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I worked at Wang Labs over the summer.

Bravo @ProfD If we're not living through episodes of Black Mirror, I don't know what this is! I bet the show's writers probably already suggested this show! I stopped watching because it got too creepy (i.e., true to life).

I'm not surprised, LOL. We have DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation) in common! We were orbiting each other and didn't even know it!

Whaddup AALBC Family! I'm in the building. I've been busy with some things going on at work as well as some personal issues in my neighborhood that I'm in the process of straightening out so not a lot of leisure time to spend online. I actually was going to post a thread here Thursday night after Trump's guilty verdict but messed around and forgot about it until this morning when I checked in and saw Troy's thread.

I'm in the house....... Just been very busy at work and some things going on in the community. Thanks for the concern for your brother!

Understood. It's all good as long as you're doing well and still around. I'll keep holding it down in this forum until brotha @Troy kicks me outta this comfy armchair or turns out the lights.

One of my favorite Bible formats. Filled with African Christian history notes that I have a hard time finding anywhere else.

@ProfD I have been here just another forum. Focused on creating, posting in the literary section when applicable. I have thoughts to governance , in the village or world en large of course but I don't think I have anything worth adding to post in the cultural forum , nor anything potent that hasn't already been said. ... Maybe I am wrong but that is my reasoning. I check into the cultural forum from time to time, read a post see if something i can add, but I usually come up with nothing.

Not sure if you are the photographer, but wonderful pictures!

The more I produce Bible studies, the more I realize the necessity of identifying my target audience and writing with them in mind. I have finally decided that the Christians I am primarily writing for are those who aren't called to a preaching or teaching ministry, but still want a more in-depth understanding of scripture. My goal is to help believers move beyond Bible basics and transition into deeper studies. My Bible art journaling studies, however, are specifically for women. I would like to know who other writers in the Christian market are writing for. Put it out there!

I am a Bible teacher focusing on grassroots theological education, which is a fancy way of saying I like to break down the scriptures for us everyday people in the pews. I call my works Off-Kilter Bible Studies. I have written three Bible journaling studies for the creative and non-traditional learner, as well as a non-fiction piece on tithing. Since I am an artist as well as an author, I lean toward my books being creatively designed. I think of Bible study as a hands-on thing. This year I have expanded into podcasting as a method of teaching the Bible. But I still love to read and write. And so I am working on yet another book.

Yep. it's been a long minute since brotha @Pioneer1 checked in and chopped it up with us. Pray that all is well with him. Hope he hasn't chosen to socially distance from the gallery. Same goes for @frankster and @richardmurray and other folks who haven't plopped down in their chairs for a while.

As the personification of white supremacy, privilege and nationalism, former POTUS Orange Julius (POJ) is picking up more steam with every grenade throw at him by the Left. However, be not dismayed if former POJ gets re-elected. The Left will have done everything it could to give the keys to the White House back to him. Former POJ does and says what the rest of them only think and wish they could do.

I just checked and see @Pioneer1 has not visited the forums since April 27. While that is not a long time, relatively speaking, it is for him. Well, I trust all is alright with my “incorrigible Brother.”

Too bad this "guilty" verdict just solidified the support of Trump's diehard following. They don't even have to come up with a valid rebuttal to his conviction;all they have to do is recite the same ol litany attributing the "guilty" verdict to Trump being a victim of a political "witch hunt" whose outcome was "rigged". There is some consolation, however, in the fact that a black District Attorney was instrumental in sending the message that "nobody is above the law"! Meanwhile, the Democrats are struggling along, stuck with a bumbling old 80-something presidential candidate, who offers little incentive to reject Trump who appeals to a sizeable portion of middle Americans who want this country to go back to being a bigoted, homophobic, misogynistic, xenophobic, gun-toting, history-denying, super patriotic bastion of religious hypocrisy. Throw in those voters tired of senseless expensive wars, inflation, and the cancel culture, and democracy's jeopardy is increased as a dictatorial crook begins to look like a tolerable alternative. Women of America and their determination to control their own bodies may be who turns the tide... The night stalking "Contrarian" has spoken. Back to the peanut gallery...

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/30/trump-trial-verdict-hush-money.html Former POTUS Orange Julius was found guilty on all 34 counts in hush money trial. Yet, Truth Social website crashed because it was flooded with campaign donations for his reelection bid. Remains to be seen whether or not he gets jail time. Doesn't stop him from running for POTUS. Let's see if the American people are silly enough to re-elect a clown with so many cases that he's running for POTUS with hands tied behind his back.

You can be black and all kinds of things politically speaking. There are Black Democrats, Nationalists, Sepratists, Marxists, Conservatives, Moderates, and Republicans. You might even call yourself a Progressive or Libertarian. But few Black people call themselves Liberal. Even if most Black people vote Democrat they would reject Liberalism. If you're a white Liberal or Black Conservative reading this you might think I'm way off base. But being a Black Democrat is not synonymous with being a Liberal. I'm a Liberal. So what does that mean ? Is it a belief in social justice, equality, and compassion ? Maybe I'm Liberal because I believe in higher taxes for rich people, spending on social programs, and abortion rights. Perhaps I'm Liberal because I value openess, reason, and science. All these things are valid. But none of them are necessarily Liberal in. Liberalism is a form of political thought devoted to the idea of individual liberty (or freedom). You should be left alone to do as you wish until you pose bodily harm to others or interfere with them doing what they want. Secondly, each person should be able to choose. They should be able to follow their own pursuits. How we understand this liberty and its limits is what politics is about. Liberals want people to be free from government and private control. For Liberals individual liberty is upheld by limits on government power, equal rights, and equal opportunity. Tolerance which basically means different people living together and disagreeing without tyranny or killing each other is also a Liberal value. What does any of this mean to me or Black people as a group ? Here's what I think : 1. We need to fight systemic racism and extreme wealth income inequality that hurt blacks collectively so that every black person is more free as an individual. 2. I believe that true liberty is found in preserving and strengthening Black institutions and also pursuing opportunities in the American mainstream. This kind of pluralism is essential to our human, social, economic, and political well-being. 3. While overcoming systemic racism is essential, we can't ignore sexism, homophobia, or transphobia that hinder black women and black LGBTQ people. All Black people must be free collectively and individually. 4. While I think the Democratic Party is better for black people than the GOP. It's far from perfect to say the least. If blacks are going to benefit from being Democrats we must constantly advocate in our own political interests. Democrats including white Liberals don't always help us. This also applies to black elected officials. 5. I have major philosophical and policy differences with Black Moderates, Conservatives, Nationalists, and Socialists. But the kind of Liberalism I believe in is a minority viewpoint among Black people. Liberalism cannot possibly always be right. That means listening and learning from other perspectives. Hopefully we can come together when possible to help ourselves as Black people. I really believe Black people want certain things all Americans want like safety, security, material comfort, health, a better life for our children, respect, a voice in our government, and a life with dignity. The continuing Black struggle for freedom and equality is consistent with Liberalism. It is part of the challenge that any Liberal politics must embrace to make this country better for all.

Have you ever thought of doing a collaborative work? @Jean2021 @Rosey Lee @DeeSiwisa @JenanFR @Dee Miller

The Kobo Writing Life team invites you to join us on May 30th from 12:00 PM-1:00 PM EST for an exciting live Q&A event with Ember Leigh, Erin Mallon, Karen Grey, Lainey Davis and Liz Alden. They will have a chance to chat with our author engagement manager Laura to break down the collaboration process, what they’ve learned through their secret writing sessions, and more about the wonderful world they’ve all built together. MY TRANSCRIPT 4:00 What is the largest collaborative work you know of, in terms of number of collaborators? also in terms of size of final project? farm 2 forking https://www.kobo.com/ww/en/series/farm-2-forking-2 5:00 Kim, Liz, Lainey are all rom com writers and did kickstarters together. Karen says it was various ideas it started to be. Karen brought in erin and then the four brought in ember and then they said it will be about a family farm and the siblings will star in the books. 00:7:00 Laura, how do you decide which book and who comes first 00:8:00 Ember, personal schedules, she knew she wanted to go last. 00:9:00 Laura to Ember, did you write a food truck story? Ember, yes, it was therapeutic Laura to Erin, where did the idea for this setting come from and how did you expand the universe? Eric, all the ideas have melded into one thing. it is hard to pinpoint. She remember she was in a place like "dirty dancing" near the catskills. They started sending each other emails and craft around that area. It was good it was near a big city. Karen, we decided ona farm cause a family on a farm would be the easiest structure to go from book to book. Liz, a group of best friends have a certain dynamic where a family where they have a more complex dynamic. Made it easier to explore sibling experiences. Lainey, from the get go we wanted it to be a shared world. I think each can stand alone but it is easier if they are together. They were doing online calls every week for a year. Ember, the series arc plays into every single book and they have to make sure it is getting resolved. 00:16:00 Laura to Liz, how did you keep the organization Liz, each role is a scene, she uses google docs, we have notes on each. what date in the year is it. Karen's got a scene and we have rows that keeps us organized. We create places like this and keep them consistent. In her book it is a dive or from her book to Karen's is the bar changing. It is a process to keep organized. Ember, liz is the one who tells us where to go. The keeper of the bible. Karen, she has a business background. Lis, early on we have a series brainstorming document. , what is over view of the series and where will we take it. . I know we talk about in our discord server, but having a place. KAren, we started in facebook messenger, and it was terrible, then google docs and then we went to discord and we enjoyed discord . Liz, We have a channel for each book, off topic for chit chat and a place for marketing. KAren, go straight there, go to discord for communication. Lainey, this has improved her process for her own books. 00:22:00 Laura to all, what did you find most challenging Lainey, we realized a plot hole, the challenge and benefit, is you can not write off the challenge or ignore it. Karen, the starting was so much easier because lainey started it. The reading of the will the grandfather. She was able to get the tone. Cause in her own personal writing she starts slowly. I wrote this faster than any book cause it was started for me already. But it had challenge and we have a grandmother character. She was meant to be noisy but then steal scenes. In a lot of little changes. Ember, at the start , it made me nervous having to stay in bounds. It freaked her out. I have to read all of their books. It felt like ebing a bigger pressure being the last book. But reading all the books has been compounding inspiration, it is limiting me but is making decisions for my creative process that I didn't see coming. Erin, She tends to write and edit as she goes, but because she had parameters, the establishment of things made no second guessing it didn't lessen her. We didn't have an upset. We have four other authors with different skills. It feels nice. Ember, when she was talking about the plot hole of the rock star, the collaborative process defined something about her book that would not had happened alone. Lainey, it truly feel collaborative in that I am in all, all of us are involved in all. Her readers were like, other writers I don't know, but she assured tem. KAren, their is dialog written by each of us in each other's book. Liz, Laine was so easy about me coming into her book. KAren, collaboratively, we were able to set up the other person's book easier. I wanted to start the incident that starts erin's book without giving it away. 00:31:00 Laura, like an expert level beta reader Karen, she has a beta reader who read all the books and found something 00:32:00 Laura, Liz how did you decide which tropes you decided ? Liz, she has a character who is the only kid from a single dad. I knew i wanted them early on. It is easy to see them being who they were at the end. She loves the first proximity dynamic, building each other as employers. Lainey, her book is a second chance romance and she hates writing it, but readers love it, and she wanted to start it off the series with a strong trope. That journey made her figure out something , her heroine has chron's disease. Once i determined the trope , it determined the plot. Erin, surprise baby, which she never written before. I have the female siblings. Her decision to make surprise baby came later. If you are truly the girl who grew up with hot brothers, what is your life truly like. What would be the best thing to bring the most conflict? one night stand/surprise baby/they can't handle it? Figuring out how her real life will be with these guys, and having fun, that is really fun. 00:37:00 Laura, it seems everyone is branching out trying things they wouldn't, are they steamy? Ember, I think we are being pretty consistent. I think I am reeling it in slightly. It makes the most sense for reader expectation to maintain the spice level. LAiney, I Think this is the steamiest of all your books. KAren, I am 3.5 Liz and Ember are much higher steam and Lainey is closer to them. My books is a midnight stand, they tend to be steamier. I think the sex positive. We are all celebrating intimacy as part of the relationship story. The steam level shifts with the need of the particular characters in the book. I think what I love, when we hit something hard emotionally. Somebody going through something serious but goofy is in the background. All different kinds of humour. The best romance to read is multiverse. Liz, She want to share an ancecdote, when Karen was starting we said we wanted acharacter to be dir ty talker. 00:41:00 Laura, Karen you talked about humour, how did you go about that? Karen, hard question, we come from a theater background. My experience before was creating collaborative shows. We wrote three shows together, and other fun stuff. It is on your feet trying it out. I don't think I can teach somebody to write humour. To me, this is what I know. People who are funny, n my performing career, i was around the ffunniest people, mostly women, and to me you look at reality and tip it a little. you have to have that kind of brain to write comedy. This is one ti [ I n give, if i am caught, get them into trouble. Comedy is getting somebody in trouble and then getting them out of it is the comedy. Lainey is really good at punts Ember, I feel the presence of the sheep. Lainey, spoke the name the sheep:) 00:44:00 LAura, are all the punny titles from you Lainey, I think this was my funniest book, but I had this community. It was iz who suggested the series name. KAren, I think a google doc is just a list of puns and food titles 00:45:00 Laura, I was enjoying the puns . How do you market as a group different as one author? Ember, one thing I liked about this project is we all have different avenues. Our network exploded with the avenues we have been abe to tap into. I am in awe everyday of the different opportunites. I think most of us approached the project this in mind. I think we thought to tie in books to already existing projects. It will lead into an existing series that follows it. I am excited to lead into. I don't know, working with these lovely people , when it comes time to promoteI can get a little lax so they have been propping me up. Karen, ember made have forgotten to design our covers. It is hard enough to find one way to talk to a covr artist but now with five of us. We will have these extensive calls and we tortured the poor girl. Trying to fit all of our brains through the eyes of a needle. Ember, do we want illustrated, do we want man chest. That was all hard to do together. Figuring out what made the most sense for this project, it was a good challenge. Erin, part of this was stopping your ego. She said I don't have man chest. But I am going to stop that so if people are thinking about getting into a collaborative. I need the experience to learn from other authors so let me now know. 00:50:00 LAura, i think a common theme is What are your plans for the future with this universe? Lainey, up next is putting this up for Audio. everyone is aware audio is a big investment. We are planning on doing kickstarter. But it is an undertaking. Liz, I don't have any audiobooks. 00:52:00 Laura everyone predicts my questions. KAren and Erin, was it important to you to have audiobook versions Erin, this is the first time I have released anything written first. I always prioritized my audiobook audience. I am getting more audiobook readers. She had to talk to her supporters. I am going to give an audioversion but please support the text first. And without the audio most of her readers will not. KAren, Erin, will be narrating all the books from the female points of view and we are casting the male. Its comng but we don't know when.. Right now kickstarter and then audiobook,a nd then spinoff, but maybe we will add writers later. 00:54:00 LAura, what do you have coming up next. Erin, bringing home the bacon, august 8th and a christmas book in early november. erinmallon.com , she has a facebook group Liz, june 13th , a book . her next book is christmas novella, ghost of xmas past. A cover for her april release. A last book in ha series. My spinoff from this series will be abuut Kit. Alex's big romance bff. Readers cant' wait for him to get his own story. Ember, a baby ina few weeks. a spin off in september. beyond that i will be doing a continuation of her series the bad boys of wall street. I got to take it easy once this new baby comes. emberleighstore.com Lainey, my book came out a couple weeks ago. July I am releasing the next book. I can do two romcoms in a row then i need to do something else. laineydavis.com I have a newsletter on my website. Karen, her book coeso out 7/11 my spin off will be next. She is setting it in a town called climax. Weapon to climax, small town folks who work at a rep department and the disruption that happens whn a silicon fvalley firm comes. Karengrey.com karengreybooks.com hew newsletter. all her books are on kobo plus like LAiney. 01:01:00 Laura, thanks everyone Erin's Website! https://www.erinmallon.com/home Liz's Website! https://www.lizalden.com/ Ember's Website: https://emberleighromance.com/ Lainey's Website: https://www.laineydavis.com/ Karen's Website: https://www.karengrey.com/

The following three post each reveal something about me. Contest 5 (and) 7 is 1 (and) 2 is 3 https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/journal/Contest-5-and-7-is-1-and-2-is-3-1057747565 Honest Survey https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/1057760670 Self Survey https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/1057764275