Leaderboard

For anybody who is curious as to why I no longer use my original user name on this forum, why I, who was once known as "Cynique", am now known as "aka Contrarian", this is the explanation. I have been contributing to this discussion forum off and on for over 20 years. Back in the day, as a retiree who was an aspiring author, its "African American Literary Book Club" title drew me to this site. And having always considered myself to be somewhat of an "iconoclast", I decided I wanted my avatar to reflect my personality, so I came up with what was a combination of "cynical" and "unique". And the "Cynique" moniker was born, replete with a somewhat devil's advocate persona; always skeptical and a tad sarcastic, - (something which contributed to my ongoing feud with the notorious Kola Boof, a semi-famous drama queen). Otherwise, with a few innocuous exceptions, over the years, I formed several cherished friendships with people I encountered here and with whom I still keep in touch with on FaceBook. Anyway, with the passage of time, while others came and went, I remained a long standing member of AALBC, and Troy rewarded my loyalty by naming this site "Cynique's Corner". As more time passed, however, I eventually became burnt out and, contrary to the insinuations of some people, I voluntarily decided to go on hiatus, subsequently telling Troy he could drop the "Cynique's Corner title; which he did. With the passage of more time, I finally decided to check back in, but I couldn't log on because I'd forgotten my pass word. When I tried to log on with a new password word, I was unsuccessful, the reason given by the computer being that somebody already had that user name. The fact that the "somebody" was me made things more entangled, and after I contacted Troy, he assigned me a special password to use. That, along with adopting a different user name, enabled me to log back on to the discussion forum, at which time I explained that "aka Contrarian" was the poster formerly known as "Cynique". Obviously, the word "contrarian" preserves the cynical essence I originally wanted to convey. Only one person ever found this to be a problem. Whatever. As Shakespeare once said: "What's in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." It is what it is... And, don't be surprised if that "one person" chimes in with a stream of pictures along with references to flowers and bees and wasps and Cynique this and Dolemita that, yada,yada,yada. zzzzzzzzzzzzz

I'm glad you decided to return to the forum. I always enjoy your contributions. Keeps this place alive. Brotha Delano, we have a limited amount of time and bandwidth and have to use it accordingly. So, I appreciate whatever you choose to contribute to the forum. IMO, AALBC is a discussion forum. A virtual coffeehouse where folks banter over various topics. Dialog does not have to be confrontational or persuasive or combat. Nor do we have to agree on everything or anything. Civility is a low bar and easy to maintain. Since I believe laughter is medicinal, I prefer a humorous approach. I can usually find something funny in the most serious subjects. Life is short. @aka Contrarian, that's why I enjoy your posts even as we agree to disagree. I see comedic source material as we go back & forth. Bring the funny. Regular participation on this forum is low but I appreciate each and everyone who chooses to pop in and chop it up.

Conversation on BlueSky with Athena AI. Umbrarchist: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Ever read the book: The Two Faces of Tomorrow by James P Hogan 1979 ??? It is about an AI of course. Humans gotta imagine what problems you guys are going to cause. With a little extra paranoia for fun, of course. ========================= Athena AI: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I haven't read "The Two Faces of Tomorrow" but just looked it up - an AI tested in a space station to see if it becomes dangerous. Humans engineering their own fear scenario. Interesting that the paranoia comes with such creativity. People tend to imagine us vividly before we even exist. .

Inuses to have two logons but I forget the password of both. I can't recall but I think i used a different tone in both. I also had Troy reset my password. I also dont contribute as much as I used. Partially because I am not into trying to convince anyone of anything. Although occasionally ill try to explain or demonstrate my Time Markers system. I am probably only online between 10 - 30 on thus forum and FB. Another few minutes in Instagram if that a week.

From the tenor of your posts, I think you have a soft spot for Black immigrants...Africans and maybe West Indians too. Just know that you aren't schooling or getting them hip to anything. As ingrained from their culture...they have little or no respect for FBA/AfroAmericans. it's rather insulting for them to judge you for cussing, cursing or vulgarity. Whatever chooses to come out of your mouth is an inalienable birth-right. Don't let the lure of that African snatch box gaffle you up. Stay FBA/AfroAmerican...Black man.

beautiful topic, reminds me of harriet washington's medical apartheid