Understanding ourselves and the world we live in.
Billy Osogo The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted life as we knew it heretofore. It affected every facet of day-to-day life. Essentially, it forced us to adapt to new ways of living. Who thought there'd come a time when you couldn't morphologically tell the difference between a doctor and a clown because they were both wearing surgical... Continue Reading →
Billy Osogo I love creating art as much I love consuming it. There’s something surreal about participating in the process of creation. To see the end product come from almost nothing. A blank page. A blank canvass. Plain clay. A blank sheet of music. Tabula rasa. Here are a few good words to help in... Continue Reading →
Billy Osogo A year ago, George Floyd (yes, say his name) was brutally murdered in broad daylight, by a law enforcement officer. His death was yet another addition to the long list of black people who have suffered the same fate. However, akin to Rosa Parks’ arrest or Dr. King’s assassination, it was unique in... Continue Reading →
Billy Osogo : Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles delivered one of the most beautiful pieces of art when they wrote Ikigai. Ikigai is a Japanese word that put simply translates to: "The happiness of always being busy." The authors write on a broad spectrum of Japanese life. One of the things that's stuck with me... Continue Reading →
Billy Osogo Njia panda is the Swahili word for crossroad. Every now and then we find ourselves at a njia panda. Two opportunities arise. Too good to lose. Yet a choice must be made. Sleepless nights kick in. Pulling out of hair begins. Mental paralysis makes itself at home. The simple truth is that there’s... Continue Reading →
Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso was a man ahead of his milieu. He spoke bluntly and decisively. Even though a bullet cut his life short, his words, like his legacy, have outlived even his detractors. In an interview with a Swiss Journalist, Sankara said: "You cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of... Continue Reading →
Billy Osogo I conscientiously followed the trial of the ex-officer responsible for George Floyd’s death. For 9 minutes and 29 seconds he pocketed as his knee snuffed the life out of a helpless, unarmed, handcuffed George Floyd. 331 days later his actions caught up with him. He was found guilty of all charges. Speaking after... Continue Reading →
Books offer different things to different people. For some, books offer an escape. For some they offer a different vantage point. For others, entertainment. For others, peace. For some like me, all of the above, and then some! I enjoy hearing people's perspectives. Books allow me to do that easily, at my pleasure. From time... Continue Reading →
IMAGE: CIFEJ.com I spend considerable amounts of time around my nieces and nephew. Partly because they are home with my folks. Partly because COVID-19 has restricted my movements. Partly because they are the most adorable beings I have come across. They are nine (eldest niece) and twenty months (twins) respectively. Bar sickness, once they are... Continue Reading →
Popsicle Breath, 2021. Pennsylvania. Original Photo by SnapDragon X. All rights reserved, yo. I fondly remember the days of grammar-school playgrounds; of brown-bagged lunches; of field trips to museums, caverns, and coal mines. I remember the sense of belonging within those classroom walls. There was a constance amongst us kids: a comradery that strengthened with... Continue Reading →
By Billy Osogo "Educate, Empathize and Empower all!" That was the comment by my friend SnapDragon X on my previous piece. A brilliant choice of words, if I do so say myself! As I mentioned heretofore, the subject of racism is one that we must continue to have genuine conversations on. Educating yourself, allows you... Continue Reading →
Tired Beauty, 2021. St. Andrews State Park, Florida. Original Photo by SnapDragon X. All rights reserved, yo. Greetings, Dear Reader! The SnapDragon Family is currently on the road, seeing some sights during this all-too-depressing season of lockdown during winter in Pennsylvania. (starts shivering, and hides head beneath a blanket) We’re cozied up in our Berkshire... Continue Reading →
Still Here, 2019. Paris. Original Photo by SnapDragon X. All rights reserved, yo. Hi. SnapDragon here. It's been awhile. And who knows why, really. I mean, I do have a toddler. I tend to the house and home. I technically work full-time, although it's more like a part-time, online gig at the moment. (No complaints.... Continue Reading →
Raw, 2017. Acrylic on Canvas. Original Painting by SnapDragon X. All rights reserved. I have a real thing about utility. When I lived in the city, and spent all my time at my boyfriend's apartment, it bothered me that my own four walls just sat there, waiting. No one home. Cups and cookbooks, sweaters and... Continue Reading →
“Throughout our lives we long to love ourselves more deeply and to feel connected with others. Instead, we often contract, fear intimacy, and suffer a bewildering sense of separation. We crave love, and yet we are lonely. Our delusion of being separate from one another, of being apart from all that is around us, gives... Continue Reading →
Shedding, 2020. Pennsylvania. Original Photo by SnapDragon X. All rights reserved. To All The Friends I’ve Lost: I simply want to say hello, although it’s been so many years. Because even as time performs its cruel, relentless dance, I still remember you. I remember us. I still laugh when I think of all our ridiculous... Continue Reading →
Drawing by Adrian Serghie Have you noticed that you feel different in different environments? I’m sure you have so you probably wondered how is that impacting your life, besides your mood, thoughts and emotions. As for everybody, this pandemic had a huge impact over my life, especially since I’m working from home since March. Because... Continue Reading →
Realize, 2020. Riverhead, New York. Original Photo by SnapDragon X. All rights reserved, yo. I think there is great beauty in the space between: The space between sleep. The space between our brown-bagged lunches. The space between radio commercials. Life. It clicks by: In the flashes of headlights. The clanking of spoons. The aching of... Continue Reading →
“You are damaged and broken and unhinged. But so are shooting stars and comets.”― Nikita Gill If you have read some of my previous posts you are aware that I did not have an easy childhood...but then who among us has? You work with what you have, not what you wish for. I knew I was... Continue Reading →
You and I know both know that each book, good or bad, has a beginning and an end. However, even though a book comes to an end, reading and learning never stop. This is why I’m sharing another 5 books that changed my mindset, in addition to the top 5. Here are the books, in... Continue Reading →
