Black & Single Blues: Keith worries he might — god forbid! — have found his soul mate

Mar. 21 |   Lesli threatened to — hell, had done it — make a lie of Keith’s conviction that soul mates do not come along in real life. For one, she understood his concerns about identity in relation to her own. That night of their first “date”...

Shá Cage solo theatrical debut examines the N word through women’s eyes

Mar. 21 |   In Twin Cities spoken word, a field glutted with grandstanding hacks, gifted veteran Shá  Cage is an exception that proves the proverbial rule. Nine out of 10 alleged artists are antagonistic, interminably posturing, self-congratulatory frauds...

Are opposite-sex friends okay if you are in a committed relationship?

Mar. 21 |   Came across on Facebook a sister by the name of China La’Amour, who has a BlogTalk Radio program, Tha Strawberry Lounge, and have seen the FB page, giving a heads-up to tune in, some interesting subjects for discussion. One is whether, if...

Keith had given up on the long-term relationship thing — ‘til Lesli came along

Mar. 13 |     Fear is a funny thing. Not that he was anywhere near laughing. It was just queer. Lesli was the best woman to have happened to him — and scared him to within an inch of his life. Someone, somewhere, might’ve been his mother or...

Blaming victims of rape only worsens the harm done

Mar. 13 | Rape is a terrible enough crime, the brutal and vicious violation of a human being, debasing her, using her body as nothing more than a receptacle, leaving her traumatized for perhaps the rest of her life. Making things still worse is the practice...

Their inauspicious start ended well enough…until now

Mar. 6 |     Keith recalled how Lesli had thoroughly cussed him out for stepping on her foot the very first time they’d ever set eyes on each other at an L.A. party. Midway through a loud exclamation about what he did with mothers in general, she...

March should be Black Women’s Month

Mar. 6 |     I guess we should be grateful we got Black History Month. To tell you the truth, I have never been particularly one of the grateful who are happy to have whatever they’re handed. My feeling is, so what? Had y’all told the truth about...

Keith recalls how he and Lesli met — and the foul names she’d called him

Feb. 27 |     Making her way from the bed to the bathroom, Lesli called, “Honey, you there?” Keith blew cigarette smoke out. “Yeah, baby, I’m here,” he lied in what he hoped was a strong, assuring voice. Fact is, he was, as the saying goes,...

Black and Single Blues: Keith weighs commitment to the best of the best

Feb. 20 | When last we left our intrepid hero, he was wondering what the hell good it was doing to stand at the window and watch the street below as he pondered the future of his relationship with Lesli, who was still asleep in his bed. Not much, he decided....

Don’t get so bent out of shape you act a fool

Feb. 20 |   ”Don’t Get So Mad,” which Jeffrey Osborne wrote with fellow veteran Michael Sembello and someone named Don Freeman (by the by, there’s a bangin’ live rendition up on You Tube), should be one of the 10 commandments of love. It spells...