Gender

Saffiyya

The Word (2013-2015)

Mental Health

Confessionals

Abuse

Psychology

Memory Lane- Ana

Topics- *The woman who changed her name to 'Sexy'
*The 'Game of Hoes'
*Capitalism in China
*Tension Betwixt Ukraine & Russia

feat. Annika & Elizabeth

Musick- Theme- Fuck My Face- Coco Brown Ms. No Tonsels
Take Your Time- S.O.S. Band
Aint Talking About Nothin' - Remy Ma
Alcoholic - Chanel West Coast
Aint Nobody Loves You Like I Do! - La Toya Jackson

Sourcing-- Buzzfeed, Queerty, RT America, Vice, RT

The Word: What Is Repressed Will Have Its Revenge

I take a trip down Memory Lane with Sarah, who recalls her idyllic childhood visits to her Grandparent's English farm. She muses on the visceral sensory memories she still has. She also worries about the future. The farm may pass out of the family.....for good. 

Join us for this touching story :)

Memory Lane - Sarah

Annika & I have a wonderful conversation that begins with the topic of television, and specifically new entries for 2014. We begin debating Lindsay Lohan's new show on OWN and somehow that leads us to a discussion of art. What is art? Are Reality Shows art? Annika says it's all "bullshit", but (of course) I argue for a more forgiving view.

Also, Annika brings her latest angle, and the headlines appear at the top of the hour.

Join us!

Note!- For about the first 2 minutes of the programme Rosemary Clooney drowns me out. I have re-posted this multiple times and their seems to be nothing I can do. Sorry!

The Word: Is "Lindsay" Art?

This is part one of our special Series On Apartheid. As the leaders of the various anti-Apartheid movements pass away, we take the time to look back at one of the most interesting and unusual periods in Human History. 

In part one, we trace the origins of the Apartheid system back 1400's HRE, when Roman legal concepts entered the Low Countries. We then continue through the colonization of the Cape Colony by Dutch, French, and finally British forces. I discuss the various independent Boer republics, and how these efforts were extinguished by the most powerful empire in the world. 

Finally, I explore how the repression of the Boer people could have laid the groundwork for the Apartheid racial ideology that would emerge more than 40 years after the last Afrikaaner state was conquered.

Let's Learn Together!

The Word: Series On Apartheid 1

Pooja walks down memory lane. She recounts how, after a childhood in a restrictive, traditional household, she is growing up. Pooja is ready to make up for lost time, to make up for all the experiences she has missed-- fashion, rebelling, alcohol, sex. 

She is ready to take a 'bite' (literally) out of life, but what happens when dem boyz bite her back? Yes, that's right. Pooja was bitten by a boy on her "first time". Where did he bite her? Find out & listen!

After discussing the wild near-loss of her virginity, she goes further into her past, delving into subjects she had long kept quiet on. Pooja has a past riddled with restrictive tradition, double-standards, and endemic sexual assault....yet she is hopeful for the future. 

Join Pooja & I as we walk down 'Memory Lane' together!

Memory Lane -- Pooja

On Анкета TODAY,

A "Coming Out Of The Shadows" episode of the Conflict Talk programme "Trisha" is analyzed. First, we review Rob, a trans man who performs 'female masquing'. He appears on "Trisha" first in what the show's narration refers to as a 'silicone sex suit'. Then, he is brought out without his suit.....And he describes that this is the first time he has 'come out' as a masker in public. I share my thoughts about the mixed messages I believe the "Trisha" show was transmitting about Rob's story.

Next, we look at the story of Rajee, the third person featured on the "Coming Out Of The Shadows" episode of "Trisha". Rajee is a trans woman who was propelled to infamy and worldwide fame in 2006. But it was not her acitvism in the trans community that led to her notoriety. Nor was it her music. Nor her acting. She never could have seen it coming. Rajee became famous as one of the many trans women who received unlicensed injections into various parts of her body by the Duchess of Hollywood, Florida. Eventually, her face became somewhat distorted. When she spoke to local media, outlets from as far away as Japan were ringing her phone by the next morning. And so began the media madness.

We talk about her experiences in the media, and specifically how she feels members of the trans* community are portrayed in the news and talk shows. She also recounts her appearance on "Trisha" specifically, as well as dealing with "Dr. Phil", "Anderson", & "The Bill Cunningham Show". 

No filter. This is Анкета.

Анкета: They Called Her 'Cement Woman'

This week I take a trip down "Memory Lane" with my good friend Charlotte. At first she recounts the story of a childhood injury, but then the conversation takes a turn that neither of us expected.

When Charlotte was very young, she was severly injured during play. As a result, she was rushed to the hospital, all the while worrying that her father would blame her for the injury. Her entire body was damaged, and she was forced to become immobile, wrapped in a body cast for 9 months. Every month a doctor with a pizza cutter-like saw would come to her room to cut her out, and replace it with a new cast.

Fear of being blamed for the injury was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to Charlotte's father. Fueled by his alcoholism, Charlotte grew up in an environment fraught with violence and addiction. At 13, she ran away for the first time, an attempt to escape her family dynamic that ended in vain.

Moving forward from those turbulent times to today, Charlotte reflects on her life, how her upbringing led to addiction and setting her onto a 'crooked' path. She still deals with the consequences of these early-life experiences to this day.

Our hope is that this episode of "Memory Lane" will help or inspire any child going through abuse or dealing with alcoholic parents. Charlotte was never told that it wasn't her fault, but now she knows enough to know that no child is responsible for the abuse that they go through. 

This is Charlotte's story.

Memory Lane -- Charlotte

The second year of "The Word" begins with an author interview. Joining me is Rajee Narinesingh, the author of "Beyond Face Value," released in the wake of her world-wide fame. 

In addition to discussing why she decided to write the book when she did, we discuss her darkest moments, and how she is able to muster the will to survive, despite violence, hate, and prejudice. 

"Beyond Face Value" is one of the best memoirs I have ever read, and certainly one of the most enjoyable books I have read this year! Rajee shares several fun anecdotes from her life, as well as reviewing events that occur in the book. 

Please join us for this very special edition of "The Word"!

The Word: Beyond Face Value (Audio)

Eliza is the latest person to share her story on "Memory Lane." Hers is a tale of poverty, mental illness, & neglect that ends with Eliza rising, phoenix-like out of her past into a productive present. 

Eliza outlines what it was like for her to grow up in a family that struggled with severe economic insecurity & scarcity of resources. Growing up, members of her family never seemed to notice her. "You didn't need me!" she was told by her mother. But, of course, Eliza needed support like any other child.

"In any other family, my issues would have risen to the top," Eliza says. However, because Eliza came from a family that had several mentally ill members, she wasn't recognized as a child that needed help. In the end, it wasn't until after she left college did anyone realize that in fact, Eliza was dealing with attention-deficit disorders. She talks about what prompted her to finally seek help, and finally responds to those who condemn social welfare programmes (of which she was a beneficiary of). 

Join us for this very impassioned & thoughtful "Memory Lane"

Memory Lane -- Eliza

Nevalyn says that Middle School, "Is the most dangerous part of anyone's life." 

While some remember those days fondly, Nevalyn has good reason for her belief. Toward the end of her Middle School days, a series of dramas, both at home & at school, changed her life forever. Expelled from the house of her biological father when she was barely a teenager, Nevalyn began what would be one of the hardest time in her life. 

Her story is not only almost-unbelievable, but something that no young teenager should ever face. All she wanted was attention & affection. Older teen boys provided this, but so did her best friend D. D, concerned about Nevalyn's associations with older men, tried to give her the life she had been wanting. 

This gesture, which may have started out with 'good' intentions, quickly became something else. Two years later, Nevalyn was a girl shattered. She was taking pills, hospitalized in a psychiatric ward, & tried to kill herself. D, her best friend, also tried to kill her. 

All attempts were unsuccessful, and Nevalyn is still alive today. She says her perspective on pretty much everything was altered from the events described in this interview. Today, she is a self-described "anti-social hermit." She has phobias of talking to people she can't see, on the telephone & the internet. She doesn't make as many friends, and is vehemently against online dating. 

She doesn't know why these things happened to her, & she says she may never fully understand. Nonetheless, her story is a testament to the will to survive, and the depravity that humans of any age will sink to if they feel they have to. 

This is Nevalyn's story.

Memory Lane - Nevalyn

On this episode of "Memory Lane" I speak to Ellie, a girl who opens up about her difficult father-daughter relationship. This relationship, plagued by abuse, addiction, & poor decision making, has in some senses defined her life. We start with a very vivid memory Ellie begins to explain, but cannot bring herself to finish. After she composes herself, and chooses a new memory we end up talking about her father once again.

Ellie recounts an injury her father sustained while under the influence and what her thoughts were at the time. As the conversation moves on, she connects this to her general thoughts about her father, memories of how her family was harmed by his addiction, & the various issues she now deals with.

Her father's volatile behaviour, and denigration of her & her mother left Ellie doubting herself and feeling like she deserved the abuse at times. She expressed that she has a strong dream, but does not know if she will be able to rise to accept the mantle of her destiny.

'They don't know how much pressure I am under,' she says about her family & neighbours, who are all expecting her to be 'perfect.' Ellie ruminates about how this pressure effects her, but also how she is different than her father. She reveals some of her worst fears, but also her father's worst features & beliefs. 

Ellie's is a story of abuse, conflict, addiction, faith, & ultimately worry in the face of an uncertain future. I am sure anybody could find something in common with this young girl, who has faced so much adversity in her life.

Memory Lane -- Ellie

Friend & scholar of religion Saffiya joins me to discuss some of the most recent events in the expansion of the Islamic State Caliphate. In control of Mosul since June 2014, Daesh has now commenced an assault on the buildings, artefacts, sculpture, public property, & texts of the city. 

The Mosul Museum, a complex which used to house several thousand year-old artefacts has become a "hub of the millitants." The ISIL filmed itself destroying statues, hitting them with hammers & even jackhammers. They then published the video on the internet, and threw the scattered remnants of the allegedly priceless materials onto the streets of Mosul.

But there may be more to this story. Latest information from Russia Today, PressTV, Euronews, Channel 4, The Young Turks, Democracy Now!, & Public Broadcasting System precedes our discussion for background information. 

This is a comprehensive look at this issue, & should be of assistance in understanding the on-going conflict, 'cultural cleansing,' the mission of Daesh, & what they may do in the future.

The Word: Islamic State Destroys Artefacts

In this very riveting edition of Memory Lane, I talk to Saffiyyah. While I have talked to many, & heard their stories of abuse, addiction, & derliction, few have a story that matches the amount of trauma as Saffiyyah did when she grew up with two cultists as parents.

Seeking power, or perhaps followers, her parents traveled from religious group to religious group, perverting Judaism into what critics called a "Christian Cult."  They didn't seem to succeed in this mission, but that didn't stop them from trying. Their lack of success in the cultic scene also did not stop them from trying to have complete domination over their children as well. Saffiyyah and her siblings suffered horribly -- from abuse, violence, neglect, & sexual predation. She even tried to kill both herself & her brother in an attempt to release them from a life of torment. All of this took place before the age of 10. 

As the reigns loosened, Saffiyyah was able to explore more of the outside world. Meeting friends & accessing the internet she realized the outside world was quite different than her family life of torment & hellishness. 

It wasn't long after receiving a laptop computer -- the key to her liberation -- that Saffiyyah finally decided to break from her family & their totalitarian rule. It was only then, once abandoned by her family at 17, that her life really began.

This is Saffiyyah's story

Memory Lane -- Saffiyya

I have interviewed the infamous 'cement woman' & now-Reality star Rajée in the past, but now she is on Memory Lane to share one of her intimate memories. She recalls a touching scene of bullying, kindness, & then thankfulness that ensued when she was harassed by teenage boys and then rescued by an older, sympathizer. She talks about the impact of this man's words & deeds on her life. 

Using that memory as a jump-off, we forward the conversation into the related topics of intolerance, discrimination against difference, gender roles, and how abuse can be an expression of distorted attraction. 

Rajée brings a resplendent joy to everything she does, and this is evident here. Listen to her story, & share in her appreciation of this beautiful man and people like him

Memory Lane -- Rajée

Saffiya comes to Memory Lane to share the first two parts of her memoirs. In these riveting two stories, Saffiya details some of the only memories she has of childhood. "I tried to be linear," she says. But life issues in memoir often become so entangled as to be indistinguishable from one another -- The abuse, her psychopathic brother, being kicked out, almost being 'married off' by her parents at 4, communicating with spirits, eventually being kicked out all make an appearance here. and the extra-sensory abilities of Asexual individuals all make an appearance. 

These are the opening volleys in Saffiya's struggle to find her truth. In the next segments, to be titled "Child Rearing," she will explore how she was essentially left by her cultist, mentally-ill parents to raise her psychopathic brother whom, at one point, she had almost killed in a murder-suicide

Saffiya's is a truly extraordinary life, and she speaks from a place of security and strength. It took her years to get where she is today, and revealing these stories is invariably part of her recovery. 

Memory Lane -- Saffiya's Story Vol. 1

Some parents just don't know how to behave. Whether it is one of the various forms of abuse, or just being plain hard to get along with, scores of parents behave in inappropriate ways. This conduct can irrevocably harm kids & adult children. On The Word, we listen to Eliora & Dahlia share their stories of out of control parents. Eliora's dad is a drunk, Dahlia's was pretty much never there. Then, Saffiya stops by to say all that she has to about her parents and how they affected her. Finally, I read quotes from some of my favourite texts that address this very issue, including Alice Miller & classic "The Primal Scream" by Arthur Janov.

Join Us!

The Word: Out Of Control Parents

Saffiya joins me to discuss a unique topic in the history of Abrahamic exegesis today -- The concept of 'hell'. Contrary to what contemporary Fundamentalist Evangelical Protestants and other Christians may believe today, what we think of as 'hell' is not a Christian concept at all. In truth, it appears to derive from the East, not the holy lands of Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. We trace the importation of the 'hell' concept from Zoroastrianism, but also discuss the fact that 'hell' is a real, visible place on earth....and it looks nothing like what you have been told.

Saffiya Reveals Hell Is A Place On Earth

Saffiyya leads us through another topic of great interest to the post-modern world: Homosexuality, & its' relationship to the Abrahamic faiths. Today, thousands of years after the purported lives of the prophets, scores of Christians & Jews worldwide oppose Homosexuality on religious grounds. But what are they objections based upon scripturally? 

In this episode, we focus mostly on Jewish texts & the Old Testament. The stories of Onan & the cities of Sodom & Gomorrah are commonly cited as 'reasons why' Christians & Jews oppose homosexual sex. We look into these stories further, and go back into a time before these tales were even told.....When Homosexuality didn't seem to be much of a concern at all....What changed?

Join us & find out!

The text version of the video: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1klF2XdzFlQslc6Xj60p3-IXpPPzoUOfyEQo-gKwLCs0/edit

Playlists for very much more academic overviews of these things, by Yale University:
Jewish texts playlist -- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9mgdi4rNeyuvTEbD-Ei0JdMUujXfyWi

Christian texts playlist -- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL279CFA55C51E75E0

The Word: Out Of Control Parents

Jakob Kesava Moscow