Helpful Hints from Auntie Joan

Women,

do you have a hard time

getting men to

LISTEN?!

Well,

Auntie Joan

has a helpful

suggestion!

Food Chess, Not Unlike Chess Boxing

I love to eat. I realize this more as a delivery driver for a food distributor. I get to see what goes on in the kitchens of many different restaurants and get to understand the workings of grocery stores.

One restaurant I delivered to in Springfield, Oregon, Giant Burger, is a long standing burger joint established in 1947. They will be featured on September 22 on a food show on Food Network called "Meat and Potatoes." A few weeks ago, I didn't get a chance to make myself a lunch and when I delivered there rather late in the day, I purchased a burger, fries, and a shake from said restaurant. Honestly, THE BEST BURGER I EVER ATE.

I used to watch a lot of Food Network some years ago, and since Shusli and I don't watch a lot of TV nor do we have cable, we only see what is going on on said Food Network when visiting family who do watch television. Thus, recently, I watched some of the Food Network and it was a little overwhelming to me. Lots of glitz and fast paced movement seemed a little too much. But then again, television anymore is a little too much for me.

Shusli and I recently watched the movie, "Julie and Julia." We didn't watch it in the theaters because we thought it would be boring. However, it was a damned good film. I really liked Meryll Streep as Julia Childs. She did a great job!

The film was based on the book "Julie and Julia," by Julie Powell. The premise is about a blog this young woman made in making all 560+ recipes in one year from the long standing cookbook by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck, titled "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." I was amazed at the determination made by Julie Powell to do this, because...

Two years ago I bought a book about chess, "The Complete Idiots Guide to Chess (third edition)," by Patrick Wolffe. This is one of the best chess books that I've read, not that I read that many. In junior high I used to be a fairly decent natural at chess. Nowadays, not so much. Three times, yes, count them, THREE times I managed to get just past page 150 and never finished. (Not to mention the fact that I bought a computer chess game that I don't play and a hand held computer chess game that I played a little of.)

Being inspired by Julie Powell, I am making efforts now to finish the book. I am past page 100 currently and am getting more from it than I did the first three times in reading it...attempting to read it. I have not set up a time frame, nor created a blog about it, but I am determined to finish the book before I read any other. (Books on CD don't count as I listen to them while driving down the road.)

Out of curiosity, I just looked up Native American chess grandmasters on google, and I don't see any reference to Indians, Native Americans (whatever?), who are grandmasters in the game of chess. Mind you, I am not thinking I will attempt to become one, I just love the game.

I even attempted to look up Native American chess players to no avail. This game doesn't seem to be (at least in reference to internet searches) a game too interesting to Indians.

So, are there any Indians out there who like to play chess? Does anyone know of any Indians who like to play chess other than me?

There are boxers who play chess. There are even boxing matches where in between rounds the fighters fight it out on the chess board. It is called Chess Boxing. Will the interelatedness of things ever cease! I certainly hope not.

FOOD FIGHT!

A COOKIE CHESS BOARD!

DAMNED STRAIGHT! I'LL FIGHT YOU OVER THAT!

CHECK MATE @#$%&* *&%$#@!

September 11, a Day that will Live in Infamy

On September 11, 1649, mass murdering scum sucking POS, Oliver Cromwell, and his gang of genocidal thugs attacked and slaughtered every living resident within the town of Drogheda, Ireland. May the rotten bastard rot in the afterlife for this cruel slaughter. May the slaughters come to an end, such as the slaughter by the U.S. in Afghanistan, America, Iraq, and worldwide. May this day bring Love and Peace. May communication be clear and disagreements solved with compassion and understanding that we are not required to agree. Bless all living, all those who have gone before us, and all those to come.

How Do You Say "DAMNED GOOD" in Gaelic?

Celtic Foods is a new food cart in downtown Portland, Oregon off of SW 3rd and Stark. You'll find it ran by Mike and Donovan.

I know what you're thinking...WHERE'S THE HAGGIS? If you ask nicely and open your wallet, you may be able to get Mike and Donovan to make you a haggis, but it won't happen on the spot.

What you'll get on the spot is some damned good Celtic food.

"I make my Limerick sausage using the old traditional recipe," Mike told me. He also informed me that he cures his own bacon.

I got the Jacobite, which was on special for the day. It was a patty of limerick sausage, bacon, and an egg on a bun with some sauce. You could "Charles Edward Stuart" (Bonnie Prince Charlie) the fare and make it twice as big for at the time, $6. However I overheard Mike tell Donovan that he will be raising the "Charles..." size to $7.

I also had sausage rolls. Limerick sausage rolled in I believe to be filo dough. DAMNED GOOD!

The food is great and and so are the prices. Celtic foods is opened for breakfast as well.

Celtic Foods hours are from 7am-3pm (sometimes an houror two later) Monday-Thursday and 7am-midnight on Fridays. I've heard tell that they may be doing some weekend business, but not at that particular location.

So get on down to downtown Portland and have some damned good Celtic Food.

Ask Donovan about the weiner dog races.

Artsy

Interconnected

[A house for sale that won't sell in Holcomb, Kansas]

About four months ago, Shusli and I were driving by the Baghdad Theater on Hawthorne Boulevard in Portland, Oregon. They were playing "To Kill a Mockingbird." Shusli asked if I had ever seen the movie. When I told her no, her jaw dropped. She asked if I knew what it was about. I informed her that I had no idea. "You have to see that movie. It's about racism."

About two months ago, Shusli informed me that we are eligible for a certain type of loan to purchase a house. This is exciting news, considering we never believed we'd be able to buy our own house. We've gone to classes at the Native American Youth and Family Center about how purchase a home where we were informed on the first day of the two day class that Indians, Native Americans, were not allowed to purchase a home in the Portland, Oregon area prior to 1974. Wasn't the Civil Rights Act signed in 1964? I don't remember.

It is a buyers market out there, and Shusli and I are taking steps to buying our own home, with our own garden, where our landlord won't show up without notice and spray some chemical in the yard that he won't inform me of what it is. Indians could not purchase a house in Portland, Oregon prior to 1974. My mom and dad bought a house in Aloha, Oregon (west of Beaverton) in 1971. Our people, however, were no longer federally recognized at the time. We were legally non-existent from around 1956 (termination) until 1978 (re-recognition). If the statute effected that Aloha area as well, maybe my parents were able to purchase a house because my dad wasn't legally an Indian? I don't know.

I got a hair up my backside and checked out the audio book of "To Kill a Mockingbird," by Harper Lee, as well as the movie with Gregory Peck playing Atticus. Check this out, the 50 year old novel is still on hold by numerous folk at the Multnomah County Library. When I finally received the audio book about a month ago, I listened to it as I headed back and forth to Eugene for my work. The book was read so wonderfully, gloriously, by Sissy Spacek. Jean Louise Finch is the main character's name. She and her brother live in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama where their father, Atticus, is a lawyer. They are poor, and it is in the 1930's during the depression. Jean Louise (Scout), and her brother, Jeremy (Jem), make a new friend during the summers named Dill. They are intelligent and active children. Their father, Atticus, is appointed to defend a black man accused of rape. Of course, the racism that goes on throughout is raw and terrible and well described. The oppression of blacks in the South was horrific. The injustice a normal part of life. (Some things really haven't changed.) Although Atticus proves the man innocent, he is still found guilty by a jury.

I looked up Harper Lee on the internet and found out her novel, still popular 50 years later, was the only novel she ever wrote. She received a presidential award from co-King George a few years back for "To Kill a Mockingbird." I read that she was best friends with none other than Truman Capote. In fact, Harper Lee stated that she designed the Dill character after her best friend Truman. She even helped Truman in his research for his best known novel, "In Cold Blood," about the true multiple murder of the Clutter family in 1959.

"In Cold Blood" takes place in Holcomb, Kansas, where people are so friendly, or at least were prior to the murders, that they make one and all welcome. They even leave all their doors unlocked. On the morning of November 15, 1959, friends went to pick-up Nancy Clutter to discover her murdered in her bed. Her, her brother, and her parents were all tied up in various rooms of the house and shotgunned in the head. The father, Herb, had his throat cut as well.

With relatively few clues, a witness comes forward to tell the investigators who he believed did it and why, then the hunt is on. Eventually captured and confessing, Richard Eugene Hickock and Perry Smith were hanged in 1965 for these murders. They got to hang out with a few other mass murderers on Death Row such as Lowell Andrews who murdered three family members in order to have some sort of financial gain. Lowell, it was written about a few years previous, was the nicest kid in Kansas. Latham and York were a couple of their Death Row mates as well. Latham and York, a couple of youth from the military, went on a killing spree across the Southern states killing 7 people before they were caught. Interesting novel, "In Cold Blood."

Last night, I watched the movie "In Cold Blood." Robert Blake plays the Cherokee Indian, Perry Smith, the trigger man. Robert Blake, who was in "The Little Rascals," the movie "Electra Glide in Blue," and the TV series, "Baretta" (orignally "Toma"), and was arrested and in 2002 for an alleged connection to the murder of his former wife and acquitted in 2005. Weird.

So I looked up the house, as well as other things, about the Clutter murders. I found the house had recently been for sale, but no one would purchase it, so it sits empty. Empty, it is said, except for the possibility of Nancy Clutter's ghost. The house sits empty.

I talked with Shusli last night about the housing market. New housing sales and existing home sales are down greatly in the U.S. Shusli said she heard that one analyst said it will last at least six months like this. During our classes earlier this month, we were told that there will be a second big round of foreclosures in the U.S. from about October/November and lasting about a year because many of the same type of ruthless loans that caused the first foreclosure crisis will be coming due.

And there is a nice house in Holcomb, Kansas, that no one wants to buy, even though folk can afford it, even though it has historical significance.

And thus, a little trip down Hawthorne four or so months ago, has made connections between movies, authors, racism in the South and in Portland, Oregon, us purchasing a house, and recent history.

I smoked a cigarette on our tiny porch yesterday and noticed a spider with an intricate barely visible thread suspended seemingly in mid air, waiting for an insect to feast upon. I looked around the neighborhood, and noticed many webs occasionally shining in the morning light all over, connecting everything.

Cracker

[Were it not for Shusli making me aware of the Russell talking about matriarchy and alleged Dr., Dr. Laura talking about n***ers, I would have not been aware of these things. Thank you Shusli!]

When I hear the likes of Russell Means or any other male wielding their penis of privilege talk about matriarchy, I don't put a whole lot, if any, weight into their arguments because they don't invite the voices of women to join in. Women are commonly oppressed by the male populace ALL OVER THE WORLD! Thus, when I hear men talking about matriarchy, I don't think they have any idea what they are talking about unless they balance it with the voices of WOMEN! If I want to hear about matriarchy, I'll ask my wife, Shusli. Shusli, do you wish to say anything about matriarchy?

In discussions of racism, hearing folk like Dr. Laura, a WHITE woman, profess her expertise on the subject, I'd have to say she is full of shit. Why? Because she didn't talk with, discuss with, allow the voices of people of color to express their experiences, cultural and/or personal, in the discussion of racism. Dr. Laura used the n-word 11 times on a recent show.

Listening to this program, I wasn't as disturbed as much by Dr. Laura using the n-word as much as her BLATANT display of her institutional racism. A woman of color phoned in to discuss how she hates getting racist comments by a friend of her white husband. "Black people like doing this. Black people like doing that," are the types of comments her husbands friend made. Laura stated that the woman was "hyper sensitive." Laura said she didn't think that its racist for the friend to constantly make comments about race in her presence. Laura, to the best of my knowledge, is what a former mother-in-law of mine (also white) called "cracker white."

Laura also made these comments to the caller. "Don't N double A CP me." "If you are that hyper sensitive about color, and don't have a sense of humor, don't marry out of your race." Don't NAACP me? Is she stating that the NAACP is hyper-sensitive to race? Don't marry out of your race if you don't want to be forced to deal with institutional racism! Shit! Shusli and I have to deal with the institutionally racist EVERY DAY, and we're both Indians! Hyper-sensitive? Tell me, Cracker white types, all about the crushing oppression you have felt throughout history because of the color of your skin.

Black folks have been lynched because they are Black. Blacks were enslaved because they are Black. Blacks don't get jobs and housing or loans at times EVEN TODAY because they are Black. Their opinions on race are dismissed by many such white folk as alleged Dr., Dr. Laura, because they are Black. When it comes to race, white folk simply do not want to talk to people of color about it. That would make them feel uncomfortable. Make them feel guilty. Chip away at their sense of superiority and privilege. Well, at least a cop ain't gonna shoot you in the back, LET ALONE arrest you for riding the subway while white, leaving a bar while white, driving while white.

But, I guarantee you that white folk will get up in arms about my use of the word Cracker. They will call me racist. They will start screaming, "WHAT ABOUT ME?! WHAT ABOUT ME?!" I'll ask, where were you during the Jena Six issue? Where were you during Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath? Where were you during the NUMEROUS racist cop shootings of Black folk? Have you ever heard that old saying, "The silence was deafening"?

Louis CK, a white man, says in his comedy routine, and I paraphrase, you can't call me a name about my race and make me feel bad. He called me a cracker. Wow! That really ruined my day.

Alleged Dr., Dr. Laura said she told her good Black friend and body guard when choosing basketball teams for a game that "white men can't jump, I want you on my team." I have recently seen the movie, "To Kill a Mockingbird." There is a scene in there when a white man tells a Black man to get Atticus, the lawyer, from the house of a Black family. "Boy, go tell that lawyer I want to see him." The adult Black male obliges and goes inside without complaint. Having faced similar shit as far as racism, I'd have to say that it is possible that Laura's Black friend and bodyguard depends upon her for his living. He could probably get a job elsewhere, but would still have to face such racism if he continues protecting white folk. Thus it is possible that he doesn't call her on her racism because he doesn't want to make waves that may cost him his job and possibly her friendship, if he considers her a real friend. Let me give you an example of what I am talking about.

About 3 years ago, I had to ride along with a white guy at my work because he lost his airport badge and I had one. First thing that racist POS says to me, and I kid you not, "Like I always say, give a nigger a fur coat and he thinks he's King Kong." This came out of nowhere and for not particular reason as it was the first words he shared with me on our journey together. My first thought, which I never spoke was, "I left my hatchet in my car. I must kill this man, but I left my hatchet in my car." Thinking it is one thing, doing it another altogether. (I spent our three days together telling him current racist events as well as explaining women's rights as he turned out to be misogynist as well, and what I know of the oppression of women as I couldn't actually hack the man to death with a hatchet and not worry about losing my job). Having experienced such racism in the past and when bringing it to the attention of others being told to put up with it as it puts my job on the line, I kept my mouth shut, did not tell my bosses, etc. Why? Because white folk don't like talking about racism and will get rid of that which brings it to their attention. Example: Laura cutting off the woman of color to express her personal superiority toward the woman in her knowledge of the field of racism. Me bringing racist issues to the table at my job can get me in more trouble than the Cracker's making racist comments. Thus, I truly wonder what Laura's body guard really feels about those racist comments made by that cracker boss of his. Maybe alleged Dr., Dr. Laura, should read "The Help."

As far as Black comedians, etc., using the n-word, I'm fine with it. It is like reclaiming the power that word has had on them for so long. That word that proclaimed them as lesser beings. That word that was a tool to continue their oppression, like the whip. To me, Black folk that use the word are reclaiming its power for their own use. I also understand how many Black folk who do not use the word feel that it is a continued oppression of their people even when it is used by their fellow Black folk. Dr. Laura has no right to use the word as she has absolutely NO understanding of the historical oppression nor the current conditions of oppression suffered by Black folk at the hands of her fellow white folk and their supporters.

That said, I have recently listened to the book, "To Kill a Mockingbird," by Harper Lee. The book is told from the point of view of Scout, a little girl, in 1930's Alabama. Her father, Atticus, is a lawyer defending a Black man charged with raping a white woman. Although the evidence overwhelmingly proclaims his innocence, he is found guilty. Sissy Spacek read the book and did a fantastic job. (Dill, one of the child characters in the book, Harper designed after Truman Capote, her childhood next door neighbor and life long friend.)

The racism and oppression Black folk have had to put up with is terrifying, and something white folk do not want to face up to, let alone face up to the oppression currently enacted by their race and their supporters against Black folk. "WHAT ABOUT ME?! WHAT ABOUT ME?!"

Call me crazy (but don't call me "chief"), but if I'm gonna talk about racism against Blacks, I'm gonna discuss it with Black folk. I'm gonna discuss it with non-Blacks who have an understanding and possibly witnessed racism against Black folk and have been activists on behalf of Blacks and are supported by Black communities. I'm gonna discuss it with non-Blacks who are ignorant, but most of them seem to think their ignorance gives them a knowledge more vast than that of the races whom experience racism.

Same with matriarchy. I'm gonna discuss matriarchy with women. Male experts don't mean shit to me unless they share with me the voices of women and invite the voices of women into the conversation as well. I am no expert on matriarchy because I AM A MAN! I am capable of having an understanding and being supportive, but if I claim to be an expert on the subject, I am full of shit!

Dr. Laura, alleged Dr., is resigning from her show. This is her last year of offering crappy advice to the masses who believe that she is something she claims to be. She may be out a few bucks, but I'm sure she will continue to have a career in spouting her BS to folk somewhere in some other medium. People seem to have a tendency to believe that a-holes like her have something real to offer. Why? I don't know. But who am I to tell folk not to believe in such BS artists like her and so damned many others, most of whom are MEN!