So, I am bit slow starting off... I should have started doing this a week or so ago, but well, what can you do... I am here now! And kinda blabbery, so this will be uncharacteristically long.

P6 and Sylvia have introduced the site well - and you can always see our featured articles in the various sections by looking at the box at the upper left hand corner of the site - over the past couple of weeks, but in these little open threads I'll put reminders from time to time, as we are just new and our vast audience of readers may not be clear on what we are doing yet.

For one thing, although you might take one look at the title of this post and think, "Man, is she nosy", you would be... actually, quite correct! I am very nosy but this is a good thing! Truly! You see, we want to know what everyone is up to, on their sites, so that we can send people there to read your work, maybe stick around and make comments and, in general, make connections across the... well, I am not sure what we are calling it nowadays... blackosphere? Afrosphere?

Whatever, the question is often asked, 'Where are all the Black folks at?" And we answer! Read on -

You see, Dear Readers (um... assuming we have any), this site is all about you. Well, maybe not all, but a good portion of it. What we'd like to see, in our three main topic areas - Black Intrapolitics, National Intrapolitics, and World Intrapolitics - , besides the excellent work that is there now, is a wide variety of Black thought, from writers all over the world. We'll be seeking out just that, but anyone is also welcome to submit their work by either leaving a link to it in comments, emailing us ('cept I don't know what our email address is, but doubtless there is a link around here somewhere) or um... letting us know somehow. ESP? Please feel free... in fact, feel encouraged to use these open threads as a place to let others know what you are writing, thinking about writing, planning as an event, or any activism or to talk about whatever. Oh, and don't forget the forums.

Also, in putting these open threads up semi-daily, I will be picking 5 (fairly recently updated) blogs at random (to begin with, from a huge list I found at Negrophile.com) highlighting bits of their work, and providing links to them, so we can get to know who all is out there. In that same vein, Electronic Village has started a monthly ten top black bloggers list, using Technorati ratings mostly, I think he said. Here is the first one: Top Ten Black Bloggers (September 2007). There are also great suggestions in comments.

Okay, without further ado, here are the first 5 random connections!

Through These Brown Eyes

Name::Ladynay
From::Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
A little bit of everything.

And it really is a little bit of everything. I don't have a clear sense of who she is yet, but she swims! That caught my eye right away... here I go to my first random site and already someone is breaking up stereotypes, black woman swimming laps in a pool - she probably is unaware that she's supposed to sink.

In the same post, she recounts an unexpected moment with one of the autistic children I guess she teaches.

That's just a taste of what's there - stop in, say hi and see what else she has going on!

The next site I clicked is The Second Book of Asabagna! "The Global Perspectives of an Afrocentric Pentecostal. Commentaries on religion, politics, culture, society and life"

I know him... he types at his site as well as the Afrospear think tank. We caught him just in time to hear about...

The Second AfroSpear (October) Carnival: Religion and Negritude

Since it's a carnival - and it does sound like it could be an interesting one - I'm just going to post the entire thing, but that doesn't absolve anyone from dropping by his site to say hi and to see what else he's been writing about.

Religion as we in the West know and practice it is an outgrowth of imperialism. Careful study of Marimba Ani’s masterwork, “Yurugu: An African-Centered Critique of European Cultural Thought and Behavior,” makes it clear that the intention and proselytizing usage of European religion was for control and conquest of other peoples. The diasporic African’s attachment to the European’s religion is at best problematic.

Or is it?

How does our God-consciousness, filtered through an alien religion, shackle us?

Can our spiritual/religious beliefs flower within such a context? Can those beliefs and practices empower us?

What about the religious practices that some adopt/adapt from the Motherland, such as Candomble in Brazil, Haitian Voodoo? Do these provide a liberatory experience for the practitioner that counters the racist offerings of BIG religion?

Is the white man’s religion a positive or negative force, ultimately, in the lives of African peoples in the diaspora?

Is it possible to adopt/adapt the religions and religious practices of an oppresor who has used religion throughout history to conquer the minds and bodies of his targets/victims - to positive affect?

Writers, thinkers, believers and non-believers are invited to share their thoughts and feelings on this thorny topic.

“Please have your link submitted by Sunday 30 September at Afrospear@hotmail.com, and the carnival date will be Monday 01 October. We also welcome your suggestions on topics you would like to see discussed here in the future.”

Next we wander on over to Avin's Day, "For all "Intensive" Purposes", who claims she has a lot to say about nothing. I think that is not quite so, though!

I see some of the nothing she is saying things about is rap music, in what was familiar language in my household, I'm afraid, when my daughter was a teen... Turn Off That Rap Music! Avin adds a bit more critique, however, especially of the newer groups. She talks about much more in other posts - she seems to have issues with Redskin fans appearing on her doorstep... I don't know what that's all about - maybe they feel that it's their duty to convert Eagles fans? I think this is talking about football, but don't quote me. Anyway, say hi and go team!

These last two blogs I almost tossed back into the mix once I realized they were professional reporters with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and these were Journal blogs, but then I thought... we should also be supporting, or at least become aware of, black reporters and what they are writing about. Particularly as it seems Bob Herbert, of the New York Times doesn't get cited a lot in the "progressive blogosphere" because some consider him boring and uninfluential... cuz, omigod, he writes about serious stuff! Issues and poverty and things, like we should care or something. As if! *hair flip*.

There's some folks in Tulia, Tx who might have a slight disagreement on what words like "influence" mean.

So, here are a couple of pros...first Eugene Kane, of the Raising Kane (of course - how could they resist?) blog. And right away he tells us of someone named Michael McGee, who is behind bars awaiting trial on something or other, while OJ runs around freely embarrassing... uh, freely doing stupid stuff. I don't know what the McGee case is all about, but Mr. Kane seems to doubt he'll get a fair trial. We can keep an eye on that, I guess? He has other stuff, too, that he's bringing attention to. No comments, so we can just wave from afar.

And then there is Stan A. Miller II, techie type guy, it looks like - his blog is Gear, Games and Life Online which seems pretty self explanatory. Anime on Xbox 360, something about Halo 3 and hosting your own radio show at BlogTalkRadio, are what the first few posts are about. Looks like a neat site, if you are into keeping on top of technology!

There we go, the first Random Five. Now, what have you been up to?