Mel Hopkins

@Troy Thank you for PB co-sign! I'll put together a short post here in readingblack.com about pressbooks. The beauty of PB - is it offers a few book formats and book covers that writers can use for POD books too. The fully formatted PDF is $79 . Writers don't even have to use PB beyond formatting their novel or book. There are so many tools for self-published / indy authors to use today, that amazon should be the last resort for publishing.

@Cynique "life is but a dream"... I really believe you accomplished exactly what you set out to do... ❤️

Yep! Except those 3rd party sellers would still have to purchase the book (s) which is another reason why I'm selling eBooks direct too. I'm considering making my eBook cost more than my print so folks will be hesitant to attempt to bootleg my pdf. Another way to protect your digital files is to offer it directly through a web reader service like pressbooks. By the way, my novel is currently selling on amazon.com for $62.65 and of course NONE of that goes to me - because I'm not the 3rd party seller. smh

@Cynique I was thinking what would be the purpose to check out the lunar eclipse. It just didn't make sense to me' until this very moment. Thank you... "to commune with the universe" - perfect!!! This is probably what our ancestors did too - but I wonder if these rare moments were also resources of some kind? I did put that question out there - and you've supplied part of the answer! Consider late 14c., "to fix the mind upon for careful examination, meditate upon," also "view attentively, scrutinize; not to be negligent of," from Old French considerer (13c.) "reflect on, consider, study," from Latin considerare "to look at closely, observe," probably literally "to observe the stars," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + sidus (genitive sideris) "heavenly body, star, constellation" (see sidereal). Perhaps a metaphor from navigation, but more likely reflecting Roman obsession with divination by astrology. Tucker doubts the connection with sidus, however, because it is "quite inapplicable to desiderare," and suggests derivation instead from the PIE root of English side meaning "stretch, extend," and a sense for the full word of "survey on all sides" or "dwell long upon."

@Troy You really have to read Victor Lavalle's books. Whenever I finish one I think of this discussion. Well, I've only finished two and now half-way through the 3rd but like I said everything you ask for you already have. Remember I mentioned that I learned of Victor LaValle on this forum. I bought one of his books back in 2012 - I started it last year and finished it within the month. I read one of his novellas next and now I'm reading "The Changeling" (( 2018 World Fantasy Award Best Novel, winner ("The Changeling") , 2018 British Fantasy Award Best Horror Novel, winner ("The Changeling") 2018 Mythopoeic Award Fantasy Award for Adult Literature, finalist ("The Changeling") 2017 Shirley Jackson Award Best Novel, finalist ("The Changeling") 2017 Dragon Award Best Horror Novel, winner ("The Changeling")) The main character is in his 30s but his two compadres are middle-aged average men doing somewhat extraordinary things. In fact, the protagonist and his besty are both rarebook dealers lol...

Thank you @Troy ! No, I'm trying something else ...I figure if folks feel strongly enough about the content they will share it. Right!!! I like that you mentioned to one of the members - to become amazon associate. As an associate there's more customer insight available. I don't think I'll sell my books on amazon because to them, it appears books are like "giveaways" to them. I do appreciate the associates program. It allows me to see customers in a new way.

Book Selling in the Amazon Age (blog post) Independent book selling is hard in the age of Amazon. But if you think you can’t be profitable, think again. Amazon provides customer-centric tools booksellers can use to build their own community of readers. You just have to know where to find them. Visit me at theleadstory.net for more tips.

In this world, as a woman you must employ both ... and if you're a black woman you must use both as weaponry. Welcome, @Gibran Thank you for joining us ! I hope you will also share your talent with the rest of us who #dothewritething !

And your curiosity should have awaken not ended! Brooklyn Tech faculty and staff taught us HOW to learn so it would be an ongoing process.

OMG!!! LIKE THE KOMODRAGON!!! I never thought of it like that! What the eff! Of course, folks would believe this was a miracle - meanwhile the Hebrews who are a matrilineal sect would say “we been knew women could flip like that” lol! Thank you for sharing that perspective!

@Troy please re-read my words. And here we agree which is EXACTLY why I wrote “ignore Troy’s comment...” HOW do you know? This is exactly the research that is currently underway... BECAUSE biologists have questions not answers. So do tell, are you also moonlighting as biologist now? Is this something that you even read up on ... Ever? If not you have nothing to add. Please don’t dumb down your own forum... it would make this place boring.

@Chevdove I hope you ignore Troy’s comment ... and continue on your path ... There is research available online as early as 1956 and recently as 2017... that investigates the phenomenon. Here are two links; one is a discussion as to how it could happen and the other is a link to 2017 research. The one thing I do appreciate about scriptures, is it survived (although not without its edits) the dark ages - where for some reason we dumbed down... If “Mary” did have a virgin birth it was most likely a female... and then made male for the convenience of patriarchy... kind like Asherah, the Shekinah , God’s wife was removed from scriptures (smh) Anyway, biologists are revisiting the “virgin” births (probably for nefarious reasons) But the fact that diploids and haploids present with human parts i.e, hair teeth eyes, skin .. when removed - they’re investigating if some women are actually gestating and giving birth sans sperm... Usually, there’s no reason to test for paternity in marriage - especially for baby boys BUT baby girls could be 100 % mom ... 👀 So please continue to share your ideas, theories and any developments. Thank you. As the world turns, we’re are learning we don’t know ish. But those who are curious will know more than those who think they have the answers. “Saturn is losing its rings. Folks who study these things don’t have a clue - why”.

@Cynique here are a few references from this article “. Homosexuality in Animals: An Analysis of Sexual Behavior Theories” Bailey, N.W. & Zuk, M. (2009). Same-sex sexual behavior and evolution. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 1-8. Blanchard, R. & Klassen, P. (1997). H-Y antigen and homosexuality in men. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 185(3), 373-378. Camperio-Ciana, A., Crona, F., & Capiluppi, C. (2004). Evidence for maternally inherited factors favouring male homosexuality and promoting female fecundity. The Royal Society, 271, 2217-2221. Clay, Z. & Zuberbuhler, K. (2012). Communcation during sex among female bonobos: Effects of dominance, solicitation, and audience. Scientific Reports, 2(291), 1-7. de Waal, F.B.M. (1995). The behavior of a close relative challenges assumptions about male supremacy in human evolution. Scientific American, 272(3), 82-88. Iemmola, F. & Camperio-Ciani, A. (2009). New evidence of genetic factors influencing sexual orientation in men: female fecundity increase in the maternal line. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 38, 393-399. Lane, S. M., Haughan, A. E., Evans, D., Tregenza, T., & House, C. M. (2016). Same-sex sexual behavior as a dominance display. Animal Behaviour, 114, 113-118. Levan, K. E., Fedina, T. Y., & Lewis, S. M. (2008). Testing multiple hypotheses for the maintenance of male homosexual copulatory behavior in flour beetles. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 22, 60-70. Nisbet, I.C. & Hatch, J.J. (1999). Consequences of a female-biased sex-ratio in a socially monogamous bird: Female-female pairs in the Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii. Ibis, 141, 307-320. Rahman, Q. & Hull, M. S. (2005). An empirical test for the kin selection hypothesis for male homosexuality. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 34 (4), 461-467. Roselli, C.E., Larking, K., Resko, J.A., Stellflug, J.N., & Stormshak, F. (2004). The volume of a sexually dimorphic nucelus in the ovine medial preoptic area/anterior hypothalamus varies with sexual partner preference. Santtila, P., Hogbacka, A., Jern, P., Johansson, A., Varjonen, M., Witting, K., von der Pahlen, B., & Sandnabba, N. K. (2008). Testing Miller’s theory of alleles preventing androgenization as an evolutionary explanation for the genetic predisposition for male homosexuality. Evolution and Human Behavior, 30, 58-65. Tobler, M., Wiedemann, K., & Plath, M. (2005). Homosexual behavior in a cavernicolous fish, Poecilia mexicana. Zeitschrift fur Fischkunde, 7 (2), 95-99. Van Gossum, H., De Bruyn, L., & Stoks, R. (2005). Reversible switches between male- male and male-female mating behavior by male damselflies. Biology Letters, 1, 268-270. Vasey, P.L., Foroud, A., Duckworth, N., * Kovacovsky, S.D. (2006). Male-female and female-female mounting in Japanese macaques: A comparative study of posture and movement. Vervaecke, H. & Roden, C. (2006). Going with the herd: same-sex interaction and competition in American bison. Homosexual Behavior in Animals: An Evolutionary Perspective. Cambridge University Press. Young, L. C., Zaun, B. J., & VanderWerf, E. A. (2008). Successful same-sex pairing in Laysan albatross. Biology Letters, 4, 323-325.

😄😄😄. @Cynique OMG does he think he’s is second in command? It’s amazing how they rank our order in the pack! Lol!

@Delano Nope. I didn’t participate in “Average women smarter than Average man” discussion at all. Too broad and not enough data for me to make a comparison.

@Delano because I feel when return to nature we can “hear”... a few years ago, I experienced an awakening when my first “grand-fur-baby” started to communicate with me... he was extremely patient ...and before I knew it - I could hear and understand. and now I can “hear” every living thing. I’ve always found humans fascinating but I was tone deaf now i’m having a different experience. I’m saying I believe you already experienced an awakening —-but I get the sense you had litle patience for humans - and human foibles until now.

There are none so blind that cannot see... but condescending too? I didn’t think it possible! Whatever, Troy. I’m done. Just because you can’t see it - doesn’t mean it’s not on display.

The more I think about it - I have to conclude I’m unable to offer an opinion. I don’t even have an opinion whether men are smarter than women or vice versa... too many variables. For example Troy said men score higher in spatial intelligence but I know for a fact, that I personally score higher than most men in that particular category - in fact, that’s the category I score the highest in - followed by pattern recognition... Yet, I’m not a man but a daughter from a military family... I started my formal education in Germany; where there was little to no gender stereotyping and children were raised as if they were mini-adults... I think early “programming” has a lot to do with how we display intelligence later in life. But back to your question. I believe your reasoning skills are above average - and appear to operate at a high level but I’m unable to compare that to an average woman I don’t know how to define an “average” woman. I consider myself average - but since I play to my strengths and not my weaknesses - I present as high functioning and above average. All this to say, I won’t offer an opinion comparing sets without raw data 😄

@Troy yet you continue to express the legality of a 14 year old girl marrying... as if that makes it ok. BUT now legal is arbitrary when I say sex without consent is ILLEGAL? Be careful - what you value is on full display. And yes, because the majority of the electorate decided it was immoral to enslaved humans and deny them basic rights... the law was abolished. See how that works? When people are firm on what they value - we move closer to a society that values life, each other and all that exist. But sure, “there are fine people on both sides” ~trump But make no mistake, I know I’m publicly making a value statement. I want everyone to know I believe it is disgusting to force children to engage in sex with adults or be forced to marry adults (in age only). That behavior shows the adult is either mentally weak and unstable , or worse, a monster.

Even if I used the definition above or my definition of “Smart” which is how one uses information, I realize I would need an accurate profile of both you and the average woman to make that determination. @Delano Why did you ask?

@Delano Are you a pet parent? Are you working in the physical environment or have found yourself more intuned with the environment, nature, our furry, feathered, fin / gilled family, etc.? I get the sense Pachamama is communicating with you. As for intersectionality”, yes this is the conundrum black women face daily. Specifically black women who believe in equality. Even if society eradicated racism against blacks today, black women would still have to fight. The black women struggle is real and even as I read the article, I wanted to minimize her quest -act like it wasn’t necessary. Frankly, I find if I look too closely at the world and its biases we’ve inherited; it zaps my energy.

Define “smart”.

I know when sex is ILLEGAL -something that seems to escape you... Oddly, you say you know how long 14 year old girls have been having sex and giving birth ... which is why it appears you are making a value judgment - since you conveniently left out of this equation adult men forcing themselves on children. Now, if I missed you condeming that behavior; your values are on full display.

@Chevdove hmm, this part has me conflicted on several levels. If you will, allow me to work it out. 1) How many close friends do you have of European descent? My ex-husband is closest and to let him tell it - I “hate” him. (Not really, but we’re a very close-knit family.) My last close white girlfriends was when I was in my 20s. We entered high school together, graduated, had babies etc.. We were close and would fall out of favor with each other and then get back together. I don’t think anyone would accuse us of black-vs-white hate... Folks just called us family. Couldn’t that be the same with black folks? Today, I roll alone - I have 3/5 heartbeats left and my sorority sisters. I no longer travel in a UN group or have white wo/men group to be petty in...no hatred to be meted out because there’s no group. Maybe those we tend to invest in emotionally are those who feel our wrath. Also, since Times Immemorial we’ve been fighting wars over resources and land - The europeans are on top now but this is the most recent history... “to the victor go the spoils” but should Africans act as if they’ve always been peaceful tree-hugging natives and this is the reason we’re getting our butts kicked? I say let us not go there... Currently, there are several brutal conflicts occurring throughout Africa ... There are several turf wars happening right here in metro atlanta - black folks gun-running human-trafficking and drug-selling... They don’t take prisoners either and unfortunately a police officer was just gunned down last night and the suspect is dead. We have folks fleeing el salvadore - honduras - guatemala because of gangs, guns, drugs... All this to say warmongers come in all colors and their goal is to control the resources - and each other. So possibly controlling other humans is the source of our collective malfunction. Maybe it is a human (pathological) behavior to annihilate those who oppose us.

I do my best to focus on the idea- if I’ve veered from this aspect in debate charge it to my head - not my heart.