Passion versus the American Dream

       The American Dream-a national ethos of the United States, the set of ideals (Democracy, Rights, Liberty, Opportunity, and Equality) in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility for the family and children achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers. In other words, the American Dream = becoming as rich as possible, typically in the form of nice big fancy house, luxury foreign vehicle, designer clothing, at least two kids, and possibly a dog for good measure. This "dream" is the driving force behind all those hours worked, all that vacation time sacrificed, all that exhaustion and sometimes self degradation we endure. We constantly tell ourselves that it's worth it so long as we can be rich. Before we know it, years...decades, and full generations have passed until we come to an important realization.

          Majority of our lives have been dedicated to a concept derived from the declaration of independence. A document written by a man who proclaimed "all men to be created equal," yet owned slaves and even impregnated one against her will. We see how much time we have spent trying to be "rich as possible," and yet our souls remain unfulfilled. How can this be? How can pursuit of this almighty American Dream leave us still feeling empty inside? Is that not what being an American is all about? The answer is simple. The American Dream is really the American Scheme. A scheme to divert your focus from truly discovering your passion and true self and dedicating your life to the acquisition of currency and depreciating material items it can get you.

          It's no shock that this dream is really a scheme considering its origin. But let's examine a few things here. Look at what we do with our money. Take out loans on top of loans and get tons of credit cards all to pay for things that realistically are out of our budget. We'll go into insurmountable debt to buy a house in a fancy neighborhood just to look good to people who really don't matter. We'll jump on any auto loan offered for the car of our dreams instead of saving and waiting for a few years to pay for it outright. We will say yes to every credit card that is offered without thinking twice. The list goes on and on. And why do we do this? Because society has embraced the American Scheme that reinforces the idea that you are worthless without all these material possessions. And, let's be honest...who wants to feel worthless?

           But how much are you really worth if you had to borrow in order to get these things? Again, why do so many people still find themselves unfulfilled? Because a large portion of happiness comes for the pursuit of one's passion, not money and material items. If your search for happiness lies in money, you can never be happy because money is numbers, and numbers are infinite. It cannot lie in material things either as these things are constantly being created with the new and fresh soon becoming the old and outdated. But a passion...something that stirs your soul...something you would do for free, that's a worthy pursuit.

         How does one find their passion? Through self discovery and life experience. Dare to learn about yourself. Dare to find out the most amazing aspects of yourself. Upon learning this and more information about yourself, you will begin to discover what you are passionate about and why. Once this discovery takes place, the blinders come off. You realize pursuit of your passion is better than being able to show off a mansion, Bentley, and $500 shoes. You realize this because you went for what gave you joy and not what someone else said you should go for. And lemme tell you...this realization is one of the ultimate freedoms. Passion > The American Scheme.

Thugz Mansion

    "Dear Mama, don't cry, ya baby boy's doing good, tell the homies I'm in heaven and they ain't got hoods. Seen the show wit Marvin Gaye last night. It had me shook, drinkin' peppermint schnapps wit Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke. Then some lady named Billie Holiday sang sittin' there, kickin' it wit Malcolm til the day came. Little Natasha sho' grown, tell the lady in the liquor store that she's forgiven, so come home. Maybe in time, you'll understand only God can save us wit Miles Davis cuttin' loose in the band. Just think of all the people that you knew in the past that passed on, they in heaven, found peace at last. Picture a place where they exist together...there has to be a place better than this in heaven. So right before I sleep, Dear God what I'm asking...remember this face, save me a place at Thugz Mansion."

        That was the final verse of one of my favorite songs by the late Tupac Shakur, titled "Thugz Mansion," featuring Anthony Hamilton on the chorus. Despite my unrelenting belief that the song is a classic, none of my closest friends agree. In fact, they all believe I listen to the song entirely too much. Some have even insisted I stop listening altogether in order to get some perspective. Regardless of their feelings about it, I still hold strong in my conviction and never go a week without listening to the song on some platform.

          With this in mind, I pose this question. What is your "Thugz Mansion?" What is that one thing, person, or situation you couldn't  or simply won't stay away from if your life depended on it, but many of your friends and family think a separation is best? A toxic relationship, a pipe dream, perhaps Mary Jane and a few of her friends? Regardless of what your "Thugz Mansion" might be, it exists for everyone in some fashion. The more important question is "why?" Why can't you walk away from this person or situation? Why do you not believe everyone who says it's bad for you? Do you not trust them to have your best interest at heart?

         For me, I'm simply addicted to the lyrics of the song. The artistic and magical portrayal of what heaven might look like. I love this song so much, I would actually want it played on repeat at my funeral along with "Unconditional Love" by the same artist. Whatever your "Thugz Mansion" may be, the most important thing to keep in mind is why it matters to you. Not necessarily why everyone else thinks it's bad for you. Now, please don't take that out of context and decide to go poison your liver with two fifths of hard liquor or start hittin' the pipe like there's no tomorrow and then wonder why everyone is trying to get you into rehab. I am simply stating within reason, don't let anybody dissuade you from your "Thugz Mansion." Shout out to my good friend, Omar Solomon for asking me recently about my blog and suggesting this idea for my next one. As always, peace and blessings to all of you, and thank you for reading.

Debut

   Good day ladies and gentlemen. The day is finally here. My debut novella, titled 1900 Hours has officially been released and is available on Amazon. Words truly cannot express how grateful and excited I am about this moment. It still seems somewhat surreal. In the meantime, allow me to give a brief synopsis of the book. It is a mysterious love story about a couple that met in college and is living the American Dream in Arlington, Texas. Life couldn't be any better for them and three kids until an old flame shows up threatening to ruin the party. She's got a bone to pick with the husband, Pierre, and she has no intention of letting the family rest until she has settled her score and successfully ground her ax.

    With that said, I would greatly appreciate your purchase and time to read my work. Also, feel free to leave a review on the Amazon page. Your support is greatly appreciated. As always, much love and peace to all of you.

Conclusions

     The book is great so far. Intriguing characters, fast-paced plot, and page-turning dialogue. You actually are not looking forward to finishing it because it's that good. And then, tragedy strikes. The ending is horrible or sometimes left completely undone. Holes remain in the story, part of the plot is still unclear, and you really can't say how this story definitively ends. We've all been there. Frustrating as hell. You've invested a good amount of days or possibly even weeks into reading this piece of work, and the author leaves you hanging like a shirt in the closet.
   
      So, the question now becomes, how do we as writers become those folks who leave the audience confused and still searching for answers? Hard evaluation of our stories is the answer. As much as we may dread it, it is imperative for all writers to read their draft over and over several times, while dissecting each and every part of it. Find out what works, what doesn't work, what needs to be changed, and what should remain the same. I know...it's no fun going over a story numerous times that you already know EXACTLY how it's going to end, WHY it's going to end like that, and EVERYTHING you were thinking when you decided on that ending. But trust me when I tell you, your story will be all that much better for it.

     You can now ask yourself questions like, "Did I close this loop? Does this character's journey have sufficient closure? Does the ending leave any questions unanswered? If so, do those unanswered questions need clarification? If I was the reader, would I still want to know this information?" along with several others. I'll use a popular television show as an example. The Sopranos. Now, for those of you who have never seen the classic piece of work, I won't spoil it for you. However, I will say this. It was a great show during its run and definitely keeps you on the edge up to the very end. Imagine a 200-meter dash runner in the middle of their race. They've run an incredible race for 185 meters so far, and they look fantastic. But then, they slow down for the last 15 meters and don't finish strong. As a result, that lead they had disappears, and they lose the race.

     That's exactly how The Sopranos is. Great show up until the last episode that has NO CONCLUSION. After 86 episodes and six seasons, we are left with an ending that is meant to be interpreted instead of definitive. We have no clue what happened to Tony, Carmela, Meadow, and AJ. For those who watched this show in real time, I understand why there was such outrage. That feeling of betrayal for not being given a fair ending in exchange for loyal time devotion. Eight years later, no one can tell you how The Sopranos ended. So, with this in mind, always keep the reader in mind when writing your novels. If you do nothing else for them, make sure you give them the well deserved closure for their time  investment into you work. May the Lord's peace, will, and love be done unto you.

Why the Warriors will win the NBA title

       Good day people. It's a pleasure to write for all of you today. As you can see from the title, we're going to break from the traditional today and talk about the NBA finals. Now, before you jump to conclusions, my prediction of a Warriors championship has nothing to do with the season-ending injury to Cleveland point guard Kyrie Irving. While that hurts the Cavs, it certainly won't be the reason they lose this series. The Warriors will win this series simply because the NBA wants them to. Why would the NBA want any franchise to win? Aren't they supposed to be impartial and objective? Yes, they are supposed to be that. And grocery store employees are also supposed to wash their hands after a bathroom visit before returning to work.

        So, now that we've established that the NBA wants the Warriors to win, we must evaluate why. In this case, the why is rather simple. American society loves to see the "good guy" prevail. We hate to see the villain be triumphant. Ever since the NBA crossed over from showing us competitive basketball to operating strictly as a business, we have viewed more fixed outcomes than we have fingers or toes. This one is no different. Insert Wardell Stephen Curry Jr. better known as "Steph Curry" or the "baby-faced assassin" per Jamie Foxx's storytelling. He represents an image the NBA not only wants but needs. One that deviates away from the "hip-hop culture" that has plagued professional sports leagues composed heavily of men of color.

        An image that says clean cut, likable, somebody I'd want to have over for dinner and introduce to my family. Steph is all of that and more. Christian, husband, father, family oriented, the whole nine yards. Not to mention the fact he won the MVP. His stock couldn't be any higher. So given his hero status and how much people wanna see him win, imagine the financial wonders that will do for the NBA. Jersey sales, ticket sales, television deals, etc. Everybody will get a cut, a large one at that, if the consumer gets what they want. And that is to see someone who defies the "thug" image that has been unjustly labeled onto the league. 

          Now, this is not to say his leading opponent, LeBron James isn't likable as well. However, the storyline of his return to Cleveland after tossing them aside like Donnell Jones did a previous girlfriend to go test the waters only to return upon realizing he had the best right at home, won't generate near as many dead presidents as the nice kid with NBA bloodlines will do. Many people weren't happy when he bolted from Cleveland to take his talents to South Beach and also weren't amused once he left after not delivering on the "not 2, not 3, not 4, not 5, not 6, not 7" promise of titles after Miami got dawgwalked in five games to the fundamentally sound Spurs. The NBA is aware of these sour tastes still lingering in people's mouths, and how that will affect their desire to see "the King" knocked off his throne once again (interesting how a "King" can be 2-3 in the finals. 40% hardly seems like royalty, but I'll leave that to the masses). 

With all this said, I want Cleveland to win, but just don't think they will. I would love to be wrong. Overall, it boils down to giving the people who pay you what they want. And right now, what they want is to see LeBron James fail and Steph Curry win. Guess the NBA is no exception when it comes to C.R.E.A.M. 

More Than Entertainment

             I'll never forget Spring 2009 (January through May) for a few reasons. One is that I remember in the month of April, it rained for 25 out of the 30 days in April on the campus of Eastern Illinois University. The second and more surprising reason for me was a class I was enrolled in at the time, titled "Television Criticism" taught by Joe Heumann, Professor Heumann to me. Like most collegiate courses I took during my undergraduate days, I started off believing it was just something else required for my major and passing the time. However, as the class began to develop, I slowly started realizing this was more than just a traditional "sit there and listen to some boring lecture until it's over" type class. We actually had quality discussions about what does and does not work for television shows. We got to contribute our thoughts regarding these shows. We got to go even further in depth about what these shows really meant by having to write fifteen two page papers about what a show's theme or overall message was.

               On the surface, it sounded like a boring and tedious assignment, but it actually made me think beyond entertainment/appreciative listening. For example, I wrote a paper once on the underlying themes of smash hit but gone too soon 90s cop drama NY Undercover. While we were certainly entertained by the cop vs. criminal action, the show was more than that. It flipped the script. The two lead characters J.C. Williams and Eddie Torres (portrayed by Malik Yoba and Micheal DeLorenzo respectively) were both minorities. Instead of portraying the criminals of the show, they were detectives enforcing the law. A positive spin. This could easily be viewed as a silent protest of how Hollywood often wants specific ethnicities portrayed.

              Also, there was a hip hop theme incorporated into the show. This also helped defy the belief that this allegedly "offensive music" had no place in the mainstream. Unfortunately, the show deviated from its formula of success by the end of season three, and the season four changes spelled demise. Not all endings can be pretty. With all that said, I must admit after taking that class, I never looked at any show, film, or stage play or read any book the same again. They were no longer about entertaining me. I also asked myself what was I learning from this. How was I being educated? These questions and more helped inspire me to write. I always ask myself what do I want the reader to get out of this? What emotions can I drum up by writing this? Can my readers view me as someone with quality messages that keep them turning the pages?

               So, because of this, I can offer a thank you to that Professor because there are very few courses I can reflect on without feeling like they were mere formalities. On a lighter note, I can also remember one of my best friends, Omar Solomon, being in that class with me. We had the same major, so this was one of several classes we had together as students. He can tell you about my frequent tardiness to that class along with Professor Heumann's mockery of my inability to show up on time. "LATE" he would sternly say and diagonally point at me as I would walk in ten minutes past start time. Omar always found it hysterical.

               One time, the professor even told me I should show up 75 minutes late (the class was an hour and fifteen minutes long). Another time, when I was actually punctual and made him aware of it, he lowered his glasses and said, "Kid, if you're bragging  about being on time this once, you're gonna struggle in the real world with a job." While he was probably serious, he had a way of saying it that truly sounded humourous. I can hear Omar laughing now. Okay, that's enough memory lane for today. Next time you're reading a book, or watching a film/show, take a few moments to consider themes and messages. They just might tell you about yourself. Deuces. May the Lord's Peace be with you.

Characters

           We all have our favorite television shows and films. We also have ones we regret giving our time and sometimes money to as well. With that said, what drives our enjoyment and dislike of certain elements of pop culture? There are many aspects that drive these emotions, so let's dive into just one of them for today, characters. In every book, film, television show, or stage play, the characters, besides the plot, often make or break the story. But, there's something else the characters do. They make the audience wish for a specific outcome, be it for them or against them. Why is this?

             Because these characters tap into the deepest parts of our subconscious. They show us a visual of ourselves we're not even aware of. Once they have tapped into this, it causes us to send certain emotions into overdrive. Other times, we are very aware of why we like or dislike a character. For example, majority of people liked Herman Boone (the football coach portrayed by Denzel Washington in Remember the Titans). They liked him because he represented a strong black male figure during a time where odds were heavily stacked against people of color in America, especially below the Mason-Dixon line. Seeing a black man on screen perform a role where he is in charge of something other than a gang or drug ring stirs the subconsciousness of many people of color to feel good about themselves. They wanted to root for him to have the undefeated season and win the state championship.

             On the other hand, let's take a character lacking in likability. "Andrea" Sanaa Lathan's character in "The Family that preys." As a disloyal, conniving, and overall terrible wife, you'll be hard pressed to find many people who have seen the film rooting for her to triumph. *spoiler alert* Some folks (including women) are even happy when Kenny Chadway from Soul Food (Rockmond Dunbar) slaps the hell outta her for utterly dishonoring him. Her character strikes a chord on anyone who has been dragged through the ringer by a significant other and makes audience members want to see her suffer. So, when creating characters for a book or film, it's always a great idea to have a set of likable and unlikable.

               This is where the conflict comes in. This is where the viewer gets the chance to pick a side and almost feel like they are part of the story (Don't take that too literally as these are works of fiction we're talking about here, LOL). If every character was a "good guy" or a "bad guy," the audience wouldn't have any reason to pull for a side. In essence, your story can possibly become boring because there's no desirable outcome. It doesn't necessarily matter who you allow to triumph in your stories, be it the good or the bad side. Just make sure these characters are designed in a way that forces them to meet head on like two Alpha lions fighting over control of a pride. Well, that's enough for today. Let me get back to my other job with Tommy Strawn. Until then, may the Lord's peace be with you.

Writing as Art

            All of us are familiar with the term "art" or "artwork" generally speaking. But experience has taught me that word is defined differently by numerous people. Throughout all the definitions and various usages of the word, I have rarely heard art used to describe writing. Why is that? People refer to painters and musicians as artists. Samuel L. Jackson has been emphatic in describing acting as a finely developed craft. Why not writers? Given my definition of art (unique work displaying unusual talent that appeals to the senses in a non traditional form), why wouldn't writing be considered art? Not everyone can take words and blend them into a story that makes a reader want to keep turning the pages to find out what's next.

            When this is done, you have appealed to that person's visual sense with your words along with their mental stimulation by making them envision the characters, the setting, the facial expressions. Their senses are now being used non-traditionally. The same as when watching a film or looking at a painted picture and putting a story to it. With this in mind, own the "Artist" label, and if anyone challenges your claim to that title, challenge them to write a full story worth reading beyond the first five pages. No shade, facts only. See y'all next time.

First Blog

                   Good day everyone, I'm Alexander Brooks, an up and coming novelist and first time blogger. I'd like to take this opening blog to give slight background about myself and my goals as a writer. I'm a huge sports fan, pop culture lover, music enthusiast, and always interested in trying something new. Variety is indeed the spice of life. Since the age of ten, I've been an extremely avid reader, compliments of my mom's love for reading being bestowed upon me and nine years spent living in Europe (Military brat).

                 This was the 90s, so technology didn't rule the day, and television options were limited to this thing called A.F.N. (American Forces Network). With such limited options, activities boiled down to school, youth sports, and of course reading. Over the years, my taste matured from Goosebumps, Berenstain Bears, and super hero comics to the likes of Shannon Holmes, John Grisham, Eric Jerome Dickey, Kimberla Lawson Roby, and several others. Seeing how well all of them crafted words into excellent stories inspired me to begin some writing of my own. This inspiration led me to write my first book titled 1900 Hours currently undergoing publishing by Page Publishing Inc. in New York. It is a mysterious love story about a couple that met in college and must deal with an old flame of the husband.

                While I was able to submit this story directly to a publishing house, I am still in search of representation for future work. I believe in writing a different story each time within several different genres. That's how I came up with the term "Diverse Novelist." I am a diverse individual, therefore my writing should reflect that diversity as well. Ultimately, my goal is to get my work recognized enough to the point where I can write full time as a career. I don't necessarily have to be a millionaire, but enough to avoid the daily grind of everyone's 9 to 5. LOL. Well, that's all for now. I certainly hope you'll stop by in the future and spread the word about me to anyone you know. Until then, may the Lord's peace be done unto you.