Terminus: Auburn Avenue

"Speculating Masonry: All Eyes On Egipt"


"Urbanglyphics"
May 27th, 2007
~Rob M.

Auburn Avenue is one of the more vital currents flowing through the City Too Busy to Hate: An open air mueseum, one that provides an architectural record of the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement. It is also one of the few places in the United States where you can actually feel the history floating in the air around you. Usually you can pick up this 'feeling' all over Europe, where the Past is more than just an expensive shopping district where tourists window shop for fragile relics and crumbling documents, but rather acts as a palpable ghost, whose echos can be sculpted intuitively into an individually unique understanding. Auburn has this Ghost.

One of the often overlooked attractions here in the heart of the King Legacy, is the Prince Hall Grand Lodge as well as the integral role played by the African-American Children of the Widow throughout the South. I found this shop while cruising down Jackson Street. Sitting across from the MLK Historic Site's winding park, a pair of Eye of Horus's stare unblinkingly out across Auburn at the prestigious Ebenezer Baptist Church. Here we have a wonderful juxtaposition of symbols and frozen rituals. A crossroads of initiations, ceremonies, baptisms and burials. Where one can kneel before the great mysteries or cross the street and pursue them through library forests of estoric academia.

Hard to believe that only three blocks down towards the shores of the skyline, that Auburn becomes a ghetto no mans land. Perhaps it's because temples, lodges and churches have always thrived in the human heart of raw desperation.

Currently Listening to...

This has been my favorite album so far this month. The 'Boys return after three years, shaking off their shrug inducing funk from "All Five Boroughs" and return with an all instrumental album. Now while similar to "The In Sounds From Way Out"* it is not a rehash of the same-old-same-old. In fact, for me at least, the result is what might be the soundtrack to an imaginary spy movie that sounds like it took place in Mod London circa '68. Seriously every time I listen to this I want to put on my sunglasses, light up a smoke and wait for a heavily mascaraed bee-hive haired Agent in white thigh high go-go boots to give me the password and make the 'Drop'! We got full bodied organs, sitars, bells, whistles, bass loops, crunchy guitar riffs and a funky ass beat tying the whole package together.

Now fair warning: If you're more a fan of 'their rhyming and scheming' or if you're looking for the next 'Sabotage' or 'Body Moving' then this might not be the album for you. But if you're looking for that dim-the-lights-light-one-up-and-get-ready-to-make-love album this might be up your alley.

*-Their last all instrumental release originally released in France back in the 90's if memory serves me correct... if not go google it!

Okay but I get to be the 'Man'!

I'm pretty sure i've gone over this before but just in case anyone was wondering...

In case you don't want to sit there and read the whole thing...

( Spoiler for the ending of a certain book that's real, real popular right now )

Bad Idea # 323 - Tom Cruise... dressed as a nazi... with an eye-patch!

"Ohhhh this Scientology meetings gonna suck!"
I think this is from the movie where Tom Cruise is supposed to be a turn coat SS officer who tries to assassinate Hitler (Valkyrie) either that or this is the flick where he plays an Industrial-Goth DJ with a 'Uniform' fetish: DJ XENU maybe?

Good Night LJ-LJ Land!

See y'all on Monday!


Until then...