Aaron really enjoyed that episode, so it's kind of fitting that this "Once More, with Feeling" Sing-A-Long will be premiering on Friday night. Friday would have been Aaron's 37th birthday!

So I'll be there at the Music Box Theatre at midnight (and maybe Saturday night, too; I haven't decided). It's definitely something to sing about :>!

The thing I hate most is how this changed my identity, how I'm now that girl that used to have a brother, that girl that doesn't have a brother anymore. And Karen and Mom both still feel that too, feel that way pretty chiefly. No one ever tells you about that part. It's just not who you want to be.

But blah blah blah, enough about me. How's everybody else doing? Drop a comment here or write to me directly.

ARTIST: John Lennon
TITLE: Happy Christmas (War Is Over)
Lyrics and Chords

So this is Christmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear ones
The old and the young

{Refrain}
A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

And so this is Christmas War is over
For weak and for strong If you want it
For rich and the poor ones War is over
The road is so long Now
And so happy Christmas War is over
For black and for white If you want it
For yellow and red ones War is over
Let's stop all the fight Now

{Refrain}

And so this is Christmas War is over
And what have we done If you want it
Another year over War is over
And a new one just begun Now
And so happy Christmas War is over
I hope you have fun If you want it
The near and the dear one War is over
The old and the young Now

{Refrain}

War is over if you want it
War is over now

Meanwhile, Aaron lives! The parent of a friend donated money in Aaron's name to the Homewood Library. The librarian overseeing the donation read the entire Uppity-Negro blog--bless her heart!--and decided upon two books for the collection in Aaron's memory. So if you ever go to the Homewood Library, you'll see the bookplate, "In Memory of Aaron Hawkins," in these two books:

The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah
Birth of a Nation: A Comic Novel by Aaron McGruder, Reginald Hudlin, and Kyle Baker

There was actually a brief ceremony at the Homewood Library when these books were added to the collection--but we missed it (!) because we never got the letter from the Homewood Library telling us about it, agh! The only reason we found out anything is because I happened to spot the article in the newsletter (see below). We gasped first, of course, and then called the library and found out the whole story. And then we went to the library and saw the bookplate in Birth of a Nation: A Comic Novel--which is really an absolutely perfect addition, as some people confused Aaron with McGruder anyway, thanks to the same name and similar... sensibilities, shall we say--? Thank you, Homewood Library and librarians--and thank you, Mrs. S., for the donation!

See page four of the four-page Fall 2005 issue of the Homewood Library Novel News newsletter (as an Adobe Reader PDF file) at:
http://www.homewoodlibrary.org/nn2005fa.pdf
(excerpt)

HONARARIUMS AND MEMORIALS
THE PERFECT GIFT

Have you ever worried about finding that special gift to fit an important occasion such as an anniversary, birth or
bereavement? A donation made to the Library not only honors those you wish to remember, but also can be shared by the entire community. Books or other materials selected for commemorative gifts receive a book plate with suitable inscription. The honoree or family is invited to come in and view the item. If you would like to give a gift that will be used as well as appreciated, please consider a donation to the Library. Donations of any size are welcome. The librarians will be happy to discuss your ideas with you.

Recent Honorariums and Memorials:

In Memory of Aaron Hawkins
The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah
Birth of a Nation: A Comic Novel by Aaron McGruder, Reginald Hudlin, and Kyle Baker

Still, Nipsey was probably best-known, by kids of the 1970s and 1980s anyway, for playing the Tin Man in the film version of "The Wiz" -- which, in keeping with the character, was probably one of the most heartfelt performances put on film. His dialogue included the subject line above.

Keep laughing and keep living!

And so we stop to say "Thank You." Thank you for the cards, the letters, the phone calls, the e-mails, the flowers, the words of encouragement, the food, the prayers, and your continuing support. At the memorial service, it was a comfort to us as friends shared stories and remembrances from Aaron’s life. Please keep us in your prayers and Aaron in your memory as we go forward.

"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." Revelation 21:4

Well, to begin with, Aaron Hawkins (1970-2004) created this blog and web site, Uppity-Negro.com, in 2000. Before that, in 1998, he created the Stone Cold Jane Austen web site, which originally was published via Earthlink, but has been moved here to Uppity-Negro.com intact -- along with the infamous El Gecko!

Above is one of the last pictures taken of Aaron (courtesy of TranceJen) before he died on September 3, 2004. Aaron... desperately hoped the next world held better hopes and dreams for him, and he didn't want to wait any longer to find out if it did -- who among us hasn't felt at one time or another that he no longer has anything to offer this world? As with most other truly brilliant men, his genius was a double-edged sword; the sharp intellect that powered his lively and often shredding wit also nursed a deep and, unbeknownst to us, growing despair within him about his life, a feeling that we'd all assumed was long behind him. We were wrong. Aaron's death was confirmed for us on September 8, 2004.

But Aaron was wrong, too. The pain experienced by our family was absolutely immeasurable, as you would expect. It will never die. But what we couldn't have known, and I don't think Aaron could have possibly guessed or would have even believed, was how his death would affect the so-called "blogosphere" as well. I expected that Aaron's friends who had blogs and, conversely, the blogs of those he considered friends, whether he'd actually physically met them or not, would express grief at his passing. But having one of the oldest blogs on the Internet, combined with having one of the oldest blogs by a Negro/black/African American, combined still more with his having one of the longest blogrolls known to man (and I exaggerate here only slightly!) caused his death to have a ripple effect all over the world (and I exaggerate here not at all). I still thought I knew the size of the grief when Red Herring contacted us, but I was completely floored by the other media outlets who contacted us, including the Chicago Sun-Times. I had my own selfish reasons for wishing Aaron was still here--I loved him, he loved me, he was my brother and best friend--but it was becoming clear that there were hundreds (thousands?) of people who felt the same way, whether they'd personally known him or not. Could a man whose death caused so much sorrow for so many people really be someone who no longer had anything to offer this world?

Aaron touched the lives of so many people, a gift he took for granted. It's kind of like in the movie, It's A Wonderful Life. Like Jimmy Stewart's George had no idea, I think Aaron was likewise unaware of how special that really is and how special he really was. As difficult as getting over my own initial shock and grief have been, it's also been wrenching to hear from old friends and classmates of Aaron's, who had lost touch with him, but, for whatever reason, found themselves thinking of him, blithely did a Google search on his name, and were delivered here, and find out for the first time the stunning news of his death. Very real tears have been shed for this man in all these months after his death and I know that there will be still more. He just wasn't a forgettable person!

Mostly, I consider myself blessed to have known him at all.

P.S. Find out more about Aaron at the September 25, 2004 entry, Message from Jessie, Aaron's Mother.

Also, see Aaron's unofficial FAQ from his December 20, 2003 entry, A.I.: His hate is real. But he is not.

And, see the "thank you" letter that appeared in the October 1, 2004 Chicago Sun-Times:

In appreciation

Thank you for the wonderful article ["Fans flood Internet with grief at blogger's death," news story, Sept. 17] regarding my son, Aaron Hawkins. We have been amazed at the impact Aaron's blog and his death has had on the Internet. We cannot begin to express our gratitude to his many readers for the expressions of love and support we have received since his death. I only hope that he knew how much he was loved and respected and how much we all miss him. Again, thank you for the wonderful article. We will continue his blog, uppity-negro.com, as a tribute to him.

Jessie Cunningham,

Homewood

I just found out about Aaron having been among the first month's posters to Blogcritics.org -- well, via Eric Olsen anyway! -- which is celebrating three years and 10,000,000 unique visitors. When will I stop being surprised at learning these things??

A story my grandfather, an aspiring author, liked to tell was that if only he'd gone to DuSable High School, he would likely have met recently deceased Black publishing pioneer John H. Johnson and eventually become a great and famous writer for the Johnson Publishing Company here in Chicago. But no, instead he went to that other area high school, where he met the love of his life, Merteree, whom he married years later and with whom he had three sons, and from whom only death parted, in a marriage that lasted over four decades.

Darn the luck!

Thank God there's people out there who help remind me how to laugh.

The above subject line was a joke -- a joke! -- from Aaron McGruder (pictured above), creator of the daily comic strip, Boondocks, which premieres as an animated TV show for Cartoon Network's Adult Swim on October 2. Check out Riley below!

McGruder presented a clip of the show, along with the main cast of voice actors--including veteran actress Regina King, who voices both Huey and Riley, as well as John Witherspoon, who's perfect for voicing Granddad--at the San Diego Comic-Con, before going on to the Television Critics Association (TCA) summer press tour the following week.

By far the biggest stir at the TCA summer tour was caused by Chris Rock for his upcoming UPN series, Everybody Hates Chris, so much so that the question became that the show is too good for UPN and shouldn't it be moved to CBS--?! An African American show too good for the U People's Network? Now that's ironic!

Speaking of African Americans on TV, cool lil' sis Karen made a memorable appearance on the local ABC News affiliate last week, talking about blogs -- although she didn't get to mention Uppity-Negro.com. In the story, she's specifically speaking about some crazy comments that she got on the blog she kept while she was overseas earlier this year for an international newspaper internship. Read the (kinda sketchy) transcript below, which is from the ABC News web site:

Entering the Blogosphere
By Alan Krashesky

[NOTE FROM VAL: This transcript contains errors which I went through and corrected.]

July 19, 2005 - Most parents may not have a clue, but millions of teenagers are now posting their personal lives for anyone to see. They are using a new online form of publishing called "blogging," which gives virtually anyone a voice to the world.

Blog is short for the word "weblog." An estimated 8 million people across the country blog online everyday. Still, most people don't know who bloggers are. Many are ordinary people who post their opinions on political issues and news events, but now that the blogosphere is especially popular with teens, the craze comes with some concerns.

Welcome to the blogosphere. Just do a Web search and you can spot the bloggers. Many are teens who post their personal details, stories, favorite songs online. Think of it as an interactive teen diary, although not a secret one. It's for all to see.

"I can write things, and people can comment back to you. It's kind of like e-mail only more personal," said Karina Anglada, teen blogger.

Sixteen-year-old Chicagoan Karina Anglada lists her daily life events on her blog, complete with pictures.

Danny Gutman takes his love for sports from the tennis court to the blogs.

"I get to tell people about how I am thinking creatively and tell them about my interests and what I like to do, while I also get to read about their blogs and see their interests," said Danny Gutman, teen blogger.

About 21 million teens use the Internet. One recent study found that about one out of every five of them has a blog.

"Blogging is a phenomenon and is one that is particularly attractive to young people because it gives them several benefits," said Peter Zollo, Teenage Research Unlimited.

Those benefits include creativity and self expression, says Zollo. He runs a research firm that studies teenagers.

But Zollo and other experts also warn teens not to fill blogs with wild stories and provocative pictures.

"Because I realize that 10 to 15 years from now, if I am applying for a job, my future possible boss could put my name into Google and see I put something I shouldn't have on the Internet," said Gutman, teen blogger.

Experts also warn of online predators. Blogging teens should not use last names or exact locations, and they should never meet strangers in person.

Karen Hawkins wants to warn teens about her recent bad blogging experience.

"I was very vulnerable, very exposed. Anyone who knew anything about the place where I worked knew who I was," said Hawkins.

With her personal details made public, Hawkins says threatening people posted insults and racial slurs about her because they did not like the content on her blog. Nothing happened but she sure was frightened.

"Be careful about how many personal details you reveal about yourself. Don't say 'I'm a junior with blonde hair who goes to New Trier,' " Hawkins said.
[NOTE FROM VAL: Corrected spelling from "New Treir."]

Teens are not the only blogging trendsetters. Many bloggers are adults using sites to talk about the latest news or even to cover news and political events. It's a new way to get information, but you need to now that when you read someone's blog, they may not be objective.

"We definitely have an opinion, and you can care to agree or disagree with that. We'll say what we think, and a lot of times, the news, they have to filter that out," said Chicagoist editor and founder Rachelle Bowden.

Chicagoist's staff of young professionals all work in the Loop. During the day they work in jobs like public relations and web design, and in their off-time they run Chicagoist, a news blog.

"We can let everyone know what we are thinking at the same time. If our readers don't agree with us, they are happy to let us know about it," said Andrew Peerless, Chicagoist.

Nationwide, news bloggers have gained the attention of politicians who now watch bloggers carefully.

One example came just last month when bloggers, along with Jewish and Republican groups, became outraged over comments made by Senator Dick Durbin. Durbin compared the alleged treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay to Nazi Atrocities and genocide. A week later he apologized.

"My guess is, if you are a savvy politician or perspective politician, you are keeping an eye on the bloggers," said Steve Jones, UIC communications professor.

Such is the blogosphere, serious business for some, while others are flying along, just enjoying the ride.

"If you want to go visit your friend's site you just type in their name and there it pops up," said Katrina Hawkins.
[NOTE FROM VAL: Actually, the news story ends with Karina Anglada again. There's no one named Katrina Hawkins in the story--! Told you it was sketchy...!]

Whether juicy details on blogs will come back to haunt teens remains to be seen. Experts say that while teens should be cautious, many people may just consider blog entries as teenagers having fun.
[NOTE FROM VAL: Eliminated the repeated "that" in the sentence.]

And now I go on into the Las Vegas heat... right here in Chicago! Everybody take care and keep blogging!