We met at noon at the local Italian restaurant. John ordered Chicken Calizonne, which was good, but didn't have a bit of chicken in it. Boy, John doesn't have much luck with restaurants! Anyway, the conversation commenced.
We got to talking about the 70s when even white people wore afros. It was the age of Superfly!
Black guys' apartments of that era were always, with almost no exception, decorated with black leather and chrome. They're not like that now, but in those days it was mandatory.
All the rooms were like that, and they were spotless. You could eat off the floor! No clutter like in my house. Nothing but furniture and walls and vast amounts of empty space.
Invariably the pictures on the walls were cloth prints, framed with chrome, The subject was always the same: naked black women with huge afros. I guess if you didn't have these you were shunned by other blacks.
We marveled at how many Superfly accessories you could buy in those days: afro salt shakers, afro lamps, clippers to give your dog an afro...you could put an afro on anything and people would buy it! To make the point John drew some accessories of his own on his napkin, starting with the afro faucet (above). 
Here's (above) the afro refrigerator and the afro parakeet with white double-pronged disco belt.
Then there's the afro pubic hair drawing which, in case kids are reading, I'll reproduce tiny. Anyway, John proved his point...anything can be embellished with an afro.
Another subject we hit was the shocking lack of facial expressions and body language in men. What's going on? Men are so stiff (you know what I mean)! They're like cigar store indians!
It's a point of honor among men to look as lifeless as possible. What gives?
Girls, on the other hand, seem to get more elastic every day. Guys, we're loosing the rubber war!
Well, there was more, but that's all I have time for. Once again we sighed, knowing the world would probably disregard what was expressed here this afternoon.
12 comments:
Afro faucet? Ok, you guys have lost it, hahaha.
And afro pubic hair...wait a second...
I'd buy an afroparakeet. Do you hear me, genetecists? I also think there would be a bright future for the perma-puppy. You mean we can put a man on the moon but there is no afroparakeet or perma-puppy?
It's really only mainstream men who are stiff and personalityless. And of course waspy wannabes like the non-afrocentric black guy in the picture.
Plenty of more colorful more ethnic men exist, I think. Anybody who can feel natural in a Brooks Brothers suit is almost certainly a stiff.
What I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall...
You should do a radio show of like two hours of just you guys chittering away about whatever outrageous theories in mind. Call it Theory Corner FM.
I think most guys--leaving nature to do her thing--would have afro pubic hair.
Moving on to your comment about men and their stoic nature. I see that too. Isn't it as much a product of "adulthood?" Maybe "Grown-Up" is the better way to catagorise it. People feel all grown up and serious and they forget, repress, ignor having fun and playing.
Maybe I'm being simplistic. I get strange looks because I let myself be expressive and open (mostly) and I play.
People comment that being a cartoonist must be fun! And it is, even for all the work involved. When I say "Yeah I play all day." they keep their smile, it plasticises, and their eyes say "you should be working."
Why do grown-ups act so serious?
Social conditioning? Maybe at a cirtain age a little gnome sneaks into your room and actually puts a stick in your bum?
Sorry to see comment mod go up. But it's completely understandable. You held out a long time and you have kept putting gems up! Thanks.
Where else can you discuss the plight of the Afro and all its glory but Eddies blog.
Afros definitely were the signature mark of studliness and arrival back in the day. But the white man afro could never quite pulled it off the same way. Only a few white guys could even attempt it, but of those that could, even fewer could make it work. I guess the white people had their own feathered and shag haircuts that they focused on and tried to perfect. However, hair parted down the middle or off to the side just didn't get you the same street cred or respect as the fro.
I don't know why but todays Afros just don't' hold the same intimidation as back then. Maybe it's because nowadays the occasional fro just doesn't stand for anything or have a common cause. I guess the shaved head look has replaced that.
Pube afro = bad news
And Uncle Eddie, you of all people show know that not all men are rigid and emotionless and boring! And that there are plenty of women who act like that too. Lucky for me, I don't hang around with any people like that! My friends are elastic al the way!
I don't know why but todays Afros just don't' hold the same intimidation as back then.
Back in the day (that would be the 60's more than the 70's), the afro was like saying to white folks, "if you piss me off one more time, I'm going to begin the revolution on your ass!"
Today we all know that angry young inner-city black men don't begin violent social upheavals. Instead they do something perhaps far more effective. They make suburban white kids want to be like them.
I'll have to consult with Joe Horne and get back with you on the accuracy of this post.
Eddie you are always welcome to lift images from my blog. Several times at burning man I found myself thinking, " Crap Eddie would love this."
I've still about 150 pictures to put up. Keep checking, I'll try and get through the rest over the weekend.
Corporate climbers of both sexes receive stiff projectiles up their backsides upon graduating with MBAs. This paralyzes most facial muscles.
Maybe those lifeless men in the picture are cartoon writers or executives.
The 3 men I know all have expressions.
My goodness, these discussions are very interesting and funny. I would definitely love to have been a silent observer at one of these sessions.
Here's an idea - if My Dinner With Andre, a film that just features a conversation between two people, could win beaucoup awards, why doesn't someone film these conversations and publish them on Youtube? I'm sure that the owners of the restaurant will let you film there.
I thought they were here to fix the xerox machine.
Most colors were considered too gay for real men in the 70's. White Democrats could have burnt orange shag, harvest gold sofas or avocado green appliances, but black men didn't want to be associated with hippies.
By mid-decade, gay & black street cultures merged to create the disco aesthetic. Now men could wear 3-piece suits in gray, bugundy or beige with an open shirt & gold chains.
I was there. I saw it.
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