Lessons from Melancholy Maelstrom: A Diary of Silver Linings

Bless up from your feet to your head top

We Go Again

Spent the past 4 years learning and had my health and career on the line to take this first step and start my professional life this way.

My first book Melancholy Maelstrom: A Diary of Silver Linings

LINK FOR PAPERBACK https://amzn.to/2nslV8A …
LINK FOR EBOOK https://amzn.to/2lTFg1S

My life has been innately negative From the start and it hasn’t stopped the thing I was blessed with was skill to convey message and execute it thoroughly .

A life of a genius’ pain. I don’t live one without the other

My skill helps me stand tall in the face of all adversity pain and trauma, endlessly bittersweet and always a lesson learned. My life as a case study for those that go through it all in life and are unable to field the lessons or see past their trauma to use mine as a guide

The good from my life comes from the greatness of my skill and those that recognise it. My trauma was born with me my pain perpetuated it I having the skill to still work while it exists is no mere feat. Although I don’t ask for applause I ask for us all to do better

i want no company in misery I want the world to love and life for the greatness and betterment of all humanity. My heart pains for all people in terrible situations and I use that pain to paint the canvas in hopes to give somewhat of a reflection in order to heighten minds for a better tomorrow.

My finger is long wrought but I know this is the right way to go. This type of education, learning through art is a vision of mine. Not many are here for it but I hope to create great works that stand the test of time so whenever a group is downtrodden they can look to my words for guidance

We’re learning more of – Whatever Moves Your Dial

Damilare. Not Your Typical

Follow my socials Instagram: @nytypical Twitter: @nytypical

Please check out Some of my Thoughts On:

For some longer form write ups Read some of My Dialogues

Click here for my Essays 

To learn more about Owning Your Own Ship – OYOS  

ORDER MY BOOK HERE: MELANCHOLY MAELSTROM – A Diary of Silver Linings https://amzn.to/2nslV8A

BANNER_Book Cover-03.png

The time has finally come to be able to give to you all the preorder link for you to get the book below

LINK FOR PAPERBACK https://amzn.to/2nslV8A …
LINK FOR EBOOK https://amzn.to/2lTFg1S

A Note on Sickle Cell: The Addict Stigma & Opioid Crisis ‘We are in pain not addicts’

We go again,

While in pain the fastest course of action is Painkillers from Paracetamol to stop a fever and Ibropofen to quell inflammation all the way to Opioids to numb the whole body completely from the real excruciating pain of a crisis.

With such pain it is very important it gets dealt with in haste, however Sickle Cell patients have to deal with being thought of as an addict as they have to use high caliber of drug to deal with insufferable pain. Most of these medications are not available to the general public, as a Sickle Crisis sufferer you are taught from young to stay informed and be vigilant about your medical condition so having such information can be seen as a catch 22, that being said should it really be at the cost of the sufferers?

This particular blog addresses the stigma which tells doctors that Sickle Cell patients are PainKiller addicts on top of not believing black pain as detailed in a portion of humanity — (please check out the blog as they relate heavily) they believe that Sickle Cell patients present as Opioid addicts — this causes some of the patients to have longer wait times and to be tested to ensure to the Doctor in question this patient has Sickle Cell.

These prior exams have a negative effect on patients, further research shows there is no president for Sickle Cell patients ever being addicts. A study shows patients are less likely to get addicted to painkillers due to the natural nature of the pain. All the while America is in the middle of an “Opioid Crisis” and more and more people being hooked on prescription pills like Percocet’s Oxy and Codeine all of which are exactly the pills used to handle chronic pain making it really bad new for Sickle Cell patients who have been lumped in with abusers.

A great deal of Sickle Cell patients as well as I, dislike having to rely on taking certain pain medication more often than not those sufferers who decide to hold off taking pain medication until the last moments. Pain Killers do not cure anything on the part of the patients there relieves the pressure of pain; some situations end up like my anecdotal evidence in Living Through a Crisis.

I have been looked at as an addict more times than I have actually been treated for my pain; prior to ever getting proper attention to my medical emergency, this irks especially when there is no basis scientific or factual basis of this more often than not its a ‘pseudo-analysis based on what presents as signs of addiction…’ I want to changed that.

I do believe though that opioids do not need to be the only solution, Sickle Cell Pain  is a symptom of the sickling of blood stuck in the blood vessel; the pathway is blocked so it causes irritation then further pain. That being said painkillers are used to stop feeling the pain while the Sickled blood runs its lifespan.

That being the case there must be other means to help your body stop feeling the pain or to effect the pain area directly. We can only wait for more clinical trials and better studies for how to beat treat this pain and for now it is controlled drugs. There are Studies with Cannabinoid (CBD) oils engineered to help patients suffering with

More information on the studies referenced

Mistreatment of Sickle Cell Patient

Further Reading: Research Study: Opioid crisis adds to pain of sickle cell patients

Whatever Moves Your Dial

Damilare. Not Your Typical

Thank You For Reading… Please read my other Feature blogs:

A Dose of Optimism

A Portion of Humanity

Global Invisible Disease

Living Through Crisis

And visit Sickle Cell Companion  for all my other literature on Sickle Cell

I want to connect and contact people that want to know more, here’s how you can connect with me

Facebook: fb.me/nytypical

Instagram: @nytypical

Twitter: @nytypical

 

A Note On Sickle Cell: What Helped me Help Myself — A dose of optimism

We go for great,

I used to live my life reactionary to what people thought of my medical condition. I was used to it, so I disengaged early, I wanted to be a normal kid. I did grow curious, some part of me grew to seriously ask myself questions — wanting to understand if what people thought of me through the lens of my condition was the me I actually am — the look of like I’m suddenly part of a lower subset of human; the look of as if I live like a man on death row; the look of a decrepit helpless man. This is the look I find in their eyes.

All those looks were not controlled by me, it would have some very negative effects this fuelled me wanting to find the truth so I did my first ever “Google’s”. My first mistake, (never try find true documentation with the highest google answer). This would play on my mind for a while till I took a real look at what the findings were, I didn’t just search up on Wikipedia or the NHS website I would start to read medical journals and see how it is defined. My findings concluded, its not a death sentence.

(Even further I have come up with hypothesis on how to treat it; that is for another blog. )

How I saw myself looking after my body was different. I didn’t automatically start treating it like a temple. What I knew though is with strong bones, a strong body and cardio vascular system your quality of life will have levelled & or better than the next guy because sickle cell puts you in the position to have to live to a higher standard of nutrition as a basic prerequisite.

With all the people I have seen with the condition (numbering in the hundreds) those with less complaints eat a balanced diet go to the gym to move weights and don’t make reckless decisions, those with the best life have THE BEST LIFESTYLE. I want to stress it does not absolve crisis, it helps the pain tolerance to be higher because the body is generally in better shape and used to the stresses of those physical activities. So the friends that look ‘perfectly healthy’ will participate in sports activities and or socially drink and don’t “look like” they have sickle cell till they tell you look after themselves to a very high standard. Everyone though is healthy till they are not.

This means being an active participant in your health. I listen to my body and assess the situation, when I do that I have better control of my days. I’m not saying there aren’t days I can be gripped by pain, not at all. I know what’s best for me and what’s not so good for me when it comes to activity.

I feel great daily if I look after my body daily. This is something all of my brothers and sisters to know, I’m not the biggest guy but I started with the smallest weights and the shortest session but slowly year after year I gained more inner strength to compose myself and try out for my university Gymnastics team. Being very honest it was the best decision I made as an adult. Making sure within myself that this is my own body I own it, my identity is what I make of it, Sickle Cell is not me it exists while I’m alive but it will not condemn me to a life of fear and destitution.

If this makes sense pass it on, just like the death sentence disease idea that was probably passed on hand this piece of information over too, instead of looking at friends and family with desperate despair maybe this dose of optimism will do you all some good.

Whatever Moves Your Dial

Damilare. Not Your Typical

To get in contact with me find me on

Facebook: fb/nytypical

Instagram: @nytypical

Twitter: @nytypical

Thank You For Reading… Please read my Other Feature blogs:

Living Through Crisis

A Portion of Humanity

Global Invisible Disease

Addict Stigma // Opioid Crisis

And visit Sickle Cell Companion  for all my other literature on Sickle Cell

The Fickle Fantasy of the Avant- Whore

Identity is a real intriguing thing. We date based around it whether its religion and race or gender. But theres this one part of identity i find almost riveting in a certain way but also repugnant in others. That would be the Dating because you wear a certain type of clothes. Akin to dating people for listening to a certain type of music.

Beauty of Artisanal Wear

This is how riveting this is there are people who find a clothing brand and relate to the person who makes the clothes so much; feel the person is telling their story (much like a musician) and wear that persons clothes for the rest of their lives, better still they will only wear this person. I can only imagine what that is like, to want to wear someones designs for the rest of their lives. To feel what this person who has made these clothes have felt, when you touch the clothes you see where they’re coming from, when you wear them you walk in their shoes almost, or the shoes of the person they’re inventing is projecting; possibly kind of euphoric.

Bastardisation of Fashion Houses

The repugnancy of it all is deep and complicated and very precise. Let me explain. In the era I grew up in theres a thing going on, I don’t know whether this has always happened though, there are men, them and women out here who went through phases of dress from department store, school clothes, etc, landing themselves at the discovery of european fashion designers one way or the other and determined this was the upper echelon of dress.

I myself went through phases where i didn’t want to dress like everyone else but wasn’t trying to impress with a name but with my style, wearing particular items together in a way that made me feel good, unique, stylish.

I don’t feel the same energy, what I sense is the discovery of a cult following that has been going on for a few decades now and believing this is the greatest thing a friendship group doesn’t know about, this concerns, Margiela, CDG, Ann D, CCP and the favourite few names of this class. This discovery has led to many new ways of being, the rabid variety, who will bite your head off for not knowing who the designer they worship is, or worse still look down on you for not knowing who their cult leader is, which is the more sheepish part of the personality. They feel it is any different from people who lord Chanel, Gucci, or Louis Vuitton. Where its just the same thing with little known designers from that era.

The Facetious Fashion Industry

I found it terrifying hilarious that there are young guys out there that went through a “phase” of wearing “hyped” clothes as they would put it, – didn’t grow out of it – and ended up pushing the mentality of ‘I have this I am better than you’ on European and Japanese etc. high-priced clothes

I will like to say high fashion is not equal to European made clothes

nor is high fashion a high priced item.

as these “luxury”/Heritage houses have taught us, they have devolved luxury to what the name will bring you socially, which is status and approval from those who approve of your status through your clothes. That their clothes aren’t synonymous with well travelled and artisanally made wears and licenses.

This mindset though has travelled to the mind of the youth who know nothing about well made history of the house. But equate name and brand to the clothes and luxury to the price tag.

All together has made for a diluted system of people who believe hard work in marketing means your clothing brand can be successful and automatically luxury with whose body you’re able to get it on.

The Fictitious Fickle Fantasy of Youth

The Era of clout and trolls has given rise to what I like to call the Avant-Whore a person who uses the same issue with Hype beasts and adds it to the Anti-fashion or more artisanal houses. But has more sensibilities and possibly more knowledge, like a true fashion elitist would.

I have seen Men go from streetwear, a very calm genre of wears on its own, to saying they outgrow it and deciding now it must be only wear [insert off the beat and path designer] clothes. Perfectly fine on its own but the projection of the insecurity comes in when they feel their friends need to be what they’re on, vying for more validity. Or thinking their friends in the click are less acquainted with what “real fashion” is do to their styling or buying choices.

My further analysis, because these people have the power of elitist who also wear the same clothes , the cult followers who buy and trade, and the true fans who will support the designer(s)in question no matter what. This person will decide based on their new attire that they will only date people who dress as they are, as if it were some status symbol or new level of elitism the acquired.

all due to the fact they’re near – people who love it, for their personal desires, or people write on it – they feel an allure of to talk and act mightier than thou. More Accepted than anyone else, more in the know than anyone else.

Enough to project it onto a partner that fashion is their life and if someone else they’re talking to isn’t deep in fashion as well then theres nothing to talk about.

I find it concerning that this thought process even exists, and just thought provoking that there are young people that think like this. I even know there are older people who think this way enough to give fearless kids to take it a step further and project this mindset onto the people outside fashion because those are the people who have less knowledge of fashion than they do.

All in its disconcerting people roam the world thinking this way, as a writing topic and someone who has deeply studied Behavioural psychology and Sociology its a riveting subject to talk about, but as someone who is in fashion and has a high level of fashion knowledge and can’t be effected by these people, I wonder how it is effecting the people who don’t have a good defence on it and are made to feel this way by the shoal of fashion.

Whatever Moves Your Dial

Damilare. Not Your Typical

If you want to donate to help out this growing platform all patronage is welcome https://www.paypal.me/DYusuff

Follow my socials Instagram: @NYTypical Twitter: @ARAHofNYT

To learn more about Owning Your Own Ship – OYOS  

Please check out Some of my Thoughts On:

For some longer form write ups Read some of My Dialogues

Click here for my Essays 

 On My series work

Spring Of The Rookie

Sickle Cell Companion

Spring of The Rookie: Virgil Abloh – Urban Industrial Maverick

Bless up from Your Feet to Your Head top

We Go Again

This is Virgil. Chicago born designer who rose to the top of luxury in a toxic streetwear climate. With zero “school pedigree” as his detractors would like to point out Virgil became the designer for the unspoken for man designing for the people he loves taking all his references from Streetwear, road uniform, Chicago, skate culture, hip hop, New York, street fashion and meme culture.

The third and final rookie is Virgil because he is the first in modern history to achieve what he achieved in the way he did it as part of a few men of colour who rose to the top of luxury and one of the first to be at the top of another’s house with no degree in fashion a Kanye philosophy which allowed maybe not the man himself but one of his closest disciples & collaborators to be the most visible designer of that aesthetic. So much so he came out of Kanye’s shadow which is a big shadow and possibly his biggest accomplishment.

Virgil using his patented design philosophy to create furniture fashion, footwear and fine art. Starting from a humble engineering student to architecture part 2 student, Kanye Designer, Fendi intern, to owning his own labels Been Trill Pyrex and Off White all culminating in him being the most exposed designer on the planet with Nike using his design language to create pieces without him; a bastardised form of streetwear sprouting it’s wings forming houses we could or could not have done with.

Being in part why I think so many people criticise Virgil so harshly mainly because his work isn’t possibly understood fully and streetwear seen as a black art form on top of that the fruits of his tree, every designer has fruit from their tree and design philosophy especially if it’s expansive enough it can bring about some really inspired work. However what people take from Virgil’s work is irony and crude mimicry, what can anyone do about that but criticise his lack of clarity and say the direction he is going in isn’t worth exploration. All being wrong points of view, to dash someone with a wealth of experience, the bun in the oven isn’t done – and what we have to do is wait for the bird to find its wings.

There are points in which Virgil deserves criticism and vitriol, his lack of cultural awareness for 1) and for 2) his inability to take control and responsibility for what he has been given. Virgil at the height of off white decided to sell a controlling interest in his company to New Guards group. At the height of Off White, he decided to sell a majority stake, to people who aren’t for whatever culture he says he represents. This support and cash flow can be said to dilute the brand as what they have for sale are dried up designs.

Again his lack of cultural awareness had him steal from young designers, young black designers at that. Fair few designers e has taken from have been black designers, no remorse, no job given no credit. This is the way of many big fashion houses, so it is no big surprise that they steal peoples work. What I am surprised at is, the staff at both companies where he is Creative director (CD) are built up of majority white employ.

He can’t control who works at Louis Vuitton (LV) but the part of his corporation he has control over he has no efficacy to make them of his culture he so says is his own. So in effect, he steals from his own culture to give to LVMH and New Guards group. This is something people don’t talk about enough but it is a point of contention for me as it comes to criticism of Virgil and I think about it often. This is the conversation that needs to be had in terms of what we consider proper criticism of Virgil

In Virgil’s recent collections, he is displaying a growth that’s different from his earlier collections and if the trajectory stays the same aside from what everyone has said with conviction and fever the design language will flourish and breed the real inspiration for new designers that criticisers seek. The design language sprout that I see is intrinsically ties to him and his references and respectfully is unlikely display of beauty from his dresses to his tailoring.

This new design language Urban Industrial Lux he has created the trainers and bags to me are the star the true utilities made beautiful and you see a true effort to accentuate harmony of engineering and aestheticism while having control of the chic appeal of the accessories and even the clothes creating luxurious pieces only able to be revealed from his mind.

Further still his eye for patterns and creation of texture in his industrial design, of bags, suitcases and clothes. What Virgil excels at is delivering high level textures and bag/case design in a multitude of forms, I will always point to the 2054 collection  which spoke so much to his ability to create at a high level given the reigns and allowed to explore his strength when it comes to patterns, industrial design, set design and the sort.

His trainers have been so influential even though none of them are original they speak to his main audience and are important to his sensibilities as a designer creating a streak of winners that continue to be hype, in my eyes hype is a picture of accessibility to the people. Every artist strives towards being thought of as the best while being themselves but rarely any will make it so many stay with the understanding they can capture an audience.

As Virgil becomes a mainstay in fashion creating more season hopefully better and more wholistic towards his true inspiration I see him passing the torch too many more designers, whether he likes it or not- or i like it or not- he inspires many black youths to do what he has done.  What the fashion industry is talking about they could care less on so the great things he is doing can only be highlighted. My reality on Virgil is whatever he does next is of his own volition

This is my Rookie Virgil

Whatever Moves Your Dial

Damilare. Not Your Typical

If you want to donate to help out this growing platform all patronage is welcome https://www.paypal.me/DYusuff

Follow my socials Instagram: @NYTypical Twitter: @ARAHofNYT

To learn more about Owning Your Own Ship – OYOS  

Please check out Some of my Thoughts On:

For some longer form write ups Read some of My Dialogues

Click here for my Essays 

 On My series work

Spring Of The Rookie

Sickle Cell Companion

NYT STYLE: What Makes a Hypebeast a Hypebeast

Bless up from your feet to your head top

We go again

Who are you when you put on clothes? It’s a weird question, partly facetious and partly vain. The thing is, to the people who really live it, you wouldn’t understand what goes through their minds when they get a fit off perfectly for the day. It can change your whole mood, your whole aura.

The experience is qualitative not quantitative, I could tell you how it feels but the feeling varies from person to person. There are times at which the aura can be felt from outside in, for those of us that completely feel fulfilled inside out.

Fashion for most is an individual and self centred pursuit that allows for such a range of self expression today that in a room full of fashion people that feel this way it can light up a room.

I see no problem in what some would call facetious, vain, narcissistic, or self centred. Self fulfilment is part of human identity, if you are full, if you feel 100%, your cup runs over and you can pour into someone else.

This may be seen as too philosophical an approach, nonetheless I’ve seen it happen umpteen times.

The problem I find is when people think the clothes make the person the hypebeast.

Fashion has so many statements today that it’s electrifying, like I said these people can light up a room, at the same time that level of energy can be destructive when applied negatively. People who don’t have all their ducks in a row can burst at the seams for attention, they will activate a toxic environment for those around them and left unchecked they will come off as malevolent to those around them. Not be, malevolent but have the energy of someone who doesn’t care for what they do to others.

Many people derive hypebeasts from sneaker culture, mainly because of the growth in the marketing of exclusivity from the market as well as Supreme getting to a Billion and being deemed a Luxury brand. Growth of Jordan Collaborations and other classic Nike Shapes all for competition with Yeezy.

when the internet is engrossed with something the value goes to us, whether the engrossment is good or bad, it’s all worth it to the supplier.

The internet Kids became enthralled by the Marketing of FOMO and gaining of exclusive products it changed the Crep market altogether, secondhand and reselling rose to the occasion, Stock X, Grailed and Sneaker all benefitted from this innovation. As written in the previous Paragraph that was a whole host of correlating points that led to the growth of the trainer market in the world, quite rightly so, it takes more than one brand initiative, app, or piece of clothing to make a hype beast. – Funnily enough Hype beasts usually have many pieces, even multiples of ones. Moreover I cant altogether say if you dress a certain way you are a Hype Beast.

The most important part of this message is knowing that I cannot talk about someone who wears Jordans, or Supreme and call them a hypebeast, as much as i can call someone who wears Margiela Tabis and call them ‘Fashion Forward’. Just as someone that’s in the sphere, I meet many people who wear so-called High fashion pieces and fancy themselves as Fashion Forward, I can’t say in the slightest I agree with them. A pair of Tabi’s does not make you fashion forward just as Supreme doesn’t make you a hype beast.

I can go so far as to say there are people that wear Comme Des Garçon, Margiela, Rick Owens that I would consider hypebeasts. Just as much as the direction of a hypebeast isn’t consistent with Supreme, Jordan and Yeezy

In fact all of them are included in this analysis, back to my original metaphor Hypebeasts take away good energy, the exuberance of loving how you look and sharing that energy with others, to wanting to be seen by everyone and trying to grab attention in as many ways as possible.

This type of imbalance brings so much vitriol to fashion. The people of this cloth will be the first most people will meet in the fashion sphere, – not saying its perfect, nor saying it’s not filled with trifling people – but it is a terrible first contact. The clothes will be wearing them, the statement pieces will be out of place if that wasn’t enough the energy will be all take, take take, look at me I want attention, ‘See how much better I am than you’. So many issues to be addressed there but because the clothes have the perception of being called fashion, people perceive these people to be in fashion, some are, most is a facade

The Hypebeast is an invention of the game to classify a subset of people in order to square them away. Just as streetwear turned up and eboys thereafter Hediboys, Jerrybois Rick Chad etcetera. Hypebeasts are a big part of fashion and enhance it and even uplift it in their own ways, just as everyone else does.

They curate a vibe and are mostly an entry point for most people getting into fashion today, many people are scared this is the future when the reality is the classification comes from the people who like to name things, now its connotation is so negative it needs an update. I can’t say the type of appreciation a Hype beast would have is explicitly negative, it’s only because it contrasts so much with the appreciation I’m so accustomed to today.

People want to learn, people love fashion and people appreciate how they want. It’s only when it impresses negatively on others I get a strange quell to regulate but the reality as I see it, they become less burdensome the more they learn and the ones I come across- in my unique position- love to learn. Coming from the Antifashion side or the Streetwear side I endear myself to those with open minds

Whatever Moves Your Dial

Damilare. Not Your Typical

Donations help out this growing platform all patronage is welcome donate/DYusuff

Check out the live these reference videos came from Patra & Ciera Live

Follow my socials Instagram: @NYTypical Twitter: @ARAHofNYT

To learn more about Owning Your Own Ship – OYOS  

Please check out Some of my Thoughts On:

For some longer form write ups Read some of My Dialogues

Click here for my Essays 

 On My series work

Spring Of The Rookie

Sickle Cell Companion