Mel Hopkins

6 hours ago, Cynique said:

This video is really well-produced; the hook is catchy and Future and Nicki really complement each other.  They certainly typify what rivets black folks: "bling and swag".

@Cynique , yes thank you! I couldn't describe the feeling but you nailed it. 

You know @Troy  I would have missed the video premiere if not for your post. I, tend to  stick with contemporary jazz, soul, funk and old school house these days - but this was a great find. 

This is an example of hip hop music -next generation.  Future is huge in the hip hop world as is Nicki Minaj- put the two together and you have a bona fide hit...
Nicki looks amazing but she always does ... I love the way her body is sculpted but don't take away from Future's presence - he is a big draw too . Wait that's an understatement - He had back-to-back number 1 albums on billboard's 200  Check out this article lol The title is funny. 
 Nicki has also  had a few movie roles too - but her presence, so far, outside of the hip hop arena hasn't translated into a box office draw...  But I wish she would promote black books too - because I find her another a-list talent that is moving into her own power. 

15 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

-Ofcourse you're right that most AfroAmericans have ancestry from West Africa, but whether one's ancestors are from West, East, or South Africa originally.....the vast majority of us STILL have large amounts of European and Native American ancestry mixed in as well.

Which means that that European ancestry theory of genetic memory is still valid

So much to unpack here -  

This would appear to be redundancy  - sort of like mixing flour and water together and then adding another mixture of flour and water to the original batter.   Although this does happen, for example my ex-hubby is european (French-German mix ) ...Together we have a set of twin girls.   Although they may display his phenotype - they carry the mtDNA of the first woman of our lineage from East Africa 80,000 - 104,000 years ago.     From what I've read, so far using   rCRS and RSRS  (revised Cambridge Reference Sequence & Reconstructed Sapiens Reference Sequence ) to determine ancestry - the difference between someone from East Africa and someone from Europe is where there's a mutation point (s).   

Since women carry the mitochondrial DNA and passes to their offspring (girls and boys)- the mtDNA has proven to be more reliable in determining origin  and movement of a population because the Y-DNA mutates much more quickly than mtDNA because its housed in the testicles.  

Speaking of which , there's no disagreement between the NOI and the western Human Genome project researchers.  Both agree  Y was found in either Asia or Africa but because it Y mutates so quickly pinning down first man was rough but both agree on Asiatic/African description.  Y, however is not as old as the first woman they found - which is really interesting LOL...but not far-fetched because speciation began with X and then Y...  

By the way, I never toss out theories.  I look for evidence... there's evidence of the NOI hypothesis.   I can share some links I've found using "western science".  
That is,  if you want to get totally mindf-cked and go down that rabbit hole.    Needless to say, there's scientific evidence that we were all women before we split into women and men... but that's another story. 

15 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

By the way....
I didn't ask you if you had a problem with the men in Italy, I asked did you get hit on by them.
I know you said your Asian friend didn't get hit on EITHER....but still, the question wasn't actually answered.....lol.

@Pioneer1   I did answer  but you and I speak a different language ... sort of like what @Troy just referenced when he compared debate vs fight ...  I will be mindful of that.  But my family calls a debate "fighting" and we literally debate everything... even the content of the cereal lol

But I digress. 

"Hitting on" is physical in my dictionary - it assumes that I'm an object to be obtained.  I didn't have that problem and neither did the Asian Flight Attendant I was with, meant Italian men didn't objectify us ... I used her as a measuring stick.  If they didn't "hit" on me ...that didn't necessarily mean they weren't brutish - but when I noticed they didn't "hit" on her either, then I assumed they had respect for women.   Same as how they are here in the states.  Every Italian men I've dealt with or dated was respectful.   Well, that is, except Victor in the 4th grade.  He called me the N-Word.  

17 hours ago, Troy said:

 

Is there any proof that thoughts can exist beyond our physical being or outside a suitably powerful computer?

@Troy Yes...and no.   They found the patient  first had to think through the goal of moving the prosthetic arm before it could move.  This made me think a thought has to have matter to have an effect on other matter.  Like electricity has an effect on matter although electricity isn't actually considered "matter" but is a component of matter...

 (from the article: "As time went by, Ray learned to modulate the signals from his implant just by thinking. ")

Also,  I do reject the idea that humans don't know all that exist in the universe.  I believe we know all but haven't focused on it to name it in an effort to share it with others (although I don't even believe sharing is necessary either.)   Naming and knowing are two different things.   Humans create, discover then "name" it...  

18 hours ago, Troy said:

I don't recall if I had a debate or any one on thoughts being matter.  But for what it is worth if you'd like to fire one up I'm game ;-)

and why do you want to fight all the time!   LOL!!!

2 hours ago, Cynique said:

You guys are aware that Reggie Lewis died in 1993 at age 50 of a brain tumor, aren't you?  To have become a billionaire before age 50 makes him even more extraordinary.  How ironic that the brain which enabled him to be so brilliant,  was the source of his untimely death. 

@Cynique  The way you put this made me laugh (inappropriately I might add.  Good thing I was alone)  I read the first few chapters of that book and maybe it was the way his brain was formed but from the book - he nailed the art of the deal way before he got to college.   He was made for wall street  because he was a street smart hustler according to the book's opening, It is an interesting book. 

17 hours ago, Guest Cynique said:

Jesus!  i'm beginning to think that nowadays celebs brand their newborns instead of naming them, looking upon them as merchandise and accessories,  assuming the world is just awaiting to hail who will  turn out to be spoiled brats reeking with entitlement, and deluded into thinking they are special.

@Cynique  you nailed it!  Beyonce actually submitted a trademark application through her trademark holding company,  BGK Trademark Holdings, llc..  Blue Ivy Carter ,  Rumi Carter and Sir Carter ;   BGK stands for (Beyonce Giselle Knowles)

17 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

BTW....
Did you get hit on by a lot of Italian men?
They love Black women overthere and every Black woman I've met who's been over there tell me how big of a fool they act....lol.

@Pioneer1 Also,  I didn't have a problem with the Italian men - they were cool. I was with an asian woman and she didn't get hit on either. They were cordial when I did notice them. 

The place where I had to beat the men off with an effing stick - was Argentina... I don't understand why they are like they are but they are very "handsy" close talkers.  It kind of creeped me out. 

17 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

If you're like most Black Americans I'm sure you have Caucasian ancestry and that genetic memory could have been traced back to the Roman Empire and it would explain your knowledge of Rom

@Pioneer1 First , most black Americans are from West Africa.  They are from the Haplogroup L 1 and L  2 , they are the original people.  

I just happened to be from East Africa (Ethiopia) according to my mtDNA .   I come from  L3 haplogroup, a mtDNA mutation from the first and second modern human.  

This means I'm a progeny of most black Americans here, and I'm a progenitor of  Europeans  and Asians.  

Caucasians from the Caucasus region also come  from my L3 haplogroup .  Not the other way around.  I'm their biological mother as my mtDNA is about  80,000 - 104,000 years old and Caucasians arrived here about 11,500 years ago.   Caucasians have AFRICAN (and some Neanderthal) ancestry.

 In researching , ancient Rome  I found out there were a lot of Africans there - and a lot of the architecture is influenced by northern Africans - as it is in Peru too.  Oddly, when I was in Peru, a a native woman asked me if so-and-so was my mother - a woman who lived there.  

All this to say, when you leave the united states you will see the world looks a lot more like me, Del, Cynique, Troy  (and maybe you - but I've never seen you )  than most fair-hair folks with the pinkish hue.  

  Anyway,  Rome feels like a playground to me, so most likely I (my ancestors) did a lot of trading, living  and playing there.   Brazil felt like heartache,  and I had no love for England and it felt like a place I did a lot of studying.  Peru feels like home, so I (ancestors) probably settled there for a while... In all my travels I haven't visited the motherland yet - but if I do, I know I'll most likely want to stay.  

Also I didn't disagree with you - I said they could be the same thing... 

1 hour ago, Cynique said:

There may be another explanation for this but it's something i've always been curious about.  

 

@Cynique I'm so thankful  and grateful that we had this opportunity to connect!  Isn't it amazing how we know what we do for no obvious reason!  It's that kind of stuff (for lack of a better word) that makes this life so fascinating and worth living.    

Aside: I just read today there is software that people control using their brainwaves - (thoughts) so I got to thinking about a lot of conversations here  - and realized "Thoughts are Matter" or it wouldn't be able to control software.  Didn't you and  @Troy have this debate before? 

51 minutes ago, Troy said:

do you all see the discussion forum with a white background or the orange background?

I see a white background 

On 6/18/2017 at 8:31 PM, Pioneer1 said:

So you believe in reincarnation or past lives?

Was any of this revealed to you during your near death experience, or did it come from information given to you by others?

@Pioneer1 I do not necessarily believe in reincarnation or past lives.  As I mentioned. A past life could be nothing more than genetic memory.  

In the simplest explanation I can muster -  DNA is code and within code there's information.   Why couldn't that information give detail of our ancestors events? 

As for what was revealed  when I died or information given to me by others...

I don't operate that way.   I think for myself.  

Much of what I speak of comes from this process call deductive reasoning that leads to synthesis.

I read a lot , experience a lot and  listen to others, usually those who are experienced.  Once I gather information from several sources including first-hand experience, I then formulate a hypothesis.  Next, I look for more evidence to support or dismiss my theory.   

On this particular subject,  I happened to sit next to a neurosurgeon on one of my flights.  I asked him if there was such a thing as genetic memory.  He said he didn't think so but in his studies he did find that a newborn primate didn't fear anything but a hissing sound.  He said  he couldn't explain how a newborn could have an innate fear of something that was actually a threat to its existence.  He concluded it was wired into  his genes.   Because of that information he couldn't rule out genetic memory.   There's a lot of information on the subject but to date there's no verifiable evidence.   

When I first arrived in Rome, Italy - I didn't get lost once. It was if I knew my way around, like I had been there before. It felt extremely familiar.  The weird part is I have a poor sense of direction. 

I didn't feel like I was there in a past life - I felt like my ancestors were there... and I literally followed in their footsteps.  

16 hours ago, Troy said:

unfortunately, this book is out of print.

Yes, but the book is not out of circulation.  A quick check at a local library might turn up a copy.   Also, I think the book re-sellers have a few copies too - I saw the book jacket on librarything.com  Unfortunately, I lost my edition's book jacket some time ago.  The book cover is black with the title written on the spine.   

3 hours ago, Troy said:

I am looking for a good book on the Reconstruction – have any recommendations?

One of the most enlightening books that I've read on the reconstruction period, the events leading up to and after is  "A Pictorial History of the Negro in America"  edited by Langston Hughes and Milton Meltzer  - Third Revision by C. Eric Lincoln and Milton Meltzer.  Crown Publishers, Inc., New York   

Now that I'm looking at this book again through "new millennium" eyes - I realize this picture book with its complement of editorial copy is the literary version of "Instagram"  today.

Back in the early 2000s when I was researching for my first novel - Graham Hancock's findings turned up a lot in my search on both the internet and in books.  This dude is relentless, I see. He is not letting it go.  In fact, his reporting pointed me to the "Kebra Nagast" (glory of kings) and that led to more information available in Ethiopia and Eritrea about the underground churches and the fact that it was the birthplace of Christianity... Thank you for sharing this - I remember how proud I was to learn all this about African continent...and it took me on an odyssey (both inside my novel and outside) to learn a lot more about our knowledge of electricity et al ...in fact the protagonist in my book intimates that she went to a technology high school because of her ancestors.  

I think JAY-Z said his father was heavily into christianity so it's likely he would know that Matthew "rapped" about Jesus, Jews and loans  first 


Matthew 21:12-13King James Version (KJV)

12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,

13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

7 hours ago, Troy said:

I wonder what percentage of Black Owned Bookstores, or business for that matter, survive their owners?

Again where was the go-fund me page? 

On 7/4/2017 at 11:03 AM, Troy said:

I'm afraid the poor quality of my mike will hurt the impact if the video.

@Troy Are you kidding?

 Hobby Lobby executives  paid 1.6 million dollars for clay blocks with wedges carved in it (ancient clay cuneiform tablets that had been smuggled into the United States from Iraq.) ... allegedly because they're collectors of biblical artifacts.  They have since agreed to pay 3$ million fine and return the 5500 artifacts they smuggled out of Iraq.  

All this to say, if we are interested, nothing will deter us from your presentation!

6 hours ago, Troy said:

it is interesting to see what folks bring on their own, and how a question about super powers leads to one on fornication  

LOL! I'm still trying to figure out how that happened too! #giggles ...

and @Troy , I'd swear you were 125 years old,  if I didn't know you... "Fornication/Deflowering"?  You are cracking me up over here!

23 minutes ago, Cynique said:

 i was totally miffed by the end of the year when it turned out that everyone but me had been lying about being a virgin.  That's when i found out women aren't always truthful about their sex lives.

My college group of friends were really open about their sex lives that's how I knew  I was the last one in my group  to have sex .  And it still baffles that one of my friends  came forward in 2015 to say Bill Cosby assaulted her... We really didn't keep secrets like that because sex wasn't taboo ...there was no "good/bad" girl blah blah - but I guess assault was the taboo topic - 

Also in my generation practically no one cared if their future husband or wife for that matter was going to be the first. Shoot, the best  any of us could hope for is if we didn't have sex with each other's future husband/wife ... (Edit)

40 minutes ago, Troy said:

 I often hear women related their own deflowering experience as a relatively bad one. 

@Troy  I wasn't talking about my very first time having sex...

and were you talking about other women's experience 

Here ? 

7 hours ago, Troy said:

It seems the first time with someone is always the worst of the best, or close to it...

I was referring to the the first time with that particular man... not  my very first time having sex... although that was ok  - but dude was more into himself  vertical, so I imagine it wasn't going to ever get any better and it didn't...     

Did you really write "deflower"  pwuahahaha... 

5 hours ago, Troy said:

It seems the first time with someone is always the worst of the best, or close to it....

Oh my... Sorry to read that... LOL

5 hours ago, Cynique said:

 and who appeals to you above and beyond his bedroom skills,  

Excellent perspective, because sex is definitely a head game... I can say, I've never had sex with an ignorant man in my life... If you "stupid" that's a huge-a turn off for me.    We can't even be friends let alone engage in sex.  

28 minutes ago, Delano said:

@Mel Hopkins

Ddddamn!

 It's frustrating to have awful sex.. a huge let down... so wanting to punch someone in the face is for wasting my time... 

5 hours ago, Del said:

Would you rather make love the same way forever or have it be different every time for one lifetime.

Is this possible to make love any other way?   do you mean sexual intercourse using different holes -mouth, anus, vagina?  Or meaning a variety of people i.e. menage a trois?  BDSM ?  same-sex? 

If you are referring to sexual intercourse - do you mean same wo/man in both situations or different man for the first and same man for the latter or combination for both...

If you're referring to opposite sex - sexual intercourse .. then    Same/different man fabulous sex but the same every time is a yes for my lifetime.

I've once had sex with a man and our first time it was freakin' amazing. I mean, so mind-blowing I had to write a  blog post about how good we were together...  and then the next few times it was different but never measured up to our first time together. 

  A lifetime can be too long to have  "different " sexual intercourse that makes me want to punch someone in the face

I don't need to wish for superpowers because I already possess what some call superpowers. They really aren't superpowers more like "unacknowledged or undeveloped abilities" ...Having said that can feel and read energy  (vibrations) so I'm an empath.  I help people listen to themselves so I  am clairaudient (that one gets me in trouble because I hear people before they say it" ...

Now here's one I will call a superpower (but it probably isn't either, but is to me) I would like to  transform my energy into the highest level of LOVE in an effort to move through dimensions. 

1 minute ago, Troy said:

 I would have loved to been able to demonstrate a broken Facebook page  

It's still broken to you, the page administrator so there's still a lesson for us all!

@Troy It's there and I even  put a like on it! 

1 hour ago, Troy said:

If you sell a book through me, you can use Google tag manager to traffic and click and fulfilled order, because it would be physically impossible for anyone else to sell your book through this site.

Thank you for making me aware of this transaction.  When we finally have our meeting - would you teach this concept to me?  Is this something that would need to go into our webinar?  Can other independent authors do this too?