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Never in my wildest dreams (and yes I have wild ones) would I think a short observation would spur such a nourishing conversation! Thank you @richardmurray, @Troy and @Kalexander2 for you evocative perspectives!

I never heard this before, but it is a brilliant observation.

Thanks Richard. Of course spam on your blog has increased since i blocked guest posts on the forum… i honestly believe someone just wants to make my life miserable. @Pioneer1 would say it is an overt act of racism.

I would like to live in this painting (the house by the river) with someone.

Thank you, Mel. You have made my day. Yes, the text next to each picture gives ingredients, process, and an anecdote that includes a quote from my mother or a story that illustrates not only her philosophy about food, but, of course, about life. From the beginning, I make it clear that it is not a cookbook or a how to book, but a book that will inspire some to create their own culinary art, others to enjoy the art when they frame the perforated large format prints on their wall, and everyone to be touched by my mother's story. It is a companion book to the first book, An Extraordinary Life: Josephine E. Jones. The talented illustrator has created an elegant cover that is a work of art, just like the contents of the book. Now if I can get the emergency loan-grant to pay the publicist, I won't have to attempt to do it myself. Thanks again.

Okay, WOW! I am going to make a notebook to keep up with this information. Thank you @Mel Hopkins I am going to break this down and digest this. OMGOSH! I can understand this.

@Chevdove Thank you for asking!!! (I'm so excited)...ACCESS = LOCATION and refers to where people are most likely to get information about something that interest them. Example - If you are interested in creole cooking - you're are likely to show up to a location that either serves creole food or teaches creole cooking. You will most likely search for creole recipes and even find a creole history club to join locally or the internet. You may even show up here AALBC to look for books on the origins of creole culture or if experts post here. You might even start your own thread about creole culture. NOTE: business owners provide what customers need so the customer can get what they want. Your interest in creole cooking means either you or loved one wants to eat it. So business owners fills the need - by selling a cookbook, opening a restaurant or inviting you to take a trip to the source. So, someone who is promoting, lets say Louisiana travel tours, will make sure they share their information at all those access points where you are likely to show up. They will be at the places where you might look for information creole cooking. It may be advertisement or even information about authentic creole cooking spot on the tour - or even the best dish and include a recipe... Now they have your attention you may even jot down their information for future reference - and remember them when you plan your trip so you can get some good food. This is how the best marketers are getting noticed in today's marketplace. EDUCATION = A MOVEMENT A lot of independent authors think they don't know their audience. My suggestion is to start of movement of one. Ask yourself, "what do I believe needs changing?" I did something similar when starting this blog. I believe Marketing = Change. Marketing is a force that shakes up the status quo. I believe independent authors are unaware they use marketing in the course of their daily living. Therefore, my mission is to help authors realize they can create change through intentional use of the marketing techniques they unwittingly use daily. I was the first person in my "marketing is a four-letter word" movement. I was the first one in the audience. I'm so passionate about this topic, I just want to spread the word to anyone who will listen. I believe, "If you don't believe in your movement or are passionate about it - no one will be." Creating a movement of one is the first step. It will help you clarify what you intend to change. Then, you will be able to identify the people who are interested in your subject matter. You'll notice there are "followers" who will agree with your mission. (note: it might not happen immediately - that's why you have to be patient and passionate.) These people are your core audience. Don't waste your time trying convert anyone who is not interested. Focus on those who are interested. -These "followers" will become your ambassadors who will bring other like-minded people to the movement. How to start a movement: Now, the best thing about being a writer is ideas and words are our movement. We just have to educate others and lead them to the goal we he hope to accomplish. If we didn't believe in changing something we wouldn't write in the first place. And the best way to help others make a change is by sharing information (Education). So when you start your movement answer "Who, what,where, when, why and how." from there you will understand what information you need to share to build your audience.

@Troy The action is here! Some of Independent authors here seem to echo the same thing "I didn't know how to market my book." Except, they do. -It appears they're not strategic in their marketing practices. I was the same way with my first novel - I knew what to do but I didn't work my plan. I like how you call it a (book marketing )"clinic" because it is! We, independent authors, already know what's wrong - we just aren't consistent with our "outpatient" care. I'm writing this out for me too. I believe this is one the best places for original content on the subject. By the way, I like that I don't even have to repost it to my profile - the software keeps track of all my postings as long as I'm signed in. Oh! I'll check out @dtpollard. @Troy OMG @hen81 is my writing "hero"! He didn't come here to play with us one-book every 20 year folks !!! 65 titles according to his last post! 😀

You are giving a clinic now @Mel Hopkins. DT PollarUsed to posr here quiet regularly. He really was cranking the ebook several a year (or so it seemed).

@richardmurray Thank you! Happy New Year! @Troy LOL! You don't miss a chance to give facebook the boot LOL GOOD JOB!!! Facebook and anything it touches is anti-life...

Making money trumps (pardon the pun) serving the community everyday of the week. Johnson made it clear the "E" stood for "entertainment," not enlightenment or education. The reality is that it stood for enrichment, Johnson's personal enrichment, and that is the legacy of BET.

true @Troy Just today @Mel Hopkins the mayor to new york city, blamed trumps election or racial biases publicity in the usa on rupert murdoch or fox news. He blames someone whose role is to make money through the media for placating how white people raise themselves in their community. It is not murdoch's fault that he saw a mob and played to it, to make money, in the usa, where making money is the way to anything. Again, merit does not matter. De blasio today suggest a certain philosophical merit must come before fiscal profiteering when the fiscal profiteering is the philosophical merit. One note, when chernobyl happened the soviet russian government had soldiers pick up the waste, all those soldiers died of radiation sickness. Over 10,000 have died from the world trade center wreckage, but if we all recall, mayor guiliani let those people ,fiscally poor people or municipal workers,pick up waste just like the soviet government did the military at chernobyl... ah welll

The irony of this article dated May 7, 2018 appearing here as a post is that I believe it was inspired by awesomelyluvvie article - dated April 17, 2018 - 😐 Still, It drives home the point that unless a black woman's feelings are echoed by a woman of non-color - then those words are just another "fart in the blizzard." Further, tears of woman of non-color are assigned as the attributes of all women especially black women. And if we don't cry at the drop of a hat then we are labeled Angry black women. Or we're not women at all, or rather we're acting like "men"...because we don't act weak. When in reality women are not weak at all - but women of non-color just play men that way. Now, they've joined the me-too movement to kick men out of their offices all the while playing victim but getting the corner offices in the process. All I got to say is "well-played women of non-color; well-played. 😛

@richardmurray: Doubt sister Hopkins meant where that's going, but i'll leave it up her to check it up!

@Mel Hopkins true:) but, what separate a baby from a program is a baby while it is created at least physically through parents, its design is special. the parents can not determine what it will be, like all the rest created from humans. @Kalexander2 yes , the one key thing that black people must state or remember is that our vote would not had changed it. The presidential election in the u.s.a. is fifty elections. whomever get the majority vote in a state gain all their electoral votes, except for two states, where the votes are divided upon the percentage. Black people do not have a majority vote in any state in the usa, and the white vote this past election voted as a block for donald trump. The black vote voted against trump, all non white votes , voted against trump side carson, but none of them separately or together did and do have the quantity to win it alone, as the white vote proved.

@richardmurray ... OMG!!! this is true of everything we create. Understanding the creator reveals the creator.. I knew this to be true of my writing ... to read me is to know my heart - (good bad or indifferent). BUT now looking from your perspective I'd say this is true of what we consume. @Kalexander2., "It's not that I have something to hide. It's that I have nothing I want you to see." ~ANON (Netflix) @Kalexander2 If I understand this premise correctly, if the state is receiving the money - then why aren't officials distributing the HUD funds based on needs - rather than using the cash to integrate communities. One challenge, however, is to make sure millionaires such as Fox News Sean Hannity don't get the HUD money and then fix up buildings in areas - and charge exorbitant amount of rent for each apartment. https://www.11alive.com/article/news/sean-hannity-under-fire-for-allegedly-using-hud-money-to-help-buy-housing-property-in-georgia/85-548596246

Remember @Kalexander2 every machine purpose stem from its creator, not itself

The esteem commentary here is encouraging and I'm especially happy to hear Black folk speak this way. All too often people tend to hide from themselves, who they are and how they feel. While I'm no great admirer of anyone putting all their cards on any table unnecessarily, I do believe anyone with something to hide exposes everything about her/his self. Machine learning, AI, data mining, analysis, etc., does indeed seek to learn in efforts to control and manipulate to gain some advantage over others; to little avail, because there is no 'human' touch (or intimacy). There may be an advantage, however, when people, government advance programs based on such intelligence; what they think they see or know, because a person's true feeling, beliefs, and principles get ignored in all the excitement of so-call innovative technics of 'social engineering,' (use of centralized planning in an attempt to manage social change and regulate the future development and behavior of a society). Thanks guys, for giving me an additional way of seeing things.

@richardmurray , interesting perspective and one that makes a lot of sense - especially with the history of humans seeking to control each other.

I see @Mel Hopkins yes, one member in the masses at a time:) Nice line Data analysts can collect all the information in the world; sift through it and concoct part of our stories but it will never be accurate. It will always lack intimacy. For me, artificial intelligence will never be truly intelligent. Merely an illusion alluding to intelligence that serve the vanity in humans to be masters to something.

@richardmurray & @Troy I hadn't thought about involuntary ways we share our stories. I was thinking more about how we share moments, and events with each other. For example, I can tell a part of your story, Troy, that took place at Brooklyn Tech because it was my journey too. Or Richard, I can share a little of your writing journey as I know it from AALBC because both of us look for ways to get our words to the masses. But your responses allow my little observation to become so much more than I'd realized. Data analysts can collect all the information in the world; sift through it and concoct part of our stories but it will never be accurate. It will always lack intimacy. Humans are too fluid. We possess innate ability to connect with another human in a way that allows us to feel what the other person is feeling in that moment. This is one reason, Artificial Intelligence will never become the standard. It can never be intimate - because it doesn't understand vulnerability. Such as the intimacy of community. In a community, we allow ourselves to see others and " be seen" by them. Looking through our data and trying to figure out the human experience is as hard as looking through our excrement and understanding WHY we eat the things we do. To know WHY we eat, takes sharing a meal and feeling the nuances of the story we tell. Speaking of meal and stories, -Amistad author Michael W. Twitty, won the James Beard Foundation Award for his book - The Cooking Gene. But I digress. I happened to stumble on this early tedtalk yesterday and while the speaker rambles on, he expands on this concept when he said "emotional empathy, feeling with the other person" His talk reminded me of why it is a lot easier to turn humans into robots than it will be for Artificial Intelligence to reach the level of humanity. Humans will always have shared stories; AI, not so much.

That would pretty much be anyone with a smart phone. Even tbe senior citizen with all those plastic rewards card attached to their keyring. It is hard not to freely share your information.

I amend:) especially today:) I do not have the numbers but how many people had their informatios shared from others, given freely from others in the internet age.

@TSegal, those are some views you got there, brother! However, this mess goes a lot deeper than most people realize. For the sake of this discussion let’s say that instead of 400+ years for European White folks to get it together; they had over 1000+ years of planning. I must use caution here as all I say must be accurate, though ever so unpopular. Allegations of ‘anti-semitism’ holds must greater penalties than violations of civil rights. Here we go! Since before the Roman empire was established, Jews who separated from other European Whites were prosecuted by virtually every society on earth, they got tired and got smart. Really evil smart. More than 1000+ years developing the theory of ‘double entry (modern-day accounting); 1000+ years studying (sizing-up their enemies) habits, likes and dislikes; 1000+ years stealing (plagiarizing) ideas, philosophies, science, ways of ruling a nation, and medicine from Black Africa (there were more than 2000 Black/Muslim universities in Africa) while infiltrating the very government they were subject to. Gaining trust, even marrying into families of their taskmasters. How astute would that group be after 1000+ years trial and error, and what would they do to the people who looked down upon them? Yes, it has always been White on White crime before the phrase was invented. Never forget for one moment, or underestimate the resolve of greed and power, and how even innocent children are fair game in the name of maintaining that power and feeding that greed. NO! No sir, White folks are not hypocrites, they not fools; they have always practiced what they preach. What they preach are all lies, contrary to the theologian riddled metaphor “mixing lies with the truth.” They always lie and cause us to think it’s the truth. I’ll prove it to you, right here and now! How often do we hear Blacks (you and me) asset that we are entitled to the same rights as White folks? What are those rights, I might ask? Freedom of life liberty and pursuit of happiness. Freedom for White folks is ethnocentric related (right to marginalize anyone different from them), kill whoever they want whenever they want and; freedom to follow the hegemony, their own. SORRY, but I am not entitled to, nor want that kind of freedom. Happiness for White is living perversely. I don’t to be a pervert. Just look at the most basic insignificant ways of living in modern society today, from the substance to subsistence, from what is acceptable to what is looked down upon. What rules and social values would you ordain right and wrong? All on the one hand. On the other hand, it does cause one to think (again), and reconsider principles of theology, all of them, excluding none. You’re on the right track, brother, keep up the question asking!!

Yes Troy, afromerica is my site and we still around. We were on hiatus for awhile but came back last year. Google has filtered some sites but we started back in 2000 so the Internet has not spit us out yet.

Fear is tool that provokes are real-life response. Fight or Flight... Prolonged fear leads to mental breakdown. It's not easy to just resist because most people are approaching psychotic breaks. Most people of EVERY color. We are not just humans; we are human animals and animals all react differently when they're afraid. Some animals play dead, faint and poop when they're afraid and there are animals that make themselves bigger when they're afraid and if pushed to their limit, they will attack. This is where we are today - you can't use a weapon without expecting a weapon to be used against you. Use of fear has pushed everyone to mental instability. Danger is real and it also provokes the same response as those experiencing fear... Fight or Flight. There is another way to combat danger and its through the use of CHAOS... Clear Head Assess Observe Situation then respond. Response requires training. Those who are in imminent danger are usually not of the mindset to survive the danger... especially those who have experienced duress due to prolonged fear. So first we must learn how to respond to a situation. However I suggest first locating the fire (the danger) because fighting smoke (fear) is a waste of resources.

Happily ever after is the problem, in literary terms. I will reply to your personal query but after I speak on the problem with the entire modern relationship genre. The first problem is where happily ever after came from. It came from a change in european fairy tales. Originally fairy tales were meant to refer to tales concerning the magical. A fairy traditionally is not positive or negative, in literary terms fairies is a magical label, how the magic apply to humans or the human world depend on the fairies, the humans, the various natural aspects. Most of these fairy tales were variations on pre christian stories from various places in europe that were becoming or would become heavily christian, at the zealot level. The christian clergy to their part, maintained the original christian method, making non christian things negative. This is why the word villans means criminal or peasant is low class compared to urban, where the christian church started, in modernity.Originally fairy tales had many unhappy endings. Some meant to scare, some meant to educate, others cause the story was good. But, over time, as books were being created, some writers decided to omit the unhappily ending fairy tales and only include the happy ones, or convert the unhappy ending ones into happy ending ones. This was the way in the european literary world; that coincided to the european global colonial age. The funny thing is that many of the conquered peoples native to <using commonly used geographic nameplace, not appropriate ones>: Africa/Asia/America had their own fairy tales which reflected the same style that the original european fairy tales did; but, these non european or non white fairy tales were barely transcribed or remembered or recalled through enslaved or genocidal histories. This lead up to modernity, in the united states. The U.S.A. media traditionally likes an inhuman position. From davey croket <is that the correct spelling> to the founding fathers , whether referring to real or unreal history the u.s.a. puts a happily ever after spin on all tales. When, the world wars are ended, the USA through its relatively advanced media machine, spread the happily ever after style and embedded it in films or entertainment. Artists who tried to reject this had to be independent or their work was undermined in advertising. The original scarface black and white film/comedy shows on early television/tales from the crypt comic books are all examples of media in the u.s.a. where someone was telling a story that did not end happy ever after and in each genre rules were set up to enforce a happily ever after product. From the movie ratings to comic code to prewritten shows on television. The artistic goal was blocking unhappily ever after from being experienced. Now, in modernity, the film industries technological capability has allowed an audience to see some of the most fantastic written elements absent reading or use of their imagination. The non science fiction or high fantasy fiction genre's like relationships or biographies are where books are making the most money. And, with centuries of happily ever after saturating the media in anglo led ,u.k. then u.s.a. , humanity you get to the current scenario. Now to answer your query, I believe in being happy in the now and not expecting anything tomorrow. Time is a teacher, treasure each moment you live, hope for the better tomorrow, praise the best from yesterday. Expectation is the enemy to a happy life, cause humanity live in nature, not dominate it, nature will give sad days, unhappy days, and nature is no sinner for it.

thanks @TroyImagine if we can get aalbc to grow more:) wouldn't that be great @Mel Hopkins as the online black community, this should be our goal, to make a black owned website more popular:) Ok Mel:) private message me on here, we will work something out. I will say this, the promote or social share is not present on blogs and i think is not needed. let us be honest. more and more online people, spend their time with photo viewing or tweeting but very few of them spend alot of time with in depth looking at any level. So, social promotion is good but in the end of the day, we have to come up with ways to engender them to us. many people today have filters to their social experience that grooms it.

http://centerforblackliterature.org/call-for-submissions-springsummer-2016-killens-review-of-arts-letters-deadline-feb-1-2016/ Call for Submissions: Spring/Summer 2016 Killens Review of Arts & Letters. Deadline: Feb. 1, 2016 Call for Submissions Killens Review of Arts & Letters Spring 2016 Embracing Difference Please send your submissions no later than February 1, 2016, to “Spring 2016 Killens Review” (in the subject line) to writers@mec.cuny.edu. The theme of the Thirteenth National Black Writers Conference, “Writing Race, Embracing Difference,” is indeed an engaging and inviting one. Writers of the African diaspora have worked in earnest for decades to compose text that represents African-American experiences in its complex and various conditions. As stated with regard to the National Black Writers Conference: “If one is to write what one knows, then that writing will represent their perspectives and points of views of racial, cultural, and geographical space in the world.” More recently within genres such as sci-fi, mystery, historical fiction, and biography, writers of the African diaspora have connected the experiences of Black America with a broader appeal. Pulitzer Prize-winning writer James Alan McPherson, author of Elbow Room and Hue and Cry, once commented in an interview: “I’m going to be called a Black writer until I die. But the point is that when I write at my best I try to look for the human situation….” The programming for the 2016 Conference came about as the result of wanting to examine how and whether Black writers “write texts” knowing they are creating works out of spaces that are constructed by race i.e. is race at the core of the works of Black writers, no matter how candid or subtle. For the Spring 2016 issue of the Killens Review of Arts & Letters, we want to continue that exploration of “writing race, embracing difference” in the works of Black writers. Under the theme “Embracing Difference,” we seek submissions of fiction, essays, poetry, memoir, and artwork in which writers and artists create works that embrace race and differences with regard to the aesthetics, belief systems, politics, sexual identity, and cultural heritage that are reflected in the narratives and texts they compose. The Killens Review of Arts & Letters is a peer-reviewed journal that welcomes Black poets, novelists, short story writers, playwrights, journalists, essayists, scholars, yet-to-be discovered writers, and artists whose literature and artwork speak to the general public and to an intergenerational range of readers represented throughout the African Diaspora. Submission of Material The Killens Review of Arts & Letters is published once or twice a year by the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College, CUNY. The Killens Review seeks book reviews, essays, short stories, creative nonfiction, art, poetry, and interviews related to the various cultural, sociopolitical, and historical experiences of writers and artists from the African diaspora. The aim is to provide well-known and lesser-known authors as well as educators and students opportunities to create and expand the canon of literature produced by people of color. While the Killens Review of Arts & Letters welcomes unsolicited material, we prefer to publish original material, i.e. first-ever publication. Unless otherwise selected by the editors, we cannot run a piece that has previously appeared elsewhere in print or on the Web. Please submit to only one category at a time: essay, fiction, interview, poetry, prose, and art. We aim to respond to your submission within two months. Essay, Fiction, and Prose Please send one piece at a time. We have no set maximum length or minimum length for prose submissions. (The average word count is about 1,500–2,000 words.) Most submissions, however, are between 2,000 – 4,000 words. Please set up your submission in letter-sized format, with ample margins, double-spaced, using a standard typeface (e.g., Times New Roman, Helvetica, Arial) and font size (12 point is best). Include your name, title of the work, and page numbers on your submission. Also include a one- to two-sentence bio about the author. If the submission is an academic essay with references, please include your bibliography at the end. Please do not submit book manuscripts. Poetry: Please send up to three poems. Art and Photography: We welcome all types of image submissions. Please include a short note about the context of the images and title and/or caption information. Please include no more than six hi-res jpegs (at 300 dpi). Electronic and Postal Submissions Kindly e-mail material to writers@mec.cuny.edu with “Fall 2015 Killens Review” in the subject heading. Please include a brief introduction of yourself and of the work being submitted. On the first page of your submission be sure to include: 1. Your name 2. Telephone number 3. E-mail address Please make sure the pages are numbered. Or mail material to: Center for Black Literature Medgar Evers College, CUNY 1650 Bedford Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11225 RE: Killens Review Material will only be returned if the sender includes a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE). ----------------------------------- Submission of Materials: The Killens Review of Arts & Letters is published once or twice a year by the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College, CUNY. The Killens Review seeks book reviews, essays, short stories, creative nonfiction, art, poetry, and interviews related to the various cultural, sociopolitical, and historical experiences of writers and artists from the African diaspora. The aim is to provide well-known and lesser-known authors as well as educators and students opportunities to create and expand the canon of literature produced by people of color. Please submit to only one category at a time: essay, fiction, interview, poetry, prose, and art. We aim to respond to your submission within two months. Electronic and Postal Submissions Kindly e-mail material to writers@mec.cuny.edu and CReynolds@mec.cuny.edu with "Killens Review" in the subject heading. Please include a brief introduction of yourself and of the work being submitted. On the first page of your submission be sure to include: 1. Your name 2. Telephone number 3. E-mail address Please make sure the pages are numbered. Please visit our website detailed submission guidelines at: www.centerforblackliterature.org/KillensReview

I remember the autumn gatherings when I was a girl; sparkling gala’s where my parents dressed me plus my siblings in glittering attire. I loved it. I felt always like a princess. The pumpkin pie, the cranberrry sauce, the rice pudding, the apple custard, the watermelon slices, the corn bread … I loved it all. A peaceful rearing for me, the magic was in merely being alive; I had no need of unicorns from mystical worlds gated in forests or aliens from beyond the sky or anything unearthly. I had a brilliant summer, and now my Autumn. My autumn is simple and in continuity, a life from a woman alone. My job I like to do while it pay the bills, allow me to save, and give me time off. I am unmarried, but I have all sorts of comforts: masculine,friendly,inhuman; I am not alone. I am the autumn, and I am at peace as when I was the summer. Thank you for reading, if you want to read more of my work read below Poetry or More https://www.kobo.com/ebook/poetry-or-more-1 Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/richard-murray-16885e64-6c28-459e-bf5f-45c7d458ce49 AALBC https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/blog/29-richard-murray-hearth/

Hello, Mel Gladys Mae West is another Hidden Figure. She reminds me of my mother. Quite a story. I read your reply earlier, but I Just found this. Thank you. Having another example is helpful. I will refer to your questions to create the promotion for my next book, The Culinary Art Portfolio of Josephine E. Jones. I have mostly finished the text. It just needs one more revision before I send it to the developmental editor. What I came up before asking your questions was this: The Culinary Art Portfolio of Josephine E. Jones with Ready-to-Frame prints, where food and art intersect. This is my revision after using your questions. Please let me know if I'm on the right track. Who, Why, and How: The Culinary Art Portfolio of Josephine E. Jones with Ready-to-Frame prints The first black woman in management at a Fortune 500 company in 1967, who overcame racism, sexism, and classism, to create food that looked too good to eat.

I was asked a question If you're willing to do so, would you mind expanding upon this concept? I'm a white writer carefully reading this thread, but I'm a little confused by the phrases "still alive obstinate" and "change their minds against them." Trying to better understand! No pressure obviously https://twitter.com/Brianna_daSilva/status/1239685850926960640 My Reply is Well, in the beginning there was darkness:)... I do not mind communicating to any writer, even if you are a writer of white supremacist fiction. All artists must remember, our purpose is to provide messages, not to choose the messages people want. That is what separate the artists from the proselytizer...Anyway, the best method is to use examples. I will use a tweet sequence, I tried to make it as few as possible. But I placed a link at the end to read it whole. ... I will use three character. The little black brother in V<the television sci fi series>, a native american female character in a short story in a sci fi magazine i read years ago, Eric Kilmonger in the black panther film. Yes, the native american woman is not black african but native americans come in all phenotypes, and are definitely people of color, people of color defined as those non white europeans or of non white european descent. The black panther film had black writers but the base characters were written by a white man, the great stan lee. All three characters start off obstinate to the system. System defined as the culture of white european characters in the particular story. The little black brother in V, admits he is gaining opportunity with the green lizard aliens, he never did in the white human order. But, once his big brother is murdered by the lizards, he replaces his big brother to get the world back to the way it was, absent a mention of how his past activities may play out for him or anything else. He is alive but no longer obstinate. The native american woman is serving the aliens. In the short story which is a blend of "They live" meet "To serve Man" the aliens have got the whole planet forgive me, but they don't need to hide. The white protagonist is trying to do like in V, get earth back. He see an old acquaintance, the native american woman. They fornicate. She hands him to the alien lawmen. She says, this is revenge for the plight of the native american brought upon by the white order. She is alive obstinate. Finally, eric kilmonger chooses to die rather than live in prison. He dies obstinate. And, yes, wakanda is the most advanced community on earth while also Black, but their policies of non involvement relinquished the world control to less technologically advanced whites, which is kilmonger's base problem. To quote agent smith, we are free but not free. A long multilog to the writers choices concerning that is for another time. But, of the three obstinate characters, the native american woman, still alive obstinate is rarest by white writers. Obstinate characters themselves are less common than colored friends by white writers. The older black brother in V the common colored friend. But, that is why I said, I will like more Black characters from white writers like the native american woman in that short story I read years ago, still alive obstinate. Now if I am honest, I comprehend why it is rare, and I don't disagree to it. White writers nor Black ones nor any , have to cater to anybody, or any idea. All writers are free to write the worlds they want. Why would white writers commonly produce worlds where non whites are dominant? Fiction is just that, not reality, and caters to ourselves. what makes us comfortable. That is why I also replied what I want from Black writers. Black writers don't need to reflect peaceful integration desires in the real world.

This was a made up example but Gladys (Brown) West is the "hidden figures" of the GPS. I don't think her biography is complete but I read her story recently

Yes, that was it @richardmurray ! I mistakenly identified audio with musical but this is what I was referring to when I mentioned you had extensive experience with Kobo. Thank You for the update!

Gazette Fragments 62/63/64/65/66 Edition 62 excerpt The mouth - a tragedy, enjoy the trailer Edition 63 excerpt Alien the play - This was quite enjoyable, the special effects:) , the video is embedded in the article, but the link is below Edition 64 excerpt Perler - A cosplayer makes outfits using perler beads. as a samus fan I like it https://makezine.com/2019/04/26/constructing-cosplay-armor-from-perler-beads-with-cosplamy/ Edition 65 excerpt Mickey - yes that mickey mouse, love the cover viewed in this excerpt of a new bande. https://www.glenat.com/sites/default/files/liseuse/9782344034972/index.html Edition 66 excerpt Much Ado about nothing - what first comes to your mind? italy, spring, shakespearean speech? This version says it is an all black version but I think the creator missed a trick, that lays that claim false. HE made an all black cast but kept the context, italians side spaniards. … He could had made it an ethiopian Ras, maybe Ras Pero, ala Duke PEter, or Don PEdro and his military retinue can come in for a visit to Agordat, the setting is after the first ethiopian-italo war, which was won by Ethiopia. Then the rest is the same, he missed a trick. https://shadowandact.com/nycs-shakespeare-in-the-park-to-include-all-black-production-of-much-ado-about-nothing-ledby-danielle-brooks

The collage makes more sense after you read the book's excerpts.

Just embedding the video:

Justina Ireland, an editor at FIyah magazine , stated the following: Are people really that mad that they stripped Laura Ingalls Wilder’s name from an award? That’s silly. She’s dead. It’s not like she cares. And it’s not like her books changed the world for the better. ... The Little House on the Prairie books reinforce the idea of white exceptionalism and the inherent benefit of colonialism without contending with any of the moral and physical drawbacks of such exploitation. Also, they are boring as fuck. Someone replied: First of all not true. And if you find them boring as F*&#.....maybe that says more about your attention span. Now, while the personal attack toward ireland is unwarrant or a false claim, the reality is, ireland's original position has flaws. First, Art does not have to be liked or admired by all to be admired by many. IReland ask, are people really that mad? yes. fans of wilder's work are. Some fans to any artist like said artist to be adored, admired, honored in ways like titling awards. IReland is an editor to a writing magazine and stated, that wilder's book didn't change the world for the better OR it reinforced idea's of white exceptionalism and amendments. Her first point is artistically sinful. The artist creates. The artist create from the soul, the charlatan does not. Wilder created from her soul. And like any artist, I include myself or Ireland side Wilder, it is up to others to feel beauty or wisdom or an infinite set from other states to anything we create. Not everyone likes the sistine chapel ceiling, but Michelangelo emitted his soul. And like mein kampf, the declaration of independence, or the revolution will not be televised, did these artistic entries change the world or were reflections to the world changed. If people like your work, they do, and your lucky. Poe died penniless, his art did not change the world when published. yet, after his death, epiphany amongst the readership. In similarity to the work from phillip k dick. If Wilder's soul wanted to emit white exceptionalism and inherent benefit of colonialism without contending with any of the effects from exploitation toward others... then she may have succeeded. But, that is her soul's business. I don't like little house on the prairie, mein kampf but others have the right too. Art is not meant to reflect one viewpoint or one lifestyle, art do reflect all lifestyle. USA is over 300 million people, ten percent is 3 million. I imagine wilder can get 9 million. I recall a show that was on tv for a long time called little house on the prairie, which i was not a fan to either, so many liked the books. ... In the end, Ireland's argument is to question why the uproar, but her position, at least the position i read, is absent any value. WIlder's work has fans who are mad at her name being treated as unworthy, or to said fans her work has influenced their life to various grades, or from her soul emitted a culture that many <enough to make a media uproar> like. In the USA organizations from private to public are trying to please a growing populace that has historically been bereft honor from private or public organizations and want to see those who emit what they do not like or who have insulted them be taken from acclaim, through naming buildings, statues, award names. If I had power over the award I would had replaced Wilder's name a while back, cause she is not the best in my view. But, an argument does exist. Is it wise to change these labels now? It is not true to state that a large populace in the usa is white and do not like non white. That is an honest statement. And, most people in the usa are white. Are these delabelings values from the collective soul or a lie covering truth? What say you? ... If I had my choice I would call the award, Association for Library Service to Children for best children's book, call me silly but why give one artist the title to an award that will be throughout time. it is not a one off. https://twitter.com/justinaireland/status/1011251924757352456

I'm glad you took the feedback as it was intended. We can all use Feedback.

Ok, I learned about the Onmyoji contest on friday. While going to deviantart to look at some entries for the Jaeger contest. Well, having no knowledge to the online massive multiplayer game Onmyoji, and little time to conceptualize what my entry will be, I came up with the following. https://hddeviant.deviantart.com/art/Onmyoji-submission-emma-and-the-seven-748288623 The idea was the character emma aside seven deadly sins. I am content for such a hurried creation while having no thoughts to the content. In contrast, I am a fan to gundam, or mechas in general so the jaeger comes with more familiarity for me. In a prior post, I utilized links to my skydrive storage area, but i realized upon more videos that a space limit is inevitable. Thus, i had to figure out where to go to place the stores. I chose google photos. Instagram or snapchat are used for personal purposes. I know artists in that system but usually they focus on photos not videos. Laslty, google photos space is the largest. AALBC is my blog place, and I invite you all to join AALBC, especially if you are artist. But, the black owned website, has obvious limits to loading content like videos. Below are links to videos made as I sketched or created. My first time doing so many, and especially while drawing. Another learning experience. If you are seeing this in an email, the photos stages are attached at the end. If you are seeing this in AALBC, the videos are all their is. ...before the links to the Onmyoji videos , here is a link to the Jaeger contest which end in seven days. I invite you all to share any ideas you may have to that. https://go.deviantart.com/journal/The-Pacific-Rim-Uprising-Global-Jaeger-Contest-744541834 Do tell me if the links are blockaded, they are supposed to be public. Onmyoji-Fan-Art-Contest-Creation (1) https://photos.app.goo.gl/nW0odvDqiOuoW0R03 Onmyoji-Fan-Art-Contest-Creation (2) https://photos.app.goo.gl/RrdyWvyoJV07cLjt2 Onmyoji-Fan-Art-Contest-Creation (3) https://photos.app.goo.gl/P3FCCHJQZjQh5mhG3 Onmyoji-Fan-Art-Contest-Creation (4) https://photos.app.goo.gl/UnRC54SQJZYMf80k1 Onmyoji-Fan-Art-Contest-Creation (5) https://photos.app.goo.gl/mLkeakVn11ZiS5nF2 Onmyoji-Fan-Art-Contest-Creation (6) https://photos.app.goo.gl/bhHi7wbFG6XJVE3i8 onmyoji-fan-art-contest-creation-part2 (1) https://photos.app.goo.gl/rRnc6ZxWERa9EY4V2 onmyoji-fan-art-contest-creation-part2 (2) https://photos.app.goo.gl/yNojWgufIqFNJVbC2 onmyoji-fan-art-contest-creation-part2 (3) https://photos.app.goo.gl/Jo9T6xeLZTewubky2 onmyoji-fan-art-contest-creation-part2 (4) https://photos.app.goo.gl/VCP3PtNBAeTpXeHb2 onmyoji-fan-art-contest-creation-part2 (5) https://photos.app.goo.gl/KsmDiPPcjd9rxtJN2 onmyoji-fan-art-contest-creation-part2 (6) https://photos.app.goo.gl/hvCI58LxBb92ge4U2 onmyoji-fan-art-contest-creation-part3 (2) https://photos.app.goo.gl/3vNwF9x7iowBOUm03 onmyoji-fan-art-contest-creation-part3 (3) https://photos.app.goo.gl/S3ZlhhTTuTDdBRw12 onmyoji-fan-art-contest-creation-part3 (4) https://photos.app.goo.gl/uyoEcd9Mq8M5nDj29 onmyoji-fan-art-contest-creation-part3 (5) https://photos.app.goo.gl/01GHnNcGc4wuojpr1 onmyoji-fan-art-contest-creation-part3 (6) https://photos.app.goo.gl/TtLsnDtYVNMvbeVL9 onmyoji-fan-art-contest-creation-part3 (7) https://photos.app.goo.gl/ryKTzb9eCrDyVN5z1 onmyoji-fan-art-contest-creation-part3 (8) https://photos.app.goo.gl/Qurjw6pK3hxhcvZk2 onmyoji-fan-art-contest-creation-part3 (9) https://photos.app.goo.gl/EF2M5ynf8RzO33Bs1 The Folder Link https://photos.app.goo.gl/mZJ2RICfACZaSgtD2 Happy creating

@Troy and for some corporations this is absolutely their modus operandi! This is exactly why I look for businesses that have sustainable development at its core.

@Mel Hopkins: As with any venture, there's always the best and better way to benefit; offering cryptocurrency platforms may very well be the best way for Black investors to get involved. That involves manipulation, bold approaches, and deceit seem to always work for the short-run. Remember, banking was a moral success story until the usury was implemented and paper replaced gold, values we placed objects. The question is how much more our human morality are we willing to give-up, in the name of modern success, post slavery? Some things we can make happen, but for Black folk it's mostly about things that's happened us, and even that doesn't account for the way our fractured lives have somehow been held together. Now, I'm about to go off script for a moment here with a totally controversial POV. Going into financial product ventures market today call for completely joining the fray; diving in head first rather than a quick dip. To start justifying, looking at this as an equalitarian method for helping our people is the first step towards something sinister, in my opinion. No, we should not just sit around waiting for the change we need to fall from the sky, either. Nor do I know of any alternative means Black folk can embark on. No one else knows either, which is the point I'm attempting to make here. Shovels break as with all tools some are better than others. Some people get their tools on credit, others with symbolic valuables like cash. I would not feel comforable, to outright try to sell a glass of ice-water to someone living in Alaska. Nor am I of the opinion we should do to each other what Whites do to us, just because some else will get them if I don't. With some reservations, I'm like Sam Cooke's African American song: "A Change is Gonna Come."

Stephanie Baskek wrote, 05/04/2018: "When there’s a gold rush on, the thing to do is not to dig. Instead, sell shovels to all the suckers who think they’ll get rich digging for gold. This is one of the lessons that investigative reporter Corey Pein learned when he moved to San Francisco at the height of the Silicon Valley start-up boom. In his analogy, the gold rush is the tech boom, and the suckers are all the start-up wannabes who flock to the Bay Area for a slice of the venture-capital pie. And all of us, the consumers, who fell for the excitement of the gig economy and the lure of a free social network that promised to never sell our data? We’re suckers, too." Cryptocurrencies are the modern-day 'Gold Rush,' this could be gold mine for Blacks with a few dollars to invest, but leveraging the benefits is going to take some 'creative' financial/economic smarts. CAREFUL!

Fair-housing advocates plan to file a lawsuit Tuesday against the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Secretary Ben Carson for suspending an Obama-era rule requiring communities to examine and address barriers to racial integration, The Washington Post reported. Three fair-housing groups have signed onto the lawsuit, which claims the suspension was unlawful because it didn’t provide proper public notice or a chance for public comment, the Post reported. The 2015 rule required more than 1,200 communities receiving billions of federal housing dollars to draft plans to desegregate their communities — or risk losing federal funds. Carson, who described efforts to desegregate American neighborhoods as “failed socialist experiments,” suspended the rule in January, allowing local and state governments to continue receiving HUD grants without compliance with the full requirements of the Fair Housing Act, the Post reported.

thank you for Thank you for asking! http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/melhopkins I took first novel out of circulation but you can still find me there

OVerdrive is a system that allows you to access EBooks through it like a traditional library system. IT is a member of the Rakuten family, which owns my publisher Kobo. Each page to a book linked below has a sample page. Enjoy. are your already published works on overdrive? @Troy @Mel Hopkins @Cynique *My books* Sunset Children Stories https://www.overdrive.com/media/3670145/sunset-children-stories Looking West and West https://www.overdrive.com/media/3670099/looking-west-and-west The Visasiki https://www.overdrive.com/media/3670180/the-visasiki The Janidogo https://www.overdrive.com/media/3670162/the-janidogo Overdrive library location https://www.overdrive.com/libraries app for overdrive https://meet.libbyapp.com *For Writing life authors* Once your eBook is live on OverDrive, spread the words to your fans so they can request your eBook at their local library. OverDrive also launched a great free app, Libby, where users can browse eBooks right on their devices. As you can see, the process is incredibly simple and a fantastic way to get your book out to a new market—and help you increase your earnings! If you’d like to enable OverDrive distribution on your account, send an email to the KWL team now and we’ll get you set up.

#GETOUT was labeled a comedy by the oscars. Forget about the purpose to why that labeling was done. Artistically, how do you define GET OUT and how can it be labeled a comedy? @sabine ziya @Neftali Rivera Jr @Mel Hopkins I define get out as a suspense thriller. It can be deemed in the science fiction mold through the mental paralysis but I think it is not complicated. The complication in get out is not the general plot or the science fiction. It is the wrapping, about black white relations in the usa that is unique and that is the biggest hurdle in classification. if the entire plot involved white people and did not have the concept of white people trying to obtain black bodies in the larger context to the usa. Texas chainsaw massacre- the brood- all deal with similar plots involving white people who harm others through similar means in the film. They key is black people are never in the story. If anything, they are white on white crimes. The legacy/history in the u.s.a. from white on black crime is massive or well documented while not treated as valuable or worthy in films, which are the modern book. So few people see films that are not historical fictions where white on black crime ix exhibited. And thus, the definition to get out is a thriller that utilizes elements from film noir side science fiction. To the comedy label, i know how. the movie does have funny aspect. yes the line i always love is the , she licking your balls and shit. The best friend to the main character is the comic relief, while he serves a greater function as the hero. It is not a comedy though. But I comprehend why oscars did it. The reality is, a movie that displays criminal white behavior from fiscally wealthy/violent/liberal whites to completely innocent or peaceful black people is something that was never done before in the usa, in a relatively big budget film. Get Out if a student film does not have the accessible audience. but cause it could reach a larger audience the themes in it are for white people , unknown in the usa. White people are never criminals like this to black people in a film. it is that simple. I think about movies I have seen, I can not recall many white antoganist to a black protagonist. Film versions of Othello/brother from another planet ; enemy mine or star trek do not count as the inhuman nature to klingons or the creature louis gossett junior played. Story wise, the truth is, the system is not perfect in the film. by default the part that remain from the original people is an echo that by defacto has to continually be suppressed. and the chores are the method to continually repress them, thus the other members are enslaved to the armitages.

my favorite trigger is "unmasking"

The TV ONE SCREENPLAY COMPETITION 2017 is meant to encourage and promote the production of creative, contemporary, engaging and relatable screenplays that can be turned into original movies for television. The competition is meant to: Encourage filmmakers to offer a fresh perspective and submit contemporary stories with a focus on the American black cultural experience with wide audience appeal. Encourage filmmakers to creatively center around entertaining, heart-felt and relatable topics that resonate and appeal to African American audiences. Expand upon the genres/formats that tell these entertaining stories. Genres include, but are not limited to comedies, romantic comedies, dramas, and family adventures (submissions should be non-period stories). One (1) Grand Prize Winner will be selected from three (3) Finalists and announced at the closing night event of ABFF. Click here for Overview, Eligibility & Instructions Click here for the Official Rules ( http://www.abff.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/TV-ONE-SCREENPLAY-COMPETITION-2017-Official-Rules.pdf ) SUBMIT NOW ( https://tvone.tv/43771/enter-the-tv-one-screenplay-competition-2017-here/ ) Contest Opens: December 16, 2016 Contest Deadline: February 16, 2017 *Contact them* _Email_ ( info@abffventures.com ) _Twitter_ ( https://twitter.com/ABFF ) _Instagram_ ( https://www.instagram.com/americanblackfilmfestival/ ) _Facebook_ ( https://www.facebook.com/americanblackfilmfestival/ ) _Official URL_ http://www.abff.com/tv-one-screenplay-competition/

How do you find a place beyond time, is it galaxy wide? Or smaller than an eye?... Always wanted to know because I feel I fit in with no one and no where