My friends are nomadic wonders with acute knowledge of religious texts.

"...................."

and and and and andRIGHT!?……………………

A sneak-peek at AFROTITI

INT. HOUSE - BEDROOM - SAME DAY

Hebony sits cross legged on her bed. Her appearance has become even more regal: the sphinx is perched on a velvet cushion in her lap, her hands delicately folded on its head. Each of her movements is deliberate in their womanly efficacy, but not forced. Each "patron" that comes in kneels at the foot of the bed and asks a question. There's something servile about the way they approach her. One by one they file in, ultimately leaving with shocked looks on their faces and slaps on the back from the awaiting people.

DONNY, a straggly white boy in a forest green army jacket saunters over to Hebony and kneels down. Before he speaks he repositions his minuscule John Lennon sunglasses to the tip of his nose.

DONNY

Aw man, Hebony, I don't know. I just do not know. I try. You know, I try, baby. But I can't make it happen. I can't live to my full...potential, ya dig? So how can I score some dough real quick?

Hebony smiles and tilts the sphinx so that she can look at its face. Her brows furrow. "Rien Ne Va Plus" by Funk Factory begins to play. Her eyes glaze over again.

INT. VELVET ROOM - DAY

A white cat preens itself in the center of a small room covered floor-to-ceiling with violet, velvet fabric. The cat is wearing a gold collar and necklace. On the floor surrounding it are gold coins and burning incense cones.

To the right of the cat a beautiful Egyptian woman wearing a gold dress reclines on her side, holding up a purple bunch of grapes. A second woman, dressed in the same manner, sits on the cat's other side, fanning it with a large palm frond. Both women stare straight ahead, their beauty heightened by the utter inaction of their features.

INT. HOUSE - BEDROOM - SAME DAY

Hebony disengages her eyes from the sphinx. She grins at Donny, finding this vision particularly entertaining. He in turn takes off his sunglasses. Obviously, he anticipates an answer that transcends sagacity. His mouth is slightly agape.

HEBONY

Boy, you gotta embrace your inner feline. And I ain't talkin about foxy ladies and slick moves. I mean, you gotta find yourself a nice show cat, some real slammin' kitty to parade around and get some attention. Once you do you'll be swimmin' in so many Benjamin Franklins you'll wanna tell that fool to lay off.

I'm excited; are you!?

iWhy ithe iLong iFace (version 21.0)?

((From the latest issue of THE WORKS...sometimes I shove the jagged fruitiness aside and write like some sort of Person.))

William F. Ogburn, perhaps the most famous sociologist and statistician of the 20th century, was the first to introduce the idea that culture inherently lags behind technology. A sort of economic Freudian, Ogburn asserted that humans base their decisions off a series of economic motives, which ultimately, and immutably, set apart the private and public sphere. But Ogburn's writing, although at first-glance so dry and matter-of-fact that it seems to just be one more credo incited by America's economic woes, soon begins to blanch under searching eyes, and melt into one, large, white flag of surrender.

The problem lies in the fact that Ogburn did not see, or want, to find out a solution to the lag. He was scared of eccentrics, of lavish living and not-so admissible pursuits. To him, happiness was recognizing the delayed action of human beings and being able get-by, make a living, have a family, play golf. Be Normal. Nowadays, normality just won't cut it in the long-run, but still the current social climate points toward a worldwide acceptance of defeatist tendencies. People are letting their aspirations and talents slip by the wayside because they are scared to fail, and yet they still complain of not having a reason behind their unhappiness, or an identity as a whole.

If only we could let go of the stigma of living in a "post-postmodern" world and accept that we are in the midst of what can possibly be deemed the true “Era of Inspiration,” without it actually seeming uninspired. Sure, technology has alleviated some of our hardships, and stirred up the tempo of day-to-day living, but it has not yet matched the greatest machine of all: the human brain. There is still so much to discover, and now is the time when humans should reap the benefits of having access to knowledge on a grand scale, and simply create.

So, Generation Y-ers, take the earbuds out for a while and look around. The motive is not to trump the technological powers that be, or to try to take them down, but to take a minute to place everything- yourself, a computer, a hero- underneath a critical eye, revealing inconsistencies and neglect. Should you still bemoan it all? No. Take action, and the gears of change can begin to function, straightening priorities and fulfilling the wonders that surround us. Teach old Ogburn a lesson: that happiness is not found in resignation.