GELE...Good Heads

I was at a party the other day and I just could not stop staring at the women there. Not for obvious reasons, sure some of them were endowed, but that's not what was holding my attention. My eyes were fixed on their beautiful Gele. As an African man I have seen women wear head ties since I was a little childd and it never had an impact on me.

That night was different I found myself admiring the dazzling displays some of the women had on their heads. After seeing this an idea popped into my head; why not document it, write about it, and maybe even profit from it. Below is a very short excerpt from my manuscript. I don't think I can handle a full fledged book, so I am going to make it a coffee table book with vivid pictures, descriptions, and other blurbs. The tentative title is GELE (cliche yes...but thats why it's a working title).

The first human to wear a hat probably never thought much of it. As time went on, the purpose and need of head gear went from protection purposes to sartorial needs. Hats have advanced from the protective yet decorative Roman Legionnaire's helmet to backward baseball caps for gang identification. With this said the first woman that probably wore a Gele never knew what kind of movement she was starting.

The Gele is the quintessential head gear for Nigerian women specifically those of the Yoruba tribe of the southeast. The only other fashion accessory that can possibly compare to it is the African American womans' church hat. Perhaps there is an anthropological link between these two phenomenas that was lost in translation during slavery. The Gele is not only a fashion accessory it also serves as a mood indicator, a social id card; and if your’re unfortunate to be sitting behind one an obstruction.

From the size and shape of a Yoruba woman’s gele, a trained eye can identify her social standing and marital status. The Gele is like a peacocks feathers, it boldly identifies the wearer to whoever is around. The rise and popularity of Gele has not been isolated to the shores of Africa. Western designers and sartorialists have involved Gele into their work. Christian Lacroix Spring/summer 2008......

*Legal Disclaimer*

None of These Images belong to me.

Classic Style

Courtesy of the couturealist

I plan on looking like this in old age. Simply dressed yet stylish. Content with life, and confident I have left my mark.

Success

I just want to be successful, is now a cliche statement. It has been bastardized by the youth of America because of one Aubrey Graham (drake to those who aren't familiar). My definition of success does not match up entirely with Mr Grahams. He desires fine automobiles and well endowed harlots, I would like to be a business man who works to live rather than live to work. Don't get me wrong I am not against fast cars or phat asses, but I don't consider them fundamentally important to my success.

Success to me is about having the ability to make decisions in life without basing them on fiscal restraints. It's about being able to do the things you really want without having to worry about your account balance the next day. Some people need to make millions of dollars a year to do this, others a little less. I'm a simple man, some nice cooked food and some nice clean draws would suffice, along with a a nice family, a weekend home, and one or two of those automobiles Mr Graham speaks of.

Your Cartoons Suck

The other day I was watching cartoons with my little brother, and I had the sudden urge to take a trip down memory lane. This short trip lead me down a rabbit hole that put me in the land of cartoons past. I found my self in a land inhabited by kids at recess led by the greatest leader of all time T.J. Detweiler. There was a girl named PepperAnn talking to this kid named Doug, he had his best friend Sketter (pause) with him. Behind them was a kid with a football shaped head named arnold. In the corner were the adults Miss Finster and principal Prickley exchanging notes.

I also saw this ratty looking kid named Randall taking notes. After long deliberation I've come to the conclusion Randall was the first snitch we all encountered. Till today I know a couple of Randalls.

If you grew up with a tv in your home...all those names I just rattled off have significant meaning to you. Those names probably represent some of your first heroes and villians. These people helped us identify the difference between good and bad when we were children as much as our parents did. Our young incocent minds had very little to worry about and very little to process.

When I look at the cartoons, shows, and movies coming out it seems like the bad one's outnumber the good. Of course I am loooking at this as a grown man but I would like to think 90 percent of todays cartoons would not have made it onto one saturday morning. Maybe 75 percent of the tv shows would have made it unto SNICK when All That was All That. I guess all good things must come to an end.

The end of these shows not only signaled the end of an era it also signaled the end of our childhood.

Hiatus

Been Gone for some time...life called and I had to answer. Between winding down summer and getting my first apartment. I've not really had the time to blog like I should. I was writing but never had the time to put it up. My blackberry and ipod are filled, so I will be doing a lot of updating.

I have developed a habit of taking photos in sepia mode on my blackberry. It makes the most normal things look cooler in my opinion. Here is a look through the summer photo wise

Friends

The effort or kindness of another human being is an immeasurable commodity that's too volatile to pin hopes on. Some will say life is not really like this, but their being unreal with themselves. Every single friendship is essentially a set of exchanges, a social contract of some sort.

The quality of each friendship we have is determined by the evenness of these exchanges along with their frequency. Great friends have learned how to strike the perfect equilibrium, in bad friendships the scale is uneven. I dare you to exam every one of your friendships and see if this is not relevant. Man is not altruistic, when it comes down to it self preservation is the choice of the masses. There are those who transcend this, but they are few and far between.

Today I lost a friend because the scale of our friendship got broken beyond repair, the unevenness of the scale become unbearable. I'm not the type to hold grudges I wish the man well in all his present and future endeavors, but we just can not remain friends. There are some people you just can't be friends with.

Toronto The Good

Ontario College of Art & Design

For the past three months or so I have been obsessed with Toronto for some reason. I have spent a considerable amount of time learning and researching about this beautiful city to the north, before this year is over, I have made a personal promise to spend a weekend (shooting for August or September) in the city that produced Aubrey Graham. Graham is not the inspiration for my sudden interest in this beautiful city to the north, the stunning architecture is the focus of my fascination. Toronto earns it's nickname of the city that works, because it's architecture simply works.

The Royal Ontario Museum looks like something out of the Jetson's.

Nothing looks out of place in Toronto, from Frank Ghery's Deconstructiveism renovation of The Art Gallery of Ontario to the classic Chateau-style design of The Fairmont Royal York. In case you're not familiar with Mr. Ghery's work, he tried to collaborate with Jay-Z on the superfutureistic Nets Stadium, but apparently Mr. Carter and company could not afford his original design. It's tough balling on a budget, I feel you Jay we're reading from the same book, page, paragraph, and sentence. I had to include something "black", I am the Happy Black man after all.

Art Gallery of Ontario..check out the stair case and attached building...sick

Along with the great architecture also comes the cultural and social scene of a city that can easily be compared to that of New York City. New York has it quirky neighborhoods like Tribeca, The Meatpacking District, and SOHO, Toronto also has comparable areas such as The Distillery District, The Garden District, and Harbourfront. When I venture north I plan to take in all these wonderful sights and hopefully enjoy the hospitality that Canadian women are apparently known for.

Royal Distillery District..Old warehouse district turned hipster paradise.