Charlotte Looming

Photo: http://imgur.com/rJvHHtl

I couldn’t feel more than incensed when an article from the website CharlotteFive came across my twitter feed. For those unaware, the Southend area is quickly developing, with Luxury apartments sprouting up in every corner. As this gentrification continues, the last holdover of this are, The Brookhill Village apartments, remain threatened by its spread. According to Elly Portillo of CharlotteFive, “Apartment developer Faison was rumored to be looking at the site last year as a redevelopment possibility.”

Under my anger, I couldn’t help but feel as if history was repeating itself. It didn’t take too much research to learn that I was right. 

In the 1950s, the area now called the second ward was home to Charlotte’s black population. The neighborhood of Brooklyn covered. In the 1960s, all residents were relocated to what is now . their homes razed to make way for new developments. The only structures that remain from that era are two structures on Brevard street: Grace AME Zion Church, and the Mecklenburg Investment Company Building.

If the residents of are forced to relocate, will the be compensated like their forbears? Will the new developers leave anything behind for history’s sake?

Check out the original CharlotteFive article:
http://www.charlottefive.com/as-the-south-end-boom-has-spread-this-neighborhood-has-been-left-behind/

For more on the historical Brooklyn Neighborhood:

http://www.charlottemagazine.com/Charlotte-Magazine/September-2014/Memories-of-Brooklyn/

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/living/food-drink/article25961419.html

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=210970

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/hanneorla/sets/1630865/

The Introvert Advocate: When Advocacy Fights Denial in the Schoolyard

As an unapologetic introvert, I must speak up for the personality type. Thankfully, The Introvert Advocate provided an opportunity:

Before I begin, I must disclaim: I’m not a teacher, and I’ve never taken part in the education system. My experience comes from being a student myself once and what developments I’ve witnessed take place in middle and high schools since that time. Taking cues from Quiet author Susan Cain  and TIA editor Charita Cadenhead’s article on introverted teachers, I agree that extroverted educators today are more informed about introversion among their students than teachers in the past, still have a lot to learn regarding introversion as something to be “fixed”. As likely as it would seem though, extroverts are not the biggest threat to an introverted child’s academic development nowadays. Now that would be the last person one would expect.

The Hidden Threat Among The Well-Meaning

There are three challenges introverted students must contend with: extroverted teachers limited by their experience and perspective. The second involves the older teacher who cares for the children yet is reluctantly catching up with the latest developments in learning. They mean well in guiding student’s academic achievement, even if they have human limitations, but neither is as harmful as the third challenge: an introverted educator in denial. Unfortunately despite a growing population of introversion advocates, an equal number exists among introverts who’ve tragically succumbed to the old social attitudes regarding introversion and stubbornly stand by it...


Continue reading this article at:
http://theintrovertadvocate.com/introversion-denial-in-the-school-yard/

Acquanetta: a name only American Culture can Create.

Acquanetta, also known as "Aquanetta" or "Acquenetta": it's not too common of a name but it had become common enough among Black Americans to gain signifigance. It's the name of a California town mayor. The name has also made its way to pre-internet television, appearing in dialogue on Martin, A Different World (at 3:12-3:19), and In Living Color. 

A Different World with Sinbad. One of these girls plays "Aquanetta." I forget which.

 

It's my mother's name.

Other Americans thought it was French or Spanish, but Black Americans saw it differently-- a "ghetto" name, a name with no origin, so to speak. However, "Acquenetta" is a unique "ghetto name". In many cultures, a name stands for a social position or a circumstance under which one was born. In contrast, "Ghetto names", while having the best intentions, have no source. They are “empty” names, yet "Acquanetta" stands apart, because the name suggests a origin that has not been explored. 

Was it adapted from mothers who used too much Aqua Net, perhaps? Believe it or not, the name existed 40 years before the hairspray's creation, not to mention many women bearing the name reached their 20s and 30s by that same time. So where did the name come from? I was dumbfounded until about 15 years ago, when I learned of this B-movie Actress:

Burnu Acquanetta (or Acquanetta Ross) was a former model and b-movie actress whose official studio career Universal Studios lasted from 1949 until she ended her contract in 1951. She played the usual “Jungle princess” roles often reserved for non-white actresses at the time, including the leading lady to the eponymous character in “Tarzan and the Leopard woman. Later she married once (or twice, the records are still not clear) and moved to Mexico and birthed a son who only lived to age four. Upon her return to the US, she retired in Phoenix, Arizona, where she eventually succumbed to Alzheimers in 2004. A B-movie Icon, her legacy continues in the namesake Alt-Punk Band “The Acquanettas” as well as her role in the Cesar Romero film Lost Continent, which found new life on Mystery Science Theater 3000.

This link explains Crow's obscure reference. I love the Bots.

According to Acquanetta's stage bio(s) she was either born in Cheyenne, Wyoming to an Arapaho mother and a father who was a)British Aristocracy B) French-Cherokee-british or C) or she was the “beautiful Negro screen actress Mildred Davenport” who was adopted by a black couple in Norristown, PA. By the time of her death, she maintained her Arapaho identity. Was she really an Arapaho or trying to pass for the sake of her career? Read these links for the rest of that story:

http://vintageblackglamour.tumblr.com/post/3707146792/b-movie-star-acquanetta-although-she-was-promoted
http://burnu-acquanetta.memory-of.com/Tributes.aspx

Her heritage remains unconfirmed in records, to say the least, but it’s not hard to understand why she zig-zagged on the matter in one-drop Jim Crow Hollywood. In a time when society determined your racial identity for you, it didn't matter how much Venezuelan, Arapaho or British blood you had, your African blood would legally override it. If an actor with partial black ancestry were to escape the limitations forced onto Black actors at the time, hiding that side of their bloodline would be an unfortunate but strategic option if they could get away with it. Nonetheless, this ambiguity didn't stop African american communities from embracing the actress as their own.

Where did Acquanetta get “Acquanetta”?

It doesn't take too much research to know “Acquanetta” is an obvious stage name. Basic linguistics knowledge can tell you "BURNu" and "AcQUAnetta" suggests more latin origins than Arapaho. Based on this Northern Arapaho dictionary, her name, in my best guess, would translate to Koohooxee teebi' ("The fire burns, the water is deep" ). Of course, that was a phonetic translation, but then, "Acquanetta" does look better on a movie poster.

How do I know that the B-movie actress serves as the source for this name? Elementary research, pure and simple.

When your first step in research goes right...

I'm not going to pretend that I conducted a statistical analyisis for this blog entry, but simple logic revealed that a lot of the women registered on public listings online had birth dates corresponding to the time period Aquanetta's career was at its peak (including the previously mentioned Fontana, California Mayor Aquanetta Warren).  Although these women were born in the 1950s, attention spans were slower than they are in today's overly saturated society, Films produced in the 1940s would've remained in the public consciousness for a good two to three years after their release. 

It's pretty obvious that she became an option for Black American parents seeking an alternative name for their baby girls. One particular Aquanetta, writer Acquanetta Gordon, Born in 1963, confirms Ms. Burnu as her namesake in her autobiography Echoes of an Angel (on page 3). The namesakes who were too young to correlate (represented by the young girls in the A Different World and In Living Color clips) may have been the result of their mothers receiving the name from a first or second generation namesake. The white woman in the episode of Martin was obviously a joke on ethnic group-associated names.

A generation of namesakes: how's that for a legacy?

So there you go, every woman and girl named Aquanetta/Acquanetta/Acquenetta: Your name has a history. It’s a new, weird, American pulp history worthy of an Ed Wood or John Waters tale, but a history you can tell your children. And if anyone criticizes a stage name namesake, just ask them if they have any friends named Madison, Wendy or (God forbid) Denaerys.

(c) 2015 The Gorgon Transplant/ Karla Holland

Hapshetsut would be proud...maybe.

An Egyptian woman, Sisa Abu Daooh, recieved the highest award for motherhood for spending 30 years dressed as a man in order to provide for her family. Why did she do this? Her husband passed in the 1970s, leaving her a young widow with an unborn child to feed. With very few employment opportunities for women at the time (and no one willing to marry a pregnant widow), Sisa and her daughter faced starvation, so she did what she had to earn more.

Sadly, many parts of the world still fail in regard to women's rights so much that Sisa's story is actually common, even normal for some places. So far (as I'm aware), the crossdressing scenario has been depicted as both fiction and documented reality for US media.

One fictional scenario can be found in the 2003 film Osama. In the story, a young Afghan girl in the midst of taliban-controlled Kabul is forced to disguise herself as a boy (and redubbed "Osama") in order to work and provide food for herself, her widowed mother and grandmother. I won't spoil whether she succeeded or not.

Later I found a real life example in Albania, home to the (now dying out) tradition of the Burnessha, or "Sworn virgins". These women changed their legal status to "male" to serve as provider if they lacked a biological male in the family to do so. Because this choice is irreversable, the sworn virgins spend the rest of their lives living and socializing as men. Of course, social reform in the country in the past 50 years has allowed more opportunities for women, now rendering this practice obsolete.

While women in the US do not have to go as far as cross dressing to provide sustenance, but often in corporate or high stress settings, many women find themselves forced to become men on a more psychological level in order to succeed, such as suppressing their emotions, behaving more competitively and hiding all signs that can be interpreted as weakness.

Women in the US or other developed nations will never know what Sisa and the Burbeshha went through. I won't compare uncomparable circumastances but I do want to make one thing clear: Women should NOT have to become men to be recognized as human.

The Introvert Advocate: Is It Just Me? Identifying the Boundaries of Introversion

As an unapologetic introvert, I must speak up for the personality type. Thankfully, The Introvert Advocate provided an opportunity:

When I discovered that there was a word for my personality type, i.e. “Introversion”, I felt a weight lifted off of my shoulders. I no longer felt alone. Not once did I consider it a disorder, because it’s a personality type. Naturally, I started backtracking to every relationship I had in the past to look again with new eyes. A few memories made sense, some did not. As I continued my education, I began to put a few more pieces together. Life in general helped fill in the rest. To get to this this point I asked the critical question: Was it me? Well, I was surprised how little my introversion played back then, and what that has taught me.

Social Media and The Generation Gap

Social media is effecting social interaction and redefining the social skills of the generation growing up with the technology. To add to the mix, some baby boomers and many of their elders are still coping with the digital world’s impact on social interaction. Introverts have probably had one of their rants thrown in their direction, God knows I have. “She’s too quiet” ,“She needs to talk more” “You need to go out like other gals.” Don’t take it personally. Like homosexuality, cancer, and being an only child, it’s one of those statuses that has since lost their negative diagnosis and to which these generations must adjust their mindset. The may never understand how much social media has helped introverts’ social lives.

Culture

While we’re on the subject of social changes, I must point out on factor that has an impact on social skills regardless of technology – Culture. The way people express one another socially will vary among cultures and in a nation of immigrants, cultural clash will occur.  For example, Russians will not smile at strangers, which they find “insincere”, preserving such gestures for close friends. Japan’s entire social structure is shaped around introversion.  In contrast, United States is still an extroverted culture, so naturally, Japan is often portrayed in US media as “emotionless” negatively or “shy” positively. In return, their portrayals of Americans are boisterous loudmouths. Dont fret though (hehe, like my slang?), being an introvert can prove a pretty positive learning experience for both sides. For instance, while abroad in the Whitby, UK, I was mistaken for Canadian by a local couple because their perception of an American was more like a loud pushy Texan...



Continue reading this article at:
http://theintrovertadvocate.com/identifying-the-boundaries-of-introversion/

Is It Just Me? Identifying the Boundaries of Introversion

As an unapologetic introvert, I had to speak up for this misunderstood personality type. The Introvert Advocate gave me that opportunity:

When I discovered that there was a word for my personality type, i.e. “Introversion”, I felt a weight lifted off of my shoulders. I no longer felt alone. Not once did I consider it a disorder, because it’s a personality type. Naturally, I started backtracking to every relationship I had in the past to look again with new eyes. A few memories made sense, some did not. As I continued my education, I began to put a few more pieces together. Life in general helped fill in the rest. To get to this this point I asked the critical question: Was it me? Well, I was surprised how little my introversion played back then, and what that has taught me.

Social Media and The Generation Gap

Social media is effecting social interaction and redefining the social skills of the generation growing up with the technology. To add to the mix, some baby boomers and many of their elders are still coping with the digital world’s impact on social interaction. Introverts have probably had one of their rants thrown in their direction, God knows I have. “She’s too quiet” ,“She needs to talk more” “You need to go out like other gals.” Don’t take it personally. Like homosexuality, cancer, and being an only child, it’s one of those statuses that has since lost their negative diagnosis and to which these generations must adjust their mindset. The may never understand how much social media has helped introverts’ social lives......

Read the rest of this article at:
http://theintrovertadvocate.com/identifying-the-boundaries-of-introversion/

North Carolina Welcomes the Conjoined

Just finished watching the documentary Bound by Flesh on Netflix, when it occurred to me that North Carolina serves as the final resting place not to just one but TWO sets of famous conjoined twins.

Chang and Eng Bunker

The first set are the original "Siamese twins", Thai - born Chang and Eng Bunker, who originated  the now-archaic term for conjoined twins and have death masks on display at the mutter museum. After a lifetime of traveling on the sideshow circuit, the Bunker twins eventually settled in Mt. Airy, NC, where most of their descendants reside to this day. Chang and Eng's shared plot can be found at the White Plains Baptist Church Cemetery in Mt. Airy.

Daisy and Violet Hilton

The second set of twins are the Hilton Sisters: Daisy and Violet. Film buffs may recognize them from Tod Browning's 1932 Horror Freaks. They also serve as the basis for Sarah Paulson's characters Bet and Dot Tattler in American Horror Story: Freak Show (although the characters' upper-torso conjoining more closely resembles that of the sisters Abigail and Brittany Hensel than the Hiltons, but I digress).

Born in Bristol, UK,the Hilton sisters followed the Bunkers' path on the vaudeville and sideshow circuit before finding their way to Charlotte, NC where they settled in their final years. The Hilton sisters's final resting place can be found in the Forest Lawn West Cemetery in Charlotte, NC.


Feel free to learn more about the Bunkers and the Hiltons in the links below, as well as Hensels for a modern day lifestyle comparison.

Chang and Eng Bunker
http://chnm.gmu.edu/lostmuseum/chang/

Daisy and Violet Hilton
http://thehairpin.com/2014/06/bonded-and-bound-by-flesh-the-story-of-daisy-and-violet-hilton

Brittany and Abby Hensel
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22181528

The Pleasant.....Resurrection?

After 14 years of underground marketing, I came across what has to be The Pleasant Company's first television advertisement....ever.

Seriously.

Other than the movie promos and news stories featuring the stores, there have never been any advertisement directly promoting the dolls.

The doll featured was Samantha, the girl from 1904 and one of their three original American Girl dolls. From what I could determine from the brief TV spot, the doll still comes with her (now updated) book, and her secondary outfits. After searching for the spot on You Tube, I found three other adverts for their more build-a-bear type dolls. Samantha's ad follows the same formula as the former three with the only deviation of briefly mentioning her time period.  This may be an attempt to resurrect the retired line through re-absorption into the current one. Whether it's a success is for another update.

Dogs gone Wild.......ly redundant

Feral Dogs in Romania

I was having a discussion with someone about the packs of feral dogs in Detroit when the conversation took a turn that annoyed me severely. What could they have said to annoy me so much to write a blog article? It's not that they said the dogs pose a potential threat to communities. Of course they do, especially if they have aggressive tendencies. It’s when they indicated that the concept of a feral dog was unnatural. Have we’ve forgotten what animal the dog has evolved from?

Don’t get me wrong, I had a dog for 17 years, but I also have no delusions about the canine nature. They’re animals, not human infants, as too many old rich ladies seem to believe. The behaviors we associate with dogs, like dependency and loyalty, are the result of being raised by man.

The reality is that average people have convinced themselves that dogs have diverged further from their lupine ancestors than reality would present.  We've forgotten that behaviors we associate with dogs, like dependency and loyalty, are the result of being raised by man.

The dog many vary in shape, size and hair type, but if they return to living independently from humans, their ancient pack instincts always kick in. How else can you explain a roving pack of chihuahuas in Arizona? Yes, it sounds hilarious, but remember that chihuahuas ARE DOGS, and their size is not a factor to them when they revert to pack survival mode.

They don’t see humans as “mommy, daddy and siblings” but rather "pack leader” and "pack mates". It never left them. Dogs who were never raised in a human home have only their instincts to rely on.  Because they are no longer in forests, they must adjust in a more human-populated environment.  Humans are no longer a pack member but competition in nature…... or prey.

We fear this feral nature, because we cant walk up to it and pet it. We can’t talk "baby talk" to it. We can’t sooth our guilt by giving it a bowl of kibble. We fear feral dogs because like our prehistoric ancestors, we no longer have full control of them.


I’m not excusing or defending the attacks on people by feral dogs, especially in Detroit. Humans created the mess, humans must clean it up. Outside of behavior problems caused by inbreeding, abuse and neglect, people need to see that there is nothing abnormal about the formation of dog packs in and of itself. It’s not a good safety scenario for humans but at least dogs who’ve only known the streets can finally have a fair chance in the fight against humans who really do mean them harm.



     style="display:inline-block;width:336px;height:280px"
     data-ad-client="ca-pub-4795645028980949"
     data-ad-slot="6550057805">

Renovations under way (again)....

Blogging is a progress for each individual. In my case it's been developing with my own life goals. As I grow and change, so does my blog. You may have noticed a subtle name change. I still go by the name "Gorgon Transplant", but only on my new Wordpress blog, now covering topics strictly related to illustration, cartooning and that professional field. This Blogger account will now take the name that used to go to my (now deleted) cartooning blog--Mi, Misma y Me.

Nothing else has changed but the name. You'll continue seeing more of the same topics that you follow me for. Hope no one's confused.

If interested, visit the NEW Gorgon transplant here:
http://thegorgontransplant.wordpress.com

Marissa Alexander: Immovable Object Meets Unstoppable Force

Our story has a villain.

While the American justice system allows trigger happy white men to give in to their paranoia,  Florida's in particular does that and allows draconian state attorneys to play judge and jury as they please.

As of this post, Marissa Alexander thankfully still remains on house arrest, close to her children. I wish I could say that's the end of the story, though. Like a modern day Inspector Javert, the State Attorney Angela B. Corey does everything she can to get Marissa Alexander back in Jail. After the appeal of the first trial, she fights Alexander's bond for house arrest, then in the letter to the Judge Daniel to revoke Alexander's home detention bond, Corey accuses her of violating parole. To push the Javert analogy further, her letter to the circuit court judge exposes so many unsubstantiated presumptions towards Alexander that she barely hides in her professional language.

Wow. "Hair Salon?" "Shopping Mall?" That's oddly specific.

Finally, Corey pushes a third retrial for a triple 20-year sentence--that's right, a 60-year sentence. For a woman who neither killed nor harmed anyone. After one appeal, and house arrest from the initial single 20 years of the first trial, this woman tries to up the ante.

However, it turns out that Corey has a history of overcharging defendants, including getting a 12 year old boy put in solitary in an adult prison, then threatening to sue the editorial reporter who criticized her for doing so. Angela Corey is not only Javert, but Zimmerman with a law degree and a vagina. A rotten, pus-filled vagina. (Let's see if I get an email for that one).

Like South Africa's Apartheid, the system in Florida is finally set so black people cannot properly protect themselves from any violence without receiving punishment. And Alexander is here to present that message.  Not on my watch.

Keep supporting Marissa's defense team and donate to the link below. They're going to need all the money they can get. Corey will make this a long trial.

http://igg.me/at/freemarissa2


Even Inspector Javert eventually confronted the reality regarding Jean ValJean and killed himself, unable to live with it. A creature like Corey will not (and may not be able to) do the same and can only be stopped by a third party, if so. In the rare chance she ever has her law license revoked, I wouldn't put it passed this woman to pick up a gun and follow her many male counterparts outside the law.

Whatever happened to Larry Johnson?

When I attended my first Charlotte basketball game, my thoughts immediately went to my first nostalgic association--Larry Johnson, the star player of the 1992-1994 Charlotte Hornets. For those who remember, he was known for endorsing Converse Reacts shoes and starred in a couple of Converse commercials opposite his fictional grandmother, dubbed "Grandmama".

"Grandmama" was basically Johnson in a blue flowered dress, grey wig, straw hat, cat's eye glasses and gold-toothed smile. The first ad launched from a very common insult: "[you're basketball skills are so bad] my own grandma can beat you on the court"



Wait a minute....blue dress? Grey wig? Cats Eye Glasses? Sounds familiar....

Anyway......

The "Grandmama" ads grew pretty popular and put Larry Johnson and Charlotte in the national spotlight. The character "herself" grew so popular that merchandising was made to cash in on the craze.
Merchandise from t-shirts to trading cards and posters.

I even recall a time in the Foot Locker when by chance I looked up at the ceiling to find a dangling inflatable dummy of Grandmama's legs (dress, sneakers and all), giving the impression of a slam dunk gone hilariously wrong. That was not the end of it, not by the slightest. The Grandmama phenomenon reached its peak when the character guest-starred on a episode of Family Matters.

But alas, as quickly as "Grandmama" appeared, she quickly disappeared and Larry Johnson left the public consciousness with her. With the Hornets returning to Charlotte this year, I had to find out what became of Larry Johnson since those days. Thanks to the advent of lovely invention I'm blogging on, I could find out very quickly.

Life After Grandmama

To be brief on the subject, Johnson's growing ego, fights with new teammate Alonzo Mourning, and financial strains on the team lead to public backlash and eventual relocation of the team to New Orleans. Johnson himself was relocated to the Knicks, where his rivalry with Mourning intensified and his behavior grew worse. By the early 2000s, he retired for health reasons and converted to islam.

Fellow "blogspotter" Basketbawful has more on this and the fate of the Hornets and John after the Grandmama Era:  http://basketbawful.blogspot.com/2011/09/players-i-hate-part-2-larry-johnson.html A more neutral biography is available at wikipedia (ironically):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Johnson_(basketball,_born_1969)

Johnson may have not been the next Jordan or LeBron, but he did cut a deep notch into sports history thanks to one good promotional endorsement. Maybe one day he'll choose to bury the hatchet with his past and pay a visit to the new Buzz City Hornets at Time Warner Cable Arena. Both Johnson and "Grandmama" have made an impact that still resonate in the minds of nostalgic Hornets fans, Charlotte residents, and basketball pop culture fans alike.

     style="display:inline-block;width:336px;height:280px"
     data-ad-client="ca-pub-4795645028980949"
     data-ad-slot="6550057805">

"Affluenza": A fate worse tham Zimmerman

Revisiting the story of Ethan Couch, the "affluenza" kid made me think about that early 90s HBO: Families in Crisis special where drunk driver Kevin Tunell, who killed a girl in a DUI, had to write a check every day to her parents per his sentence for the next 18 years until his guilt eventually overwhelmed him. Not only has Ethan Couch, his parents and especially the judge and psychologist has made an enemy out of his victims' families, but any other person who had to serve a proper sentence for their DUI manslaughter as well as any cop who's had to face the scene of such accidents and any real judge who has had to deal such cases in their courts.


Young Mr. Couch is going to have fewer allies that George Zimmerman, and his parents can't always be there for him. I hope he enjoys spending the rest of his life locked up in the family estate for protection's sake.

There is already a petition in action to have Judge Jean Boyd removed from the bench:

https://www.change.org/petitions/governor-rick-perry-take-judge-jean-boyd-off-the-bench#supporters

As for the "Psychologist", Dick Miller, please feel free to share your opinions on his website:

http://www.gdickmillerphd.com/G. Dick Miller, Ph.D

4001 W. Airport Freeway
Suite 185
Bedford, Texas 76021
Phone: 817-283-8484
Fax: 817.283.8286

Frail-ing Youth: Orthopedic Weakness -- Part 3

It's been a while since my last entry on the subject of knee misalignment and a lot more pressing matters took priority. I've attended physical therapy twice every week.  My insurance would cover only a small time period, so I worked to make sure I could meet my goals in time, which I did.........ahead of schedule. Although the therapists sent me on my way to continue my knee therapy at home, my story is no where near the end.

Strengthening Regiments

During my weight loss I conditioned my lower leg to push my weight up the steps to avoid the pain of bending knees (and social humiliation of acting like an old lady). So for my first regiment was to re-build the muscles in my knees.


This was where I found myself trapped in catch 22--in order to build back said knee muscles, I had to endure the pain from all that conditioning, meaning I had to walk and bend like an old lady. I didn't mind, though, since the only people to see me were Physical therapists and other patients with their own injuries. I could finally let go and be honest. the more I was the more I didn't have to hide the pain, and could see how much I progressed. So to keep my knees in shape I was given homework:

Every time I get a chance, I worked the at-home regiments when I could. It was practical and convenient. All you need was the space and the time. When I couldn't get to a treadmill or cycle I would do 30 step ups with each leg, which it not only built my knee strength but got the heart beating and the calories burning. And you can get it done on any flight of stairs.

Another regiment involves the the seemingly simple exercise of laying on your back and lifting one leg up halfway. This is where you discover new muscles that haven't gotten much work in walking or biking alone.  I eventually worked my muscles enough to add leg weights.



                                      

Several months have passed as I continued this routine. With time I eventually moved up to high intensity regiments such as pulling myself across the room in a rolling chair with my lower legs or leaning back and forth with one knee strapped to a weight.  It's weird how the seemingly laziest things can really work your muscles.

Who'd ever think this could be exercise?

After all these regiments I made sure to put some ice on my knee--VERY IMPORTANT if you plan on actually walking the rest of the day. Like any other muscle, the knees need some recovery.

Lifestyle Changes

It's definitely a lifestyle change as well. I've had to stop carrying an excessive load in my backpack, instead using roll bags or lessening my load. As mentioned in part one, the knees can only handle so much weight, so I might as well take control of the weight I can. When I lift myself from sitting I make sure my posture makes use of the muscles in my knees.

Posture Helps
Today we laugh at how much of a big deal educational films of the 1950s made about perfect posture, but as I often found myself standing for long periods at work. How my body reacted to that definitely depended on how I positioned myself.  As my therapist reminded me, as a woman, we have broader hips, which effected our posture differently from males. It was easier for our legs and lower back to become misaligned when standing or walking on certain surfaces or climbing steps. Whether you stand straight and firmly balanced on both legs, or leaning slouched on your side definitely will determine whether you go home a little sore or looking like you just crawled out of an accident.

As of this post, my knees have not fully returned to their appropriate alignment (that may take longer), but I no longer feel the pain I once tried to avoid. However, I found out the hard way that after mile two of walking, my right knee pretty much tells me to stop in it's wonderful, crippling way.  But even walking requires proper posture and footwear. However my left knee cap is visibly moving back to it's center position where it belongs.

Con Week Part 2: HeroesCon 2013

After a three day at ConCarolinas [June 1-3, 2013], my body reminded me it was 15 years older and needed to slow down, so I took some time to rest between work shifts. By friday [6/5/2013] I was finally ready for round two at the comic convention known as HeroesCon. Although they followed ConCarolinas by a week, I had HeroesCon on my calendar for a good year. ConCarolinas was a last minute invitation. Looking back, ConCarolinas helped me ease into the environment of HeroesCon a lot better than I probably would have without so. Talk about your blessings in disguise.

For those unfamiliar with Charlotte, HeroesCon is the signature comic convention of local franchise Heroes Aren't Hard to Find, has been the standard comic convention in Charlotte for a good 30 years.  For three days Lynx riders garnered a little entertainment sharing a ride uptown with people in costumes. When I made it to the Charlotte Convention Center, The showroom was so big I think a good hour passed before I completed the outer circle. It took at least another hour to complete the inner rings. 

I ran into familiar faces from ConCarolinas, such as the Carolina Ghostbusters and Comic Illustrator Tom Fleming. They must've been as tired as I was.

Panels

Con or College class?

Well, there were panels, of course, but they didn't define define the overall experience. Alumni and staff from the Savannah College of Art and Design hosted this year's educational workshops and drawing contest attended by writers, illustrators, as well as any young student who wanted to learn either. For anybody who is not sure where to take their career path, I surely recommend attending for the workshops.

The first workshop I attended covered the growing world of self-publishing. Indie comics and zines are a subcategory of comics that is still unknown by the greater population and may not be known to newbie artists only familiar with superheroes and newspaper syndicates. SCAD alumnus David Allen Duncan held a workshop on mini comics, showing attendees the variety of handmade comics and binding styles one can create. It's very fascinating to see how professional one can make a handmade comic look with only 11 x 17 photocopied construction paper and access to a basic photocopier.

Later on, I joined several illustrators in one of their ongoing drawing contests. We drew whatever came to our minds for 20 minutes and submitted the work with our name and contact info.  I sat there with with children as young as three to people old enough to be their great grandparents (I'm not kidding, there were people who had to be in their 70s in that room). I didn't win, of course, but I was glad to get my talent out there to be seen while getting to see the talent of those around me. If the parents keep up the good work, will be a lot of future published illustrators coming out of that room.

Eyevis

I did give myself a break and stopped for a little entertainment panel for Eyevis- an animated short by Dave Johnson about the one-eyed son of a Cthulhu creature and a human mom living in what Johnson calls a "leave-it-to-beaver neighborhood" As sick and twisted as it was, I was pretty amused. Eyevis's humor and atmosphere reminded me of MTV in the '90s and could easily fit on Adult Swim's line-up. 

I assume there's an online lockdown by Viacom, so you may not find too much in Google images results or Dave Johnson's social media profiles. I refused to photograph the guy's stuff, so you're gonna have to wait until it's released.

Meeting Artists

It's overwhelming to meet some of the artists responsible for redirecting your comics career path. One of them included, Frank Cho of Liberty Meadows and Savage Wolverine fame, whom I had not expected to see at all until I came across his table. All my issues of  Liberty Meadows and University^2 resided an hour away in Greensboro, so he signed my schedule book. 

Out of nowhere, my 17 year old personality took over from some dormant region in my brain, unleashing a giggling frenzy that made a situation more awkward than it already was. Thankfully I was able to redeem myself later when I sat in a panel he co-hosted discussing humor in comics.

See Frank, I wasn't lying!

Comics Beat has a much better article on said panel so just read their's:

http://comicsbeat.com/on-the-scene-going-too-far-humor-in-comics-with-cho-dorkin-bagge-rickard-at-heroes-con-2013/

Ducks, Detectives and Demographics

At a earlier panel, Don Rosa, Joe Stanton, the respective current artists for The life and Times of Scrooge McDuck and Dick Tracy respectively, and their moderator, Tom Hetjies, editor of the magazine Hogan's Alley, provided a discussion on their respective comics and the diverged preference of genres between the US and International comic markets.

One detail that has contributed to this perception was the ever changing nature of comic availability. I remember going into a 7-Eleven and being able to grab an X-men or Sonic comic off the rack near the newspaper stand. Mr. Rosa sadly reminded us of  Peanuts cartoon in which Charlie Brown tried to grab a comic off the highest rack of a newsstand shelf. Rosa commented on how the joke was lost on young readers because they could not understand the concept of buying a comic at a newsstand.

   As disappointing as it sounded, I was given a warning just before the panel began. I was outside the panel room brandishing my cell phone trying to get a signal on my phone when I heard someone behind me. It was Don Rosa.
    "This is why I don't do American Panels" he muttered to Hetjies as he entered the room. 

   With a space prepared for 100 people, only 12 arrived, including myself.  Though Rosa and Stanton inherited their comic sources, the sources themselves are classics and long runners. I could not blame the public response too much, but there were too many factors influencing their decisions. The panel was scheduled on a Sunday at 10:00am, suggesting where the gentlemen stood in the hierarchy of public demand and event scheduling. Sad, considering a gentleman and his son traveled all the way from Norway to see Don Rosa just avoid the convention crowds in his home country. Yeah, that says a lot about the our respective cultures.  During the panel, I had to ask him what brought about this divergence in preference. Rosa explained that during WW2 the populace only had access to donald duck Comics via the allied troops. In later years, the increasing limitations by the comics code, cultural differences, and access walls by corporations like Disney further added to the schism.

   It's bad enough that Hollywood movies are becoming increasing inbred, featuring the same plots starring the same actors, but comics need the variety that helped it survive the comics code, and if that is whittled down to few options, then American pop culture is doomed.

I have a lot to say about this but I'll continue in a later post.

   As an artist myself, the still surviving popularity of comics like Uncle Scrooge and Dick Tracy remind me that my options are open when I explore my own career and the United States is not the end-all to a flourishing career. I don't have to pigeonhole myself into narrow genres or interests to fit what these some hollow-minded corporation defines as "comics". If the US ignores me and some other country loves my stuff, well, I'm getting on a plane and greeting my foreign fans. There is a saying that you're never a hero in your own home town. Their loss. 

..... And Diversity

Since I brought up genre diversity in comics, diversity of the more obvious kind was on my mind as I explored the con. As expected, black artists and attendees would be in the numerical minority, with black female artists an even bigger minority. However I did encounter one with a table --
Afua Richardson. The roster changes every year, so definitely check with the website every year.

A cosplayer as X-Men's Storm

With Afua Richardson

Drink N Draw

Before the first day could officially end, those who didn't want to return home (but couldn't stay at the convention center) hopped a block over to the Hilton Center City for a little Drink N Draw. Original works by renowned comic artists were being auctioned off with proceeds going to Parkinson's research.

Original work from "zits" creator Jerry Scott

"Mutts" work signed by Patrick McDonnell

Attendees also contributed their own pieces of artwork onto HeroesCon brand coasters, memo paper or their own sketchbook paper to donate as they enjoyed alcoholic drinks of their choice. My contribution to the auction received the attention of Terry Maltos (representing the work of late brazilian artist Al Rio) who invited me to a bigger auction the next night,  and local Charlotte area Artist John Hairston Jr, who thought I had a table! A sign that I really need to get my "S" together and get back to work.

The following Saturday, Maltos invited me to a bigger auction were I got to see the results of artists who spent most of the previous convention days buried in their canvases, whipping up original pieces for purposes no one knew until we arrived to see the finished products all over to the Westin ballroom.

Artists working on their auction pieces.

One of the first items on the block was the complete collection of Calvin and Hobbes signed by Bill Watterson. As the haggler announced, this was the equivalent of getting "Catcher in the Rye" signed by J.D. salinger. It took some time, and $1,000 but someone did buy the collection. Smart man.

John Hairston Jr's work was purchased for $250.

Check more about the auction at this link from Comic Art Community:
http://comicartcommunity.com/2013/06/heroes-con-2013-art-auction-walk-through/

Final Thoughts

I moved to Charlotte just when HeroesCon 2012 was in full effect and promised myself to attend the following year. It was worth the wait.  I met people I had not expected to, made connections I had not expected to.  For the whole experience, the only thing I had to pay for was registration -- $40. That pretty much beats tuition and two years of school work if you need to update your skills or simply want to explore uncharted territory. Any other expenses --food, paraphernalia, souvenirs --were up to me.

As of now, I'v been trying to fix what's broken, and been working on whatever's in development hell. By the time Heroes Con 2014 rolls by, I hope to at least join the ranks of the table set. Well see.

More Links

Terry Maltos --http://thecharmedcomics.wikia.com/wiki/Terry_Maltos
                       http://mycolorist.com/

John Hairston Jr.---http://allcitystudios.com/home.html

Afua Richardson-- http://www.afuarichardson.info/

The Zimmerman Verdict: United States of Abuse

  If the verdict of the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman Trial has shown anything, it's that the that the "Stand Your Ground" law does not apply to black people (like Marissa Alexander) and justice as a concept in this nation hasn't been blind in centuries. Another of these implications, however, scares me the most.

Trayvon was killed for looking threatening as a young black male, but this country's black sons are not the only ones in danger.  I'm a tall girl -- Standing 6'0" (183 cm)-- and ever since I've reached that height  around puberty in I've learned that in some communities I was seen as threatening by those I towered over. And like a lot of brown-to dark-skinned black american girls, my relaxed expression is read as "bitchy" or simply walking is interpreted as an aggressive gesture. It didn't matter what I wore--A dress, jogging outfit, business suit-- someone thought I would hurt them. But I can't help it, I can't shrink. And I can't lighten my skin. And I cant spend the rest of my life watching how I move my body.  Of course that's the other person's problem, not mine, right? But wait--now that this verdict has pretty much given non-black Floridians the "A-Ok" to shoot anyone they feel is threatening them, meaning I now have to fear getting shot because some paranoid freak thinks the body God gave me is a sign of attack? Really?It was bad enough I had to continue shaping myself to meet another group's constantly shifting comfort level but I have to do so just to stay alive? I can't control how others see me but I will be damned if I have to die for it.

Again. (RIP Emmett)

Too many black women and girls are already dying by stray bullets and the murderous hands of their own men, are they to fear the paranoia of non-blacks as well?  Marissa used the SYG law to protect her family from the former, and now with her in jail, her children may end up vulnerable to the latter. Is there no safe place for the black woman?

I've had enough.

Florida will never see me or any of my progeny again.  And I hope other blacks follow suit. Any other state that chooses to adopt this horrible law will meet the same fate. I'm sure Maryland, the state where I learned about my "threatening" appearance, will probably be next. God knows I've seen many mental breakdowns in the black community there. Sadly if this sick disease of the "Stand Your Ground" law goes national, I will leave the country.

I have learned to leave abusive environments a long time ago and the US has never stopped abusing its black people. Well, now that it has Hispanics, Asians, Multiracial and other so-called "people of color" to fill it's diversity quota, perhaps it won't need black people to push around.  Seriously, USA, don't come at me with that "But you were born here" Bull "s" either. I may have been born here, but even family will abandon each other if the abuse is bad enough, and it is.



We can't bring Trayvon back, but we can get Marissa out. Justice for Marissa.
 http://justiceformarissa.blogspot.com/


Kola Boof Speaks on the Verdict:

http://www.kolaboof.com/engaged.htm


Petition to repeal the "Stand Your Ground" Law:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/563/278/407/?z00m=20594296