. Ramona Norville, villain of Stephen King’s new novella “Big Driver” accepts no such justifications.

“Big Driver,” second in King’s new four-novella collection Full Dark, No Starsis (sucky spoiler alert) the woman who invites mystery author Tess to a speaking engagement in her small town. She is also responsible for giving Tess “shortcut” directions that allow Tess to be raped by Ramona’s equally psychotic sons. Her two salient characteristics are that she is butch and bonkers.Ramona is introduced in the following manner:

“Ramona Norville turned out to be a broad-shouldered, heavy-breasted, jovial woman… with flushed cheeks, a marine haircut and a take-no-prisoners handshake… Instead of wishing Tess a good morning… she asked a man’s question: Had Tess come by [route] 84?

King supplements this four pages later, in case we didn’t get it, that Ramona watches Tess input directions into her GPS with “manly interest” because, of course, only men take a vested interest in a car’s ability to deliver a driver to their destination. That’s why my mom and sisters close their eyes, stomp the pedal and just hope for the best whenever they drive places. Except they don’t because they aren’t in a Stephen King story. But I digress.

To remove any doubt about Ms. Norville’s orientation, King includes a picture of her and her girlfriend in Norville’s living room. And a whole lot of references to her size and quarterback-like strength when Tess eventually stabs her for her involvement in the rape. This is a good time to mention that “Big Driver” is not very good. I’ve read a lot of good Stephen King books (because I used to be a relatively-friendless 11 year-old) and this isn’t one of them. It, The Shining, The Long Walk, Apt Pupil: Those are good. None of the novella’s in Full Dark, No Stars count among King’s best, or are even that much different than one hundred things he’s done before.

Continued at TheNewGay.net

Review: No Love Lost by Shaun J. Phree, Phreedom Books

Knowledge — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 16:58:04 +0000

The recurring theme of Shaun J. Phree’s new poetry book is love. The backbone of the book lies and relies on matters of the heart. No Love Lost addresses our most vulnerable state, that of being in love. It speaks on it like a caged bird finally broken free from its inability to express locked emotions. Lyrically speaking, each stanza reflects to the reader in a manner to which we can all relate to at any given time.

Through a looking glass of clear, expressive and clever language, he takes us on a journey of love, pain, and heartbreak by baring it all. Phree’s poems run the gamut of emotions often exchanged in and out of relationships and doesn’t stop short at expressing the agony that often accompanies the end of our most treasured relationships. A powerful and reflective force is ever present in this poets work. The language is pervasive and breeds an exquisite symmetry found in poems such as Her Love :

i know she loves me because
her love for me
has allowed my walls to be
shattered into dust
and the past
will never again matter
because it’s all about us

Phree’s love language resonates strongly through the heartbreak he allows us to be privy to. Love is larger than one’s own experiences and there’s a certain objectivity when we apply our pain or pleasure to form a meaning that speaks for everyone, or that everyone can relate to. There is none of that here. His thoughts are the things and feelings that are entirely relatable to each and every one of us.

Phree’s poetry documents a love that begins with the chase, then the conquering of hearts, only to fail in its permanence with the realization that in the end the most memorable love is never really lost. It may fade, wane, begin to crack at the seams, but one thing is certain, it always remains. Most poetry has no expiration date and so it was easy to allow myself to be pulled deeper into a series of stanzas that not only represented the continuum of the heart before, during, and after love, but also showed a romantic dialect that reflected a brutally honest array of emotions through each phase.

In Escape he writes: “i hate that i love you/ because it’s with all my heart and soul/ with nothing in return that makes me believe we can be whole.”

Most of the poems in No Love Lost follow a poet who is a lover as much as he is a fighter. He has constructed an expose of the sometimes-painful agony that accompanies loves fate. He is wise to its highs and lows, and through his astute observance and life experience he does not shy away from giving it to us raw.

you ask how do i know i’m in love
because
i can’t breathe
without her
she’s my oxygen.
(O2)

Phree does not back down from the emotional complexities of relationships especially when they’re in various states of dysfunction. He writes in a manner consistent with a man on a perpetual mission of self-exploration.

who knew i of all people
could be controlled by
such a small monster
with such a big appetite
(Parasite)

It is naive to assume that any poet’s work is autobiographical in nature, but it’s hard not to do so in this case. Clever, carefully crafted lines wrought with honest emotion run rampart here. This collection is a front row view of deep seated feeling, containing the good and the bad—at alternating intersections of ones past, present, and future experiences with love, heartbreak, and healing. Therein lies the source of power in Phree’s poetry. His language is as vivid and his rhythm is precise. Is it love or pain that carries each stanza? You decide.

Phree’s opening poem, Essence of Sexy, sets the stage for what is sure to be an eclectic collection of relevant, fresh, and hip-hop-esque poetry, gracing each and every line with the eloquence of a man on a mission to clear his mind, and most importantly, his heart. There are no pretenses, his poetry makes no promises and his words are characterized by a perceived innate authenticity. The book ends on a reflective note with Good Guys Finish Last where he concedes:

good guys finish last
but we enjoy the journey
with that one woman that’s worthy.

RELATED CONTENT:

Shaun J. Phree
phree.words@gmail.com
phreewords.wordspress.com

Phreedom Books
info@phreedombooks.com
www.phreedombooks.com

“We are currently working on a few anthologies of erotica and are looking for fresh, interesting manuscripts with at least one lgbtqqi character. Please visit out interim website: www.phreedombooks.com for more information.”

Message To Gay Conservatives: Ann Coulter is no Judy Garland

Knowledge — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 23:15:15 +0000

I failed to criticize Ann Coulter last month when news surfaced that she had accepted an invitation to headline GOProud’s HomoCon 2010, the first annual gathering of so-called homosexual conservatives that took place at Pay-pal co-founder Peter Thiel’s estate in September. (I use the term “so-called” because it’s quite obvious that being homosexual is not exactly a “conservative” value, so take that as you will.)

GOProud is a Washington-based advocacy group for gay conservatives and their allies. Ann Coulter is a ultra-right wing, anti-gay marriage, conservative pundit who is best known for spewing racy humor-laced filth and despising anyone who isn’t rich, white, and most importantly, male. Inside that liberal-hating shell is a conniving genius of a woman who gives the word Republican brand new meaning.

What most people don’t realize is that Ann Coulter is paid; quite handsomely, to espouse viewpoints and opinions that are often harsh and extremely popular or unpopular depending on the crowd. When 90% of your income is derived from speaking engagements, you can typically say whatever and still be assured that someone is not only listening, but they’ll pay to hear you say it.

So why did GOProud ask Coulter to headline their first annual event? Their Chairman, Christopher R. Barr, explained, “the organizations focus is strictly on federal issues.” He further explained that they don’t take a position on state policy issues like same sex marriage by distancing his group from the Log Cabin Republicans who he believes pushes an agenda similar to the gay liberal left, which focuses primarily on social-political issues. GOProud claims to invest in a greater set of values that impact gay conservatives.

“I can promise you, Homocon 2010 will be a hell of a lot more fun than chaining yourself to the White House fence,” concluded Barron.

That still doesn’t explain why they choose Coulter to perform. Perhaps it’s because she is the conservative right’s stand up comic. Her humor is so acerbic that she can be difficult to stomach even when she’s being serious. She holds a law degree and is a best selling author seven times over. She makes Sarah Palin look like a Rhodes Scholar by comparison. We all know there is easy money to be reaped from fear mongering, just ask Sarah Palin. But among the hate mongering crowd, only few can make it all the way to the top and remain there as long as Ann Coulter. She will say almost anything for shock value.

The gay left has done their best to take all the fun out of politics, with their endless list of boycotts and protests. Homocon is going to be our annual effort to counter the ‘no fun police’ on the left… I can’t think of any conservative more fun to headline our inaugural party then the self-professed ‘right-wing Judy Garland’– Ann Coulter.

- Chairman Christopher R. Barro

Some highlights of Coulter’s speech that evening:

“Marriage is not a civil right. You’re not black.”

It was part of a larger argument on which she later elaborated on by telling the crowd that the 14th Amendment only applies to African-Americans and that it does not apply to women, LGBT people or other minorities.

“Blacks must be looking at the gays saying, Why can’t we be oppressed like that.”

Ann Coulter can make jokes saying Muslims would execute gays so they must be conservatives, and the gay elite can laugh heartily while claiming it’s all in good fun, when really it is a sad, but true state of affairs. They laugh because most of their straight conservative counterparts would much rather they be wealthy second class citizens than outright executed, and they know it. The trade off is objective.

This new gay “conservative” agenda appears to be a marketing attempt by the GOP to project gay leftists and progressives as intolerant, radical, vindictive meanie-pies who don’t really have gay people’s best interests at heart. They claim to be more tolerant of gays than the left is tolerant of conservatives. They’re playing a game of political psychological warfare, and right now they are winning.

The irony here is that gay liberals spend countless amounts of time and energy promoting the very idea of personal freedom, social and religious tolerance, and individualism. Why would gay conservatives make it seem as though anyone not conforming to their agenda must be intolerant and un-American?

They (conservatives) tolerate our existance, but refuse to lift a finger to help repeal unconstitutional laws directly linked to discrimination on the basis of sexuality and gender. My own sentiment is that if you are gay, you’re likely denied full equality on a number of measures (military, religion and marriage just to name a few) and you can still be legally discriminated against in the workplace in quite a few states, but as long as you’re tolerated you shouldn’t demand more. The push to the left exists because if society doesn’t support our deepest personal relationships then all of the freedom and money in the world won’t change the fact that we are not truly free, and the left recognizes this glaring hypocrisy. The left can’t afford to act like nothing is wrong.

Enter Ann Coulter; the Right’s lack of a conscience. And because she’s a woman with a large conservative following, she can get away with voicing racial and cultural prejudices masked as fears without being shut down. Oh, and because she’s funny. And so intelligent that she’s stupid or maybe she just doesn’t realize how extremely difficult it is for her fans to separate her message from the comedy routine it is, and those on the left wonder if it’s even fair to separate her message from hate speak altogether.

She is fun, really fun, to write about, that is. She gets under the skin of liberals by the mere mention of her name, and that’s why conservatives love Coulter. In the words of “Madea” from the Cleveland Brown Show, “She’s outrageous!”

Barron defended her, explaining, “Homocon 2010 was a complete and total success. GOProud set out to throw a great party, not hold a policy event, and that’s exactly what we did.”

Forget about the fact that Ann Coulter did nothing but discuss policy and draw some laughs. Overall, the underlying cause of anyone agreeing with her can be born of two things; religious extremism and/or pure misguided emotion. Political decisions aren’t being based on fact and reason, and hell, for logic to come into play you’ve got to have a pretty well rounded individual at the helm. That is almost asking too much.

Whatever the cause, it appears that most Americans make political decisions based on emotion and anecdote rather than reason and fact. Left, right or center, this indicates a profound misunderstanding of the world and a profound lack of political intelligence. Rejecting liberals hardly makes one a conservative and anyone who pretends to take her seriously (besides the media looking for ratings or gay conservative groups looking to make a name for themselves) is emotionally or morally damaged to the point where they do not desire integrity or class in their mission.

Anybody at HomoCon want their dignity money back?

Even mainstream conservatives believe that homosexuality is a sickness sin, one in which the only cure is hell. While attitudes are steadily changing, there is no way the current political environment will allow gay conservatives to fully integrate themselves into the ultra right wing crowd.

Evidence of this is the fact that Ann Coulter was immediately dropped as keynote speaker by a (current) employer, World Net Daily (WND), who said, “Ultimately, as a matter of principle, it would not make sense for us to have Ann speak to a conference about ‘taking America back’ when she clearly does not recognize that the ideals to be espoused there simply do not include the radical and very ‘unconservative’ agenda represented by GOProud,” WND editor and CEO Joseph Farah said. “The drift of the conservative movement to a brand of materialistic libertarianism is one of the main reasons we planned this conference from the beginning.”

They kept it real. Funny how conservative tolerance for other conservatives only really goes so far, and even then it’s on a one way street. Of all people, Ann Coulter, who is neither friend nor stranger to gays gets barred from speaking at an event for being too “gay-friendly.”

Now that’s funny.

Introducing Rebel & Rene

Knowledge — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 16:47:52 +0000

After a conversation with an ex about where our relationship went wrong, I realized that we had to be in two different relationships. How could her version be so different from mine? Well, when they say there are two sides to every story, people are telling you the truth.

I have partnered with the wonderful Alix B Golden of A Brown Girl to bring you two sides of the same love story. Even from the beginning there were sparks between Rebel & Rene…

Rebel:

“Oh, excuse me!” I said, as I tried to talk myself out of blushing. My cheeks weren’t listening.

Rene:

I felt my face get all hot and my head rushed a little while I considered, for a moment, how good my hands felt around her tiny waist, before quickly retracting them.

”Oh, excuse me!” she exclaimed, in a southern drawl that I just knew had to be exaggerated ‘cause whoa. I hadn’t heard an accent that heavy, deep, and sexy since I first watched True Blood.

Make sure you catch Rebel & Rene every Tuesday and Thursday on I Bleed Ink Magazine beginning July 27th!

Semenya Caster’s Back In Competition

Knowledge — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 22:47:15 +0000

Semenya Caster, 19, has been declared ‘fit to be female’ by the IAAF. Family and friends have always maintained her sex to be that of a female. However, at the insistence of the IAAF, and the international sports community, she was forced to undergo a series of invasive tests that attempted to determine her biological gender. Semenya was forced into an 11-month hiatus from athletics in order to ”prove” a female identity before being allowed to compete again.

Her muscular physique and vastly improved start times gave other female runners reason for concern. Namely, she came out of nowhere and handily kicked their asses up and down the track. Her persistence and desire has helped her to overcome international criticism and adversity as it relates to her athleticism and body image.

The IAAF cleared Semenya for immediate competition on July 6, 2010. Her first race resulted in a definitive win. Jenny Meadows, a fellow 800 sprinter and winner of the bronze medal, had this to say about Semenya:

“Before the final we were put in a holding pen kind of thing,” she recalls. “Nobody says much but it’s an opportunity to look at each other and smile. From the very start, though, Caster had her head down, not wanting to make eye contact. I tried to smile at her, but she just didn’t look up, and I understood why, because some of the Eastern European girls were staring at her and laughing, just being really rude. It wasn’t nice. And really, she did brilliantly after that to come out and perform how she did.” Behind her, Meadows secured bronze with a timely personal best of 1 minute 58.93 seconds, exceeding the expectations of an athlete who is happy to admit to being a late bloomer. ” source

Her physical presence is intimidating, and it’s probably the biggest issue she’ll face in her career from here on out. This episode has opened the door to discourse concerning ’gender’ to a broad international audience, but I can’t help but feel sorry that such a young athlete had to face this battle alone and in public. This young athlete, who is not only a high achiever, but more physically fit than the average male may still be thought of as a “woman” in a “mans” body.

She’s an incredible athlete and I will closely follow her career. She is exactly who she says she is and it is my hope that she perseveres through the storm and keeps coming out on top. I have a feeling she will accomplish and overcome even greater obstacles on her way to being a South African track and field star.