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richardmurray

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  1. Et Tu War
    My Thoughts To The Article Below

    The great Ali once asked, I paraphrase, why should I go fight vietkong for you when you my poser when I want a job, you my poser when I want rights, you my poser when I try to be happy.
    I recall in a documentary on Public Broadcasting Station concerning the Vietnam war a man who fought for Vietnam against the proxy government set up by the USA in vietnam, that he was the only person in his building to return from going to the war.
    What is the point? 
    Any government that has to force or ask people who live under it to fight for it proves that government is failed. 
    The reason why Black people had to be drafted is cause most Black people couldn't stand the USA and would never willingly take a bullet for a government that oppresses Black people. 
    To the article below, I have never lived in Ukraine or Russia. I know no one in Ukraine or Russia. The article below can be a complete lie. 

    But, if the article below has truth. 
    It makes three things clear. 
    The Ukrainian people are kin to Russian People. They are not distant. These two peoples are in the same way like the Union side the Confederacy.
    The Ukrainian government has forced Ukranian people, especially men: to deny themselves, to deny their personal relationships to Russia, to deny their right to choose.
    A segment of the Ukranian plus Russian people in the USA have a combined agenda that they promote which is telling a lie about the realities of this war, which the USA government supports for global order reasonings.

    Some may suggest I am stating a civil war. I am not. No war is ever civil and that includes the war between the states. I am stating the russian-ukranian war is an intracommunal war, a war within one community. Sequentially, while the Russian sector is the agressor plus the Ukrainian is the subjected. Neither side is absent the other. It is the same thing when Hindus side Muslims fight in India. It is the same with the people of Hong Kong or Taiwan aside the People of Mainland china. It is the same with the people of north korea side south korea. One community can have striking parts and still be one community. The people of ireland are still british even though they bombed everywhere possible in belfast or england they could.

    Now, why have I posted this in a Black communal online group. The question is how Black people see themselves under any government, but especially the USA. How many Black people if they had to choose will fight for the USA? I argue far less. Many Black people talk about enslaved forebears fighting to have the legal rights or communal equality to whites.  But I argue, for each enslaved forebear that wanted equality to all was ten forebears who wanted to merely break the skull of someone not black. 
    When Black people speak of anger or violence being a problem in the Black community, I hope anyone reading this will ask themselves, how many Black people are happy? And if unhappiness is merely a potential reality, not a sign that the mind is unhealthy, then the solution to unhappiness isn't some pharmaceutical product or some talk with someone saying to another they are wrong, but an process that leads to what will make a Black person happy.

    Last question, when the war between ukraine side russia is over, will Ukraine have to give up the weapons they were given by various countries? 

     

    now1.png

    Photo description

    Volodymyr Danuliv, a Ukrainian evacuee, at a center for asylum seekers and refugees in Chisinau, Moldova’s capital. He has relatives in the Russian Army and is determined not to join the fight for Ukraine.

     

    Article

     

    Ukraine’s Draft Dodgers Face Guilt, Shame and Reproach

    April 10, 2022, 1:57 p.m. ETApril 10, 2022
    April 10, 2022
    Jeffrey Gettleman and Monika Pronczuk

    CHISINAU, Moldova – Vova Klever, a young, successful fashion photographer from Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, did not see himself in this war.

    “Violence is not my weapon,” he said.

    So shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February and Ukraine prohibited men of military age from leaving the country, Mr. Klever sneaked out to London.

    His mistake, which would bring devastating consequences, was writing to a friend about it.

    The friend and his wife then shared the contents of that conversation on social media. It sparked an online fight that went viral, and Ukrainians all over the internet exploded with anger and resentment.

    “You are a walking dead person,” one Twitter message said. “I’m going to find you in any corner in the world.”

    The notion of people — especially men — leaving war-torn Ukraine for safe and comfortable lives abroad has provoked a moral dilemma among Ukrainians that turns on one of the most elemental decisions humans can make: fight or flee.

    Thousands of Ukrainian men of military age have left the country to avoid participating in the war, according to records from regional law enforcement officials and interviews with people inside and outside Ukraine. Smuggling rings in Moldova, and possibly other European countries, have been doing a brisk business. Some people have paid up to $15,000 for a secret night-time ride out of Ukraine, Moldovan officials said.

    The draft dodgers are the vast exception. That makes it all the more complicated for them — morally, socially and practically. Ukrainian society has been mobilized for war against a much bigger enemy, and countless Ukrainians without military experience have volunteered for the fight. To maximize its forces, the Ukrainian government has taken the extreme step of prohibiting men 18 to 60 from leaving, with few exceptions.

    All this has forced many Ukrainian men who don’t want to serve into taking illegal routes into Hungary, Moldova and Poland and other neighboring countries. Even among those convinced they fled for the right reasons, some said they felt guilty and ashamed.

    “I don’t think I can be a good soldier right now in this war,” said a Ukrainian computer programmer named Volodymyr, who left shortly after the war began and did not want to disclose his last name, fearing repercussions for avoiding military service.

    “Look at me,” Volodymyr said, as he sat in a pub in Warsaw drinking a beer. “I wear glasses. I am 46. I don’t look like a classic fighter, some Rambo who can fight Russian troops.”

    He took another sip and stared into his glass.

    “Yes, I am ashamed,” he said. “I ran away from this war, and it is probably my crime.”

    Ukrainian politicians have threatened to put draft dodgers in prison and confiscate their homes. But within Ukrainian society, even as cities continue to be pummeled by Russian bombs, the sentiments are more divided.

    A meme recently popped up with the refrain, “Do what you can, where you are.” It’s clearly meant to counter negative feelings toward those who left and assure them they can still contribute to the war effort. And Ukrainian women and children, the vast majority of the refugees, face little backlash.

    But that’s not the case for young men, and this is what blew up on the young photographer.

    In mid-March, Olga Lepina, a modeling agent, said Mr. Klever disclosed in a text message to her husband that he had paid $5,000 to be smuggled out of Ukraine, and from earlier conversations she knew he had wanted to go to London.

    Ms. Lepina said she and Mr. Klever had been friends for years. She even went to his wedding. But as the war drew near, she said, Mr. Klever became intensely patriotic and anti-Russian, and said rude things to her husband, who is Russian. When she found out he had avoided service, she was so outraged that she posted on Instagram the comments Mr. Klever made insulting her husband, and said he had spent $5,000 to be smuggled out of Ukraine.

    “For me, it was a hypocrisy to leave the country and pay money for this,” she explained, adding, “He needs to be responsible for his words.”

    Mr. Klever, who is in his 20s, fell deeper into an online spat with Ms. Lepina. She and others said he had made insensitive comments about the town of Bucha, the site of major violence and the town she was from. (The comments were made before the atrocities in Bucha were revealed). Mr. Klever was then bombarded with death threats. Some Ukrainians also resented that he used his wealth to get out and called it “cheating.”

    Responding to emailed questions, Mr. Klever did not deny skipping out on his service and said that he had poor eyesight and had “been through a lot lately."

    “You can’t even imagine the hatred,” he said.

    Mr. Klever gave conflicting accounts of how exactly he exited the country and declined to provide details. But for many other Ukrainian men, Moldova has become the favorite trap door.

    Moldova shares a nearly 800-mile border with western Ukraine. And unlike Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, Moldova is not part of the European Union, which means it has significantly fewer resources to control its frontiers. It is one of Europe’s poorest countries and has been a hub of human trafficking and organized crime.

    Within days of the war erupting, Moldovan officials said, Moldovan gangs posted advertisements on Telegram, a popular messaging service in Eastern Europe, offering to arrange cars, even minibuses, to spirit out draft dodgers.

    Law enforcement officials said the typical method was for the smugglers and the Ukrainians to select a rendezvous point along Moldova’s “green border,” the term used for the unfenced border areas, and meet late at night.

    On a recent night, a squad of Moldovan border guards trudged across a flat, endless wheat field, their boots sinking in the mud, looking for draft dodgers. There was no border post on the horizon, just the faint lights of a Ukrainian village and the sounds of dogs barking in the darkness.

    Out here, one can just walk into and out of Ukraine.

    Moldovan officials said that since late February they had broken up more than 20 smuggling rings, including a few well-known criminal enterprises. In turn, they have apprehended 1,091 people crossing the border illegally. Officials said all were Ukrainian men.

    Once caught, these men have a choice. If they don’t want to be sent back, they can apply for asylum in Moldova, and cannot be deported.

    But if they do not apply for asylum, they can be turned over to the Ukrainian authorities, who, Moldovan officials said, have been pressuring them to send the men back. The vast majority of those who entered illegally, around 1,000, have sought asylum, and fewer than 100 have been returned, Moldovan officials said. Two thousand other Ukrainian men who have entered Moldova legally have also applied for asylum.

    Volodymyr Danuliv is one of them. He refuses to fight in the war, though it’s not the prospect of dying that worries him, he said. It is the killing.

    “I can’t shoot Russian people,” said Mr. Danuliv, 50.

    He explained that his siblings had married Russians and that two of his nephews were serving in the Russian Army — in Ukraine.

    “How can I fight in this war?” he asked. “I might kill my own family.”

    Myroslav Hai, an official with Ukraine’s military reserve, conceded, “There are people who evade mobilization, but their share in comparison with volunteers is not so large.” Other Ukrainian officials said men ideologically or religiously opposed to war could serve in another way, for example as cooks or drivers.

    But none of the more than a dozen men interviewed for this article seemed interested. Mr. Danuliv, a businessman from western Ukraine, said he wanted no part in the war. When asked if he feared being ostracized or shamed, he shook his head.

    “I didn’t kill anyone. That’s what’s important to me,” he said. “I don’t care what people say.”

    What happens when the war ends? How much resentment will surface toward those who left? These are questions Ukrainians, men and women, are beginning to ask.

    When Ms. Lepina shamed Mr. Klever, she was no longer in Ukraine herself. She had left, too, for France, with her husband. Every day, she said, she wrestles with guilt.

    “People are suffering in Ukraine, and I want to be there to help them, to support them,” she said. “But at the same time I’m safe and I want to be here.”

    “It’s a very ambiguous, complicated feeling,” she said.

    And she knows she will be judged.

    “Of course there will be some people who divide Ukrainian nationals between those who left and those who stayed,” she said. “I am ready for that.”

    Siergiej Greczuszkin contributed reporting from Warsaw, and Daria Mychkovska from Przemysl, Poland.

    Correction: April 10, 2022
    An earlier version of this article referred incompletely to the online dispute between Vova Klever and Olga Lupina. In addition to writing a social media post describing Mr. Klever’s avoidance of military service in Ukraine, Ms. Lupina also posted comments she considered insensitive that he made about her husband’s Russian heritage and about Bucha, her hometown.

     

    Article Link

    https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/10/world/asia/ukraine-draft-dodgers.html

     

  2. now1.jpg

    I don't know if Frank James was the shooter in the subway, but if he was, he offers an interesting query challenge.

    NYC's black community always had black people in it, who love to suggest a usage of violence is incorrect. The reason why is complicated, it isn't merely about right or wrong. But, one of the juxtaposes between white controlled media of nyc /the black church in the black community of NYC/black employed class in NYC is the idea of gun violence in the Black community as something of youth. The narrative is, the youth must get the violence out of them. But, Frank James is sixty something years old. Frank James was an elder teen in the 1970s. So Frank James is not a Black person who is without a decades long look at the Black community in NYC, in NYS, in the USA and with that a high potential for a very honest while negative appraisal of many things in this area. 

    Many will suggest mental imbalance, as in NYC that is suggested for anyone who is violent. From white media to many or most black homes in NYC, mental dysfunction or imbalance is always the reason behind any violence as if, being violent can not be from a mentally sane person, which of course is a lie. 
     

    A FORUM POST

     

  3. now1.jpg

    I don't know if Frank James was the shooter in the subway, but if he was, he offers an interesting query challenge.

    NYC's black community always had black people in it, who love to suggest a usage of violence is incorrect. The reason why is complicated, it isn't merely about right or wrong. But, one of the juxtaposes between white controlled media of nyc /the black church in the black community of NYC/black employed class in NYC is the idea of gun violence in the Black community as something of youth. The narrative is, the youth must get the violence out of them. But, Frank James is sixty something years old. Frank James was an elder teen in the 1970s. So Frank James is not a Black person who is without a decades long look at the Black community in NYC, in NYS, in the USA and with that a high potential for a very honest while negative appraisal of many things in this area. 

    Many will suggest mental imbalance, as in NYC that is suggested for anyone who is violent. From white media to many or most black homes in NYC, mental dysfunction or imbalance is always the reason behind any violence as if, being violent can not be from a mentally sane person, which of course is a lie. 
     

    A FORUM POST

     

  4. now1.jpg

    Why You Should Consider a University Press for Your Book
    Updated: April 5, 2022
    First Published: April 5, 2022 by Adam Rosen < https://www.janefriedman.com/author/adam-rosen/ >  

    Today’s guest post is by Adam Rosen (@adammmmmrosen).

     

    For many authors, there’s a certain template for book publishing “success”: signing with an agent, getting a decent advance, and watching the awards and social media followers roll in. Achieving this fantasy, as you no doubt know, is famously challenging—and arguably getting more so every year as Big Publishing continues to consolidate (to say nothing of recent employee turmoil).

    While it’s an oversimplification to declare that the big houses stake too much on celebrity memoirs, former Trump staffer tell-alls, IPs, and other supposed sure bets, there’s more than a kernel of truth here. Platform and brand arguably matter now more than ever, especially when it comes to nonfiction.

    Despair not, though. If you have a small platform and a big idea (and strong writing skills), there are other options. Enter the humble, often overlooked university press.

    Within the past few years university presses have been publishing some of the most exciting, critically acclaimed trade books around. Last year, for instance, three out of the ten books longlisted for a National Book Award for Nonfiction were published by university presses. West Virginia University Press, which puts out 18 to 20 books a year and is the state of West Virginia’s only book publisher, has earned the sort of recognition and media attention you’d typically expect from a hip new indie press or house ten times its size. In 2020, Deesha Philyaw’s The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, a short story collection published by the four-person WVUP staff (now five), was named a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction and earned a PEN/Faulkner Award, among several other prestigious accolades; last October it was announced that a TV adaptation of the book was in the works for HBO Max. The next month, Ghosts of New York by Jim Lewis, another West Virginia release, made the New York Times list of 100 Notable Books of 2021.

    University presses have carved out a unique place in the trade publishing landscape, says Kristen Elias Rowley, editor in chief of Ohio State University Press, by providing an opportunity for “books that can’t find a home elsewhere.” This often translates to “projects that are either pushing boundaries in terms of form or content or voice. Projects that a larger press is going to say, ‘You know, we can’t sell 50,000 copies of this, so we’re not going to do it’ or ‘We don’t think this is mainstream enough.’” She points to two upcoming titles on OSUP’s catalog, cultural critic Negesti Kaudo’s collection of personal essays, Ripe (a Lit Hub Most Anticipated Book of 2022), and Finding Querencia: Essays from In-Between by Harrison Candelaria Fletcher, as examples. Both collections will be released through OSUP’s trade imprint, Mad Creek, this month.

    Elias Rowley estimates that at least half of all university presses publish books by non-academics. While the core mandate of UPs is to advance scholarship through journals and scholarly monographs, they also have a mission to “put important literary or other general public or regional works out into the world,” she says. Of the 40 to 60 books a year OSUP publishes, roughly a dozen are trade books released through Mad Creek.

    “It never seemed like the point was to be insular,” says Derek Krissoff, director of West Virginia University Press. “Part of the value proposition for [UPs] is building bridges that go out to other communities” beyond the confines of academia. In Krissoff’s view, this larger purpose gives university presses leeway to make decisions that are less commercially driven. “We’re very concerned about being thoughtful stewards of people’s resources, because we are part of the state of West Virginia. But we don’t have shareholders who need to be rewarded, and we can be a little bit freer in terms of what we choose to invest in,” says Krissoff. In light of WVU’s recent wave of success, this (winning) strategy feels more than a little ironic.

    The backbone of many university presses’ trade programs is probably familiar: local and regional history, cookbooks, photography books, and other sorts of consumer-friendly titles with an obvious connection to the area or university. But many also offer a home for books that are niche, experimental, challenging in various ways, and/or just kind of weird.

    I’d like to think of my own as an example of the latter. In February 2018 I put the finishing touches on my proposal: a collection of essays, from various contributors, on the cult film The Room, widely considered “the worst movie of all time” and a personal obsession of mine. My prototype was the Indiana University Press series The Year’s Work: Studies in Fan Culture and Cultural Theory, a heady series devoted to dissecting pop culture bric-a-brac. Its topics of focus ranged from the straightforward (The Worlds of John Wick) to the strange (Household Horror: Cinematic Fear and the Secret Life of Everyday Objects).

    I discovered the series after coming across a 2009 entrant, The Year’s Work in Lebowski Studies, a deconstruction of, you guessed it, The Big Lebowski. The essay collection felt revelatory, offering enlightening historical and critical analysis that helped less-savvy viewers (such as myself) uncover the layers upon layers of meaning in the film, whether related to the Gulf War, the failures of the New Left, or the influence of literary critic Paul de Man on the Coen brothers (and, of course, nihilists and white Russians). It was often hilarious, but it took its subject matter seriously. For its efforts it snagged reviews in the New York Times and Washington Post.

    A few of the agents I submitted my proposal to told me they liked my idea but the scope felt too narrow; one suggested I expand the focus to bad films in general. Alternatively, it was too academic. The bottom line was that they didn’t think they could sell it in its current form.

    After several dozen rejections, I changed tacks and started submitting directly to university presses, who I knew were open to unsolicited queries and proposals. This time the feedback was more encouraging, but I still ran into the same problem, just from a different side: several editors said they liked my idea, but it felt too trade-y—they wouldn’t know how to sell it.

    The sweet spot, it turned it out, was with an academic press with a strong trade arm who published on pop culture: Indiana University Press, i.e., the publisher who put out the very book I was meticulously, and possibly shamelessly, modeling my own book on. I ended up exactly where I began. 

    Initially I was a bit surprised that they’d have me. I have a BA in political science, and while as a freelance writer I’ve written about pop culture (including a piece on The Room), I don’t have a film beat. And yet, four years later, I’m the editor of and contributor to a collection of essays about a film, a book whose vast majority of contributors are academics. Another, related data point: an author whose book proposal and sample chapters I recently edited has received an encouraging amount of initial interest from her first-choice publisher, a university press in her geographic area, despite not having a bachelor’s. But she does have excellent research skills and deep professional expertise in a field related to the topic of her book, an iconic bridge.

    All of which is to say that (a) university presses are not just for scholars; and (b) many are far more open-minded than you may think—as I once thought.

    If you are interested in submitting to a university press, Elias Rowley and Krissoff have a few suggestions. Given the unique focus areas and track record of each press, any place you contact should be a good match for your topic. Proposing a book about birding in Maine probably isn’t a great fit for, say, University of Nevada Press. That said, “fit” can be expansive, thematic as much as geographic. “I think what our books have in common is that they are grounded in place,” says Krissoff. “And it doesn’t always mean they’re grounded in our place, although a lot of our books are about Appalachia or about Appalachian topics.”

    While having a decent platform doesn’t hurt, says Krissoff, it’s not necessary; he says he doesn’t look for an author’s metrics when he’s reviewing a project. If he likes their idea, it’s much more important that the author is willing to truly commit to the writing, revising, and marketing processes. “Platform is always a bonus and can really make a difference in the outcome for a book, but it’s not going to be the thing that makes me decide not to do a project,” says Elias Rowley. “I’m not looking for a bare minimum of certain kinds of requirements. I’m looking for [if] this is a book that should be out there in the world.”

    To that end, Elias Rowley says that it’s rarely too early to get on an editor’s radar. She advises authors to reach out and connect with editors early on, whether it’s through email or in-person events like the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) conference. She’ll even respond to queries that are submitted before the proposal’s been written. This way, if she likes an idea and thinks it might be a good fit, she can help develop it from the beginning. “We’re interested in forging those relationships and having it be a collaborative partnership,” she says.

    The downsides? University presses typically don’t offer an advance, and if they do, it’s probably going to be pretty modest. That said, if your book sells well, you earn royalties immediately, since you don’t need to “earn out.” As Belt publisher Anne Trubek puts it, “Advances are royalties. They just come sooner.” It’s also expected that authors supply their own index, which means either using software to do a bad job or hiring someone to make one (what I did). I also gave each essay contributor an honorarium.

    So when my book publishes this October, technically I’ll already be in the hole. Will I sell enough books to break even? Hard to say. I do think it could be a strong backlist contender. As I argue in my book, The Room has become The Rocky Horror Picture Show for the millennial generation. There are (or were, before Covid) monthly Saturday night screenings of it around the world, each replete with a set of established viewing rituals. The film’s notoriety continues to grow alongside that of its eccentric creator, Tommy Wiseau. But this may be wishful thinking.

    On the other hand, I already consider my journey a success. Having a book title under my name with a well-respected university press has brought me a level of professional prestige, boosting my credibility as freelance book editor and opening doors for various writing projects. I also have the satisfaction of having taken the germ of an idea, turned it into a proposal, wrangled together 16 smart (and, blessedly, easy to work with) contributors, and executed the entire thing into the form of a book I will eventually hold in my hands. And, certainly last but not least, I’d like to think I’ve played a small part in furthering the world’s knowledge of the worst movie of all time, which surely counts for something.

    It’s not the typical publishing success template, much less a show on HBO Max. But it just may be good enough.

    IN AMENDMENT

    Why Your Amazing Writing Group Might Be Failing You
    https://www.janefriedman.com/why-your-amazing-writing-group-might-be-failing-you/


     

  5. now1.jpg

    Why You Should Consider a University Press for Your Book
    Updated: April 5, 2022
    First Published: April 5, 2022 by Adam Rosen < https://www.janefriedman.com/author/adam-rosen/ >  

    Today’s guest post is by Adam Rosen (@adammmmmrosen).

     

    For many authors, there’s a certain template for book publishing “success”: signing with an agent, getting a decent advance, and watching the awards and social media followers roll in. Achieving this fantasy, as you no doubt know, is famously challenging—and arguably getting more so every year as Big Publishing continues to consolidate (to say nothing of recent employee turmoil).

    While it’s an oversimplification to declare that the big houses stake too much on celebrity memoirs, former Trump staffer tell-alls, IPs, and other supposed sure bets, there’s more than a kernel of truth here. Platform and brand arguably matter now more than ever, especially when it comes to nonfiction.

    Despair not, though. If you have a small platform and a big idea (and strong writing skills), there are other options. Enter the humble, often overlooked university press.

    Within the past few years university presses have been publishing some of the most exciting, critically acclaimed trade books around. Last year, for instance, three out of the ten books longlisted for a National Book Award for Nonfiction were published by university presses. West Virginia University Press, which puts out 18 to 20 books a year and is the state of West Virginia’s only book publisher, has earned the sort of recognition and media attention you’d typically expect from a hip new indie press or house ten times its size. In 2020, Deesha Philyaw’s The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, a short story collection published by the four-person WVUP staff (now five), was named a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction and earned a PEN/Faulkner Award, among several other prestigious accolades; last October it was announced that a TV adaptation of the book was in the works for HBO Max. The next month, Ghosts of New York by Jim Lewis, another West Virginia release, made the New York Times list of 100 Notable Books of 2021.

    University presses have carved out a unique place in the trade publishing landscape, says Kristen Elias Rowley, editor in chief of Ohio State University Press, by providing an opportunity for “books that can’t find a home elsewhere.” This often translates to “projects that are either pushing boundaries in terms of form or content or voice. Projects that a larger press is going to say, ‘You know, we can’t sell 50,000 copies of this, so we’re not going to do it’ or ‘We don’t think this is mainstream enough.’” She points to two upcoming titles on OSUP’s catalog, cultural critic Negesti Kaudo’s collection of personal essays, Ripe (a Lit Hub Most Anticipated Book of 2022), and Finding Querencia: Essays from In-Between by Harrison Candelaria Fletcher, as examples. Both collections will be released through OSUP’s trade imprint, Mad Creek, this month.

    Elias Rowley estimates that at least half of all university presses publish books by non-academics. While the core mandate of UPs is to advance scholarship through journals and scholarly monographs, they also have a mission to “put important literary or other general public or regional works out into the world,” she says. Of the 40 to 60 books a year OSUP publishes, roughly a dozen are trade books released through Mad Creek.

    “It never seemed like the point was to be insular,” says Derek Krissoff, director of West Virginia University Press. “Part of the value proposition for [UPs] is building bridges that go out to other communities” beyond the confines of academia. In Krissoff’s view, this larger purpose gives university presses leeway to make decisions that are less commercially driven. “We’re very concerned about being thoughtful stewards of people’s resources, because we are part of the state of West Virginia. But we don’t have shareholders who need to be rewarded, and we can be a little bit freer in terms of what we choose to invest in,” says Krissoff. In light of WVU’s recent wave of success, this (winning) strategy feels more than a little ironic.

    The backbone of many university presses’ trade programs is probably familiar: local and regional history, cookbooks, photography books, and other sorts of consumer-friendly titles with an obvious connection to the area or university. But many also offer a home for books that are niche, experimental, challenging in various ways, and/or just kind of weird.

    I’d like to think of my own as an example of the latter. In February 2018 I put the finishing touches on my proposal: a collection of essays, from various contributors, on the cult film The Room, widely considered “the worst movie of all time” and a personal obsession of mine. My prototype was the Indiana University Press series The Year’s Work: Studies in Fan Culture and Cultural Theory, a heady series devoted to dissecting pop culture bric-a-brac. Its topics of focus ranged from the straightforward (The Worlds of John Wick) to the strange (Household Horror: Cinematic Fear and the Secret Life of Everyday Objects).

    I discovered the series after coming across a 2009 entrant, The Year’s Work in Lebowski Studies, a deconstruction of, you guessed it, The Big Lebowski. The essay collection felt revelatory, offering enlightening historical and critical analysis that helped less-savvy viewers (such as myself) uncover the layers upon layers of meaning in the film, whether related to the Gulf War, the failures of the New Left, or the influence of literary critic Paul de Man on the Coen brothers (and, of course, nihilists and white Russians). It was often hilarious, but it took its subject matter seriously. For its efforts it snagged reviews in the New York Times and Washington Post.

    A few of the agents I submitted my proposal to told me they liked my idea but the scope felt too narrow; one suggested I expand the focus to bad films in general. Alternatively, it was too academic. The bottom line was that they didn’t think they could sell it in its current form.

    After several dozen rejections, I changed tacks and started submitting directly to university presses, who I knew were open to unsolicited queries and proposals. This time the feedback was more encouraging, but I still ran into the same problem, just from a different side: several editors said they liked my idea, but it felt too trade-y—they wouldn’t know how to sell it.

    The sweet spot, it turned it out, was with an academic press with a strong trade arm who published on pop culture: Indiana University Press, i.e., the publisher who put out the very book I was meticulously, and possibly shamelessly, modeling my own book on. I ended up exactly where I began. 

    Initially I was a bit surprised that they’d have me. I have a BA in political science, and while as a freelance writer I’ve written about pop culture (including a piece on The Room), I don’t have a film beat. And yet, four years later, I’m the editor of and contributor to a collection of essays about a film, a book whose vast majority of contributors are academics. Another, related data point: an author whose book proposal and sample chapters I recently edited has received an encouraging amount of initial interest from her first-choice publisher, a university press in her geographic area, despite not having a bachelor’s. But she does have excellent research skills and deep professional expertise in a field related to the topic of her book, an iconic bridge.

    All of which is to say that (a) university presses are not just for scholars; and (b) many are far more open-minded than you may think—as I once thought.

    If you are interested in submitting to a university press, Elias Rowley and Krissoff have a few suggestions. Given the unique focus areas and track record of each press, any place you contact should be a good match for your topic. Proposing a book about birding in Maine probably isn’t a great fit for, say, University of Nevada Press. That said, “fit” can be expansive, thematic as much as geographic. “I think what our books have in common is that they are grounded in place,” says Krissoff. “And it doesn’t always mean they’re grounded in our place, although a lot of our books are about Appalachia or about Appalachian topics.”

    While having a decent platform doesn’t hurt, says Krissoff, it’s not necessary; he says he doesn’t look for an author’s metrics when he’s reviewing a project. If he likes their idea, it’s much more important that the author is willing to truly commit to the writing, revising, and marketing processes. “Platform is always a bonus and can really make a difference in the outcome for a book, but it’s not going to be the thing that makes me decide not to do a project,” says Elias Rowley. “I’m not looking for a bare minimum of certain kinds of requirements. I’m looking for [if] this is a book that should be out there in the world.”

    To that end, Elias Rowley says that it’s rarely too early to get on an editor’s radar. She advises authors to reach out and connect with editors early on, whether it’s through email or in-person events like the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) conference. She’ll even respond to queries that are submitted before the proposal’s been written. This way, if she likes an idea and thinks it might be a good fit, she can help develop it from the beginning. “We’re interested in forging those relationships and having it be a collaborative partnership,” she says.

    The downsides? University presses typically don’t offer an advance, and if they do, it’s probably going to be pretty modest. That said, if your book sells well, you earn royalties immediately, since you don’t need to “earn out.” As Belt publisher Anne Trubek puts it, “Advances are royalties. They just come sooner.” It’s also expected that authors supply their own index, which means either using software to do a bad job or hiring someone to make one (what I did). I also gave each essay contributor an honorarium.

    So when my book publishes this October, technically I’ll already be in the hole. Will I sell enough books to break even? Hard to say. I do think it could be a strong backlist contender. As I argue in my book, The Room has become The Rocky Horror Picture Show for the millennial generation. There are (or were, before Covid) monthly Saturday night screenings of it around the world, each replete with a set of established viewing rituals. The film’s notoriety continues to grow alongside that of its eccentric creator, Tommy Wiseau. But this may be wishful thinking.

    On the other hand, I already consider my journey a success. Having a book title under my name with a well-respected university press has brought me a level of professional prestige, boosting my credibility as freelance book editor and opening doors for various writing projects. I also have the satisfaction of having taken the germ of an idea, turned it into a proposal, wrangled together 16 smart (and, blessedly, easy to work with) contributors, and executed the entire thing into the form of a book I will eventually hold in my hands. And, certainly last but not least, I’d like to think I’ve played a small part in furthering the world’s knowledge of the worst movie of all time, which surely counts for something.

    It’s not the typical publishing success template, much less a show on HBO Max. But it just may be good enough.

    IN AMENDMENT

    Why Your Amazing Writing Group Might Be Failing You
    https://www.janefriedman.com/why-your-amazing-writing-group-might-be-failing-you/


     

  6. now1.jpg

    I don't know if Frank James was the shooter in the subway, but if he was, he offers an interesting query challenge.

    NYC's black community always had black people in it, who love to suggest a usage of violence is incorrect. The reason why is complicated, it isn't merely about right or wrong. But, one of the juxtaposes between white controlled media of nyc /the black church in the black community of NYC/black employed class in NYC is the idea of gun violence in the Black community as something of youth. The narrative is, the youth must get the violence out of them. But, Frank James is sixty something years old. Frank James was an elder teen in the 1970s. So Frank James is not a Black person who is without a decades long look at the Black community in NYC, in NYS, in the USA and with that a high potential for a very honest while negative appraisal of many things in this area. 

    Many will suggest mental imbalance, as in NYC that is suggested for anyone who is violent. From white media to many or most black homes in NYC, mental dysfunction or imbalance is always the reason behind any violence as if, being violent can not be from a mentally sane person, which of course is a lie. 
     

    A FORUM POST

     

  7. now1.jpg

    I don't know if Frank James was the shooter in the subway, but if he was, he offers an interesting query challenge.

    NYC's black community always had black people in it, who love to suggest a usage of violence is incorrect. The reason why is complicated, it isn't merely about right or wrong. But, one of the juxtaposes between white controlled media of nyc /the black church in the black community of NYC/black employed class in NYC is the idea of gun violence in the Black community as something of youth. The narrative is, the youth must get the violence out of them. But, Frank James is sixty something years old. Frank James was an elder teen in the 1970s. So Frank James is not a Black person who is without a decades long look at the Black community in NYC, in NYS, in the USA and with that a high potential for a very honest while negative appraisal of many things in this area. 

    Many will suggest mental imbalance, as in NYC that is suggested for anyone who is violent. From white media to many or most black homes in NYC, mental dysfunction or imbalance is always the reason behind any violence as if, being violent can not be from a mentally sane person, which of course is a lie. 
     

    A FORUM POST

     

  8. March 31st 2022, the last day of Women's History Month in the year 2022

    now1.png

    In a segment on Metrofocus, Gloria Browne Marshall, author of the book "She Took Justice" spoke about many things. Her key point is also the main theme of the book, the role of Black women in the USA as agents of litigious behavior. The word litigious was originally a slur. The idea being one who goes to court with an unhealthy passion. I think Black women in the USA see litigious behavior as mandatory for the non-violent while positively active progression in the Black community in the USA or for each Black individual in the USA. 
    I restate, Black women see in the legal code in the USA an empowerment against non-blacks but also against men. It is not that the law in the USA is perfect or a complete work. The law in the USA has in its elements, a lack of allowed collective bias that exists in many legal codes. That lack of a collective bias gives room for the individual to grow. 
    The historical proof to my assertion is the role of Black women in non violent movements in the Black community in the USA from the end of the war between the states to the time this prose was written. Black christian churches or groups, the national association for the advancement of colored people, the garvey movement, the historical black colleges movement financially supported by white religious groups, the Negro league, the Black Panthers for self defense. Black women historically make up a majority of said groups administrative members or members in whole. 
    I recall a Black woman from texas, her Black clan still own their house from the late 1800s,  stated a story from past generations. In the tale, the matriarch of the family, told two nephews to leave for Chicago. The nephews wanted to enact violence upon the whites who have never stopped harassing this black clan for this house or land. The local white community successfully obtained most of the land or homes from said Black clans black neighbors. But, even though before during or after the nephews were sent north, whites harassed the Black clan, the female leaders of said clan always fight in the courts. They don't accept violent measures. 
    Litigious behavior from Black women is not meant to demand fairness or guarantee justice. The litigious behavior is about the self. It is the collective concept from a majority of Black women, an unproven point on my part, that nonviolent response only has one true battleground and that is courts. why? Sometimes one does not have money. Sometimes one does not have the ability to leave. The Black community in the USA is, common in history, financially impotent or culturally locked. Sequentially, absent use of arms which do cost money, what way can one battle for their rights? the courts. 
    Black men or women in the USA want betterment for the Black community in the USA or beyond. But Nat Turner to the DC Snipers show many examples of Black male ideas of betterment involve a use of violence that most Black men desire or accept, even if they do not exhibit, while most Black women oppose, in the USA. 
    You have to believe in the rule of law. Most Black men clearly do not. Black women do not think the Statian law is structured or utilized efficiently, or fairly, but they hold onto the idea that the USA's system of law at its core has human equality in it. That quality can not save all from a punch or bullet or violence, but said quality offers someone who may be alone, may be fiscally poor, maybe abused a pathway to overcome violence, without being violent. The USA law does not make winds stop fires or produce blades to cut ropes or adjust minds to Black enemies whether they be non black or not. But the USA law has a strength in its elemental philosophy , while slow or requiring long term patience beyond any individuals time to live, that can outmuscle the rule of might or money or violence all through a firmness of belief that any human can have in any condition. 
    Black women, a phenotypical gender group, are the heart of the USA's mythos. Black women have guided all other women, to the Native American woman's benefit whose male partner has been mostly killed, or against the White woman whose actions show a desire to replace her male counterpart while not desire any equality across the board. And while white men battling with arms created the USA, its existence as a functional multiracial community is born from Black women's litigious behavior. 
    To Black men in the USA, we have always had a hard time accepting the leadership of Black women. The evidence is ever present. From Black churches after the war between the states opposing Black women as pastors. To administrations of many organizations from Black churches to the nation of islam to the national association for the advancement of colored people to historical black colleges to the Black panthers for self defense, having very few publicly touted Black female leaders while Black women made up a majority of their administrations or did a majority of their logistic work. Black men , sadly perhaps a majority, desire the domination the white man has over the white woman. All I Can say is to not change your heart. IF you want violence, make it. Black history whether in the USA or Haiti or Mexico or Brazil or Venezuela or Guyana or Nigeria or Ethiopia or India or Indonesia or Philippines or Australia in the most recent centuries is full of whites from there or somewhere abusing blacks. But, Black women in the USA and through the USA to the global Black community show a determination to prove the Black community can thrive everywhere absent the rebuttal of violence that men in general favor. Do not get in Black women's way. Help them even if the best way is to leave. 

    MetroFocus: April 28, 2021
    https://www.pbs.org/video/metrofocus-april-28-2021-umxxzv/


    Roughly a decade ago, Civil Rights Attorney and John Jay College of Criminal Justice Professor Gloria Browne-Marshall started work on what would become “She Took Justice: The Black Woman, Law, and Power -- 1619 to 1969.” The book reveals the courage Black women have demonstrated in the face of overwhelming racial prejudice and gender oppression. She joins us to discuss these true American heroes.

     

    She Took Justice from Gloria J Browne-Marshall
    The Black Woman, Law, and Power – 1619 to 1969
    https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/she-took-justice


    her twitter
    https://twitter.com/GBrowneMarshall/

     

    Khabarla HAriya is a newspaper in India, run completely by women. But the women are not parsi which literally means persian or from the time of this writing, Iran. They are Dalits, who are considered one of the lowest caste, along with Siddi's. What do you have to comprehend about Asia. The indigenous people of India/Pakistan/all the parts of former Siam which was a chinese tributary state, current Philippines or Indonesia are all Black. Black defined as a skin of a dark brown. But like North Africa, said countries in asia  have been dominated by whites of Asia or Europe, for centuries. Sequentially, most of the people in power in places like Egypt or India are not indigenous to those countries. In egypt, most fiscally wealthy egyptians are actually eastern european descended, from the mamluks. While most fiscally wealthy Indians are of Iranian descent. 
    In India, people in the USA commonly called Black are called Dark or Dallit or Siddi or similar. In asia Black is considered representing Black people of Africa. But not all Black people are African. The eskimo is indigenous but not Black. The Seminoles, a collection of indigenous groups, are indigenous like the Eskimo, but they are Black. 
    The video linked below speaks for itself. But the points to take is the idea of litigious behavior, non-violent behavior as vital to the growth of Black women, especially against male aggression, primarily from Black men.  India is a nuclear powered country. A fiscally wealthy country. Its people's are Black. Its leadership is white, ala Egypt or South Africa. So consider this when you think on the persistence of Black women when they speak on Black men's behavior.

     


    their website
    https://khabarlahariya.org/?msclkid=65565c22af0411ec85bbc88e5fdec258


    their youtube
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbvNC1RcIdlM2Kzn-QnjFng

     

     

    I shared Harriet Washington's book before but I will share it again

    Medical Aparthied
    The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present
    https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/medical-apartheid


    her twitter
    https://twitter.com/haw95

     

     

    Bill Maher referred to men in general , or his the polls he cited refer to men in general, but I offer a question. 
    To black men in any relationship, married or girlfriended, do you lust for your significant other?
    I did not say  like or love. I said lust. Offline I asked Black men, who are not strangers, in various places. Do you want to make love to your wife? I should had asked, do you want to fuck, but that style is not common to my offline speech. 
    And the question is, do you want to fuck? 
    Making love is beautiful, erotic, pleasurable. While lust is clearly carnal, a thing of the body, it has its own purity or power. 
    Now you may ask, what does male lust toward women matter in the context of women's empowerment. I say a lot. As women group, individually or collectively, men need to learn to do in majority what we have not been guided by past male generations or in media we own to do. Desire strong women. How many people see porn movie's entitled, gangbang ass blasters 16? From porn to music videos to many films, males are not presented or guided to desire a strong woman. Strength defined as independent from males or others in general. The independent woman is a difficulty, the independent woman is a challenge, the independent woman is mentally deranged. The woman you lust for is a living toy, a mechanical servant, an affordable commodity. 
    I have always viewed lust as partly about what you like to touch. From Black women berating black men in the home for their illegal activity while making money to Black women trying to be reporters while their communities starting with their husbands deem them antagonistic to the order of the world, Black men have to embrace the beauty of Black female independence. But that independence is not leading to a world where men are needed for money or opportunity. That independence is leading to a world where men are needed for three things with no attachments made of rings or papers or religion or clothing or money or bank accounts but supported by patience. The three things are love, liking, lust. 

     

     

     

    “Hey Chris, I won’t be at the Academy Awards, and I won’t be watching,” she said in the video. “But I can’t think of a better man to do the job at hand this year than you, my friend.”
    I shared Jada Pinkett's quote cause I recall a video of Chris Rock's response to Pinkett at the Oscars. No I have not watched any Oscars in my life and yes, this past weekend as well. I recall Rock replied in a video saying "we don't want you here"
    My point is, Pinkett didn't focus on anything but the academy awards but Rock's reply was very personal. His words, and I didn't hear his whole joke, suggests the majority at the Oscars at that time were jubilant Pinkett didn't come or dismissive of the Film Academy's inequality or lack of quality. 
    He replied violently to a litigious argument. Later Will Smith replied violently to him after aiding in a mock to his wife with laughter. All Jada Pinkett did was show disapproval to Rock's joke, she never got up and made any physical gesture, which as one woman noted, is against the law. 
    My point is the dissonance between Black Women's litigious culture and Black Men's violent culture.
    https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/oscars/chris-rock-had-a-history-of-making-jokes-about-jada-pinkett-smith-before-will-smith-s-oscars-slap/ar-AAVAO6I?ocid=uxbndlbing&msclkid=a6abdb91aef211ecaf4f89bfe0a9dc5c

     

    Question, do Blacks need to care about non Black viewpoints?
    When one is litigious, one cares about the nature of the court of law. The court of law is a place of opinion. This is why, law enforcers who commit crimes or illegalities can get leaner sentences from the same judge who placed an uncommon or harsher penalty on a first time offender who is Black. 
    One of the big contentious points between the Black genders is the consideration of the non Black. The non violent culture Black women brew demands a respect to the consideration of the non black , a potential enemy or stranger. The violent culture Black men desire, though do not brew as a group <at least functionally>, is by default unconcerned to considerations of the non black, regardless to whether enemy or stranger. 
    My point, Black people will be completely free when we don't care about the opinions of the non Black. But, on the road to that freedom , which will occur one day as it existed in the past, Black people must be delicate in how we consider the opinion of our actions in or out of our village.   
    https://ibw21.org/commentary/smith-and-rock-sent-a-horrible-message-to-the-world-about-us/?feed_id=319&_unique_id=62422642a9af7&fbclid=IwAR2x-Ia9-OneOAsRJmMwlA6_mgRjkKvlxj0GqrKsLxOm1KkdZyBUcxTw9LY


     

  9. KWLTakeover-10-1.jpg

    ROMANCE WRITERS consider viewing
    I never wrote a roman romance :) but I will look to gain some ideas or suggestions to writing stories concerning love between folk as the main theme.

    How to Build your Romance Writing Career with Shayla Black 

    The Kobo Writing Life team is excited to announce our latest Live Q&A on March 31st, 2022, from 12:00 PM-1:00 PM EST. KWL Director Tara will be chatting with Shayla Black. If you can’t make the takeover, feel free to comment on this post with your questions and we can ask them for you!   

    Hi authors!  

    I’m delighted to be chatting live with Shayla & William Black this month. Shayla is a titan who has written more than eighty books over two decades. As an author with such a prolific romance writing career, I’m going to be chatting to Shayla about the following: 

    How she got started with romance writing and how she became a queen of the genre! 
    Tips for authors who want to start building a writing business 
    Her advice on being a hybrid author, what are the pros and cons of this approach 
    What she’s done to build such an engaged reader base of superfans 
    Predictions for what’s next in romance 
    I love tuning in to Shayla & William in their live Wine Wednesdays hosted in Shayla Black’s Book Beauties on Facebook. They’re a real hoot and I’m delighted to be able to chat to both Shayla & William in our own live event. 

    And you may have heard that KWL is turning 10 this year! To commemorate this, I’m also going to be asking all of our guests about where they were 10 years ago and what they wish they knew. 

    Be sure to join live and bring your questions! It’s an event not to be missed.   

    Happy writing,  

    Tara  

    Director, KWL 

    Shayla Black books
    https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?query=Shayla Black&ac=1&acp=shayla bl&ac.author=Shayla Black&sort=PublicationDateDesc

     

    Kobo
    https://kobowritinglife.com/2022/03/24/kwl-live-with-shayla-black/


    Youtube


    Facebook
    https://www.facebook.com/KoboWritingLife/posts/5009965419084063?__cft__[0]=AZWhMUa6tq2d1EF6_XjW9nk_HV-wdNa1nUApZrDHltfl0KZdT8aOLrbxQAqoaNRuG-3ZLLzJFiRhJjWOt6SS_KQWqk4FpPK7eTa2WEOLifr9EKcWL54hwkkMujfHczD4PI0HlU0srLnzO0rqDkFLUBfTVzHHGs95gTR8QQYyCOH-F0iUNrBGAHgzZT3H0CWfzIDB6u3AALX96jrWrALwbola&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R


     

  10.  

    MOVIES THAT MOVE WE with Nike Ma and Nicole Decandas , discuss Alien vs Predaotr

    My thoughts with time indexes as I listened

     

    circa 3:47
    Its funny, Black people in terms of film have an interesting relationship with the room in the house of fantasy called science fiction.
    When I think of Body and Soul, Sankofa, Daughters of the Dust, black people are more interested in dream fiction, which is in fantasy, more than science fiction.

     

    circa 4:06
    As I ponder Nichelle Nichols I realize in cheap retrospect what many Black people see, what MArtin Luther King jr. saw, and what I don't like. 
    Nichelle Nichols in star trek, the original series, is interesting cause she is so lauded by Black people, including me, yet the production is in many ways something between anti-black or not pro black.
    To be blunt, Black people in the USA love Nichelle Nichols as Uhura because as a thespian or the character itself, she represents what they want. The Black Individual in the USA doesn't need or exclusively want a star ship designed by black people, populaced by black officers, in Black interstellar law enforcement agency or governmental union. 
    The Black people in the USA are content with Black people living happy, or respected aside non Blacks in a ship not designed by blacks, in a ship mostly populated by non blacks, in a non black interstellar organization or law enforcment organization. 
    It is not that Black people in the USA do not want the black designed ship, with the black crew , with the black interstellar organization, but they are content to live as individuals without it, hoping or knowing it will happen one day. 
    I don't like that, but that is the potency of Nichelle Nichols as Uhura

     

    circa 4:32
    The terms science fiction or fantasy have commonly accepted definitions but are in no way bounded to the common definitions. 
    I define for this section fantasy as any film that involves the unreal, so aliens/monsters/psycopaths any unreal character, including faux biographcal characters is fantasy. 
    Musicals I define as films where exhibitions of songs are inacted by thespians in the film on more than one occasion, thus seven brides for seven brothers <which I never saw, but I recall the title>, Purple Rain, west side story are musicals. The fifth element, footloose, the color purple, ray are not musicals based on my definition.
    I will not speak for Nike, but when I say major production in USA cinema, I refer to volume of money spent on the film. Blackwood, Black financed cinema in the usa, is historically in comparison to Hollywood,white financed cinema in the USA, lower budget. But I do not concur with comparing Black cinema to white cinema financially in the usa. The distinction of Black cinema in the usa is it is historically with the leanest finances, thus expensive fantastic productions are not possible. Thus why Dream Fiction is so popular in Black Cinema: Body and Soul, Sankofa, Daughters of the Dust, Ceddo , Emitai
    In the USA no high budget Hollywood film involving what is commonly called science fiction had a black female lead before sanaa lathan. Dionna Ross was in a high budget film , but the WIZ is commonly considered a musical or fantasy film, not science fiction, in the USA.
    Oddly enough, the journey of Dorothy is a dream journey which is historically interesting with the prevalence of dream fiction in Black cinema.

     

    circa 5:38 
    Nicole asked a historical question. She asked, I paraphrase her, Black people are usually cast in Hollywood, note I define hollywood as white financed cinema in the USA, in dramatic or comedy roles but to what extent are Black thespians comfortable or the Black audience comfortable with Science fiction? 
    I recall Eddie Murphy saying he turned down who framed roger rabbit based on the screenplay he received or pitch he got, and he didn't buy it. The white actor, bob hoskins, who played the role Murphy let go ,oddly enough to my themes, was in a movie in 1986 called Mona Lisa, which is a dream fiction film. 
    So Eddie Murphy's admitted career choices show Black thespians have doubts. I add, Denzel Washington turned down Seven, which Morgan Freeman did. Sequentially, "the nutty professor" or "doctor dolittle" from Murphy or "the little things" from Washington. 
    In defense to Murphy or Denzel, I read screenplays. And if you ever read the original screenplay of 1986 legend, by Hjortsberg  ,  you will realize how what thespians are originally pitched can be far away from what is finally produced. 
    Now, why does that matter? To Nicole's point, Black Thespians based on the two examples I gave maintain the Black labor mentality in the USA. The Black labor mentality is based on the fact that Black people rarely are the owners, thus our employment is never secure and must be merited. Sequentially, as a thespian, mistakes are costly in a career. Sequentially, Black Thespians don't take the risks that early scripts present themselves to be.
    As for the Black audience, the Black audience was always ready, but only recently had the money.

     

    circa 6:51
    Nike spoke on Black Panther and how a question existed in media. The question was: if people, I will define people as ticket buyers to films, was ready for an all black cast superhero film, I define ready as willing to buy tickets? 
    The reality is , consumers are always artistically ready, but not always financially able. I restate, Black people always wanted to see Black people in everything. But Black people didn't have the money, nor did the non black ticket buyers show the willingness to buy a ticket for an all black high budget film in the past. 
    But past the year 2020 when Blacks in: Africa,Europe, the Americas, Asia are all financially potent, let alone capable, they have the money to buy the tickets. 
    And, non Black ticket buyers past the year 2020 are willing to buy an all Black cast. 

     

    Circa 7:52
    Nike states Hollywood, I defined it earlier, does not feel non blacks are willing to pay a ticket to see Black leads today. I concur. But I will say in the fantasy film realm, especially, that some Black creators haven't helped. 
    From Poitier in the film "The Longships" <oh the Black Moor:) forgive me> to  Sayles, a white director, "Brother from another planet" starring Jellyroll Morton to Wesley SNipes as Blade, Black thespians have taken fantasy roles seriously.
    But from "Cleopatra Jones" to "The Adventures of Pluto Nash" to "Fat Albert" to "MEtero Man" Black creators or thespians have played fantasy roles in a comedic way that hurts the role. 
    To be blunt, fantasy can easily become comedy, as it is easy to laugh at the unreal. To many examples of Black thespians making a fantasy role comedic exists. 
    And that is why Sanaa LAthan's heroine in Alien vs PRedator is a great role. She is Black, she is a woman, the film is a hollywood high budget, but she isn't comedic. While she still offers the full range of emotions through the character's scenes, from funny, to sexy, to brave, to afraid, to legendary.

     

    circa 8:42 
    Nicole makes the point, I restate her, Black money has finally reached a point where it can influence larger fields in the film universe.
    The 1970s Hollywood films involving or starring Black thespians, commonly called Blaxploitation, was reflected on greater Black revenue in theaters as well as white ticket buyers willingness to buy said hollywood films with black thespians. How many white women know the Shaft song? 

     

    circa 10:39
    They , Nike side Nicole, speak on Sanaa Lathan's preparation, and how they felt she forced some of her lines. Sanaa was inexperienced in the genre. When you look at Sigourney Weaver in Aliens as compared to Alien you see what having one of these in the belt means. But they do make a great comparison between LAthan in "Alien vs PRedator" in comparison to Angela Bassett in "What's love got to do with it". 
    My only issue is I would had compared Sanaa LAthan in "Alien Vs PRedator" to Angela BAssett in "Strange Days" . Yes, Ralph Fiennes was the lead thespian but Angela Bassett was totally convincing as the single mom black security driver who has a unrequited love to a man who earned her respect and is going through his own internal chaos while los angeles is going through a potential phenotypical war, and the man in question happens to be white.
    I argue it will be nice to see if Angela BAssett was called for Alien vs PRedator and did any casting tests.

     

    circa 12:10 
    Nicole side Nike go over Sanaa Lathan in films like "Disappearing Acts" or "Brown Sugar"

     

    circa 12:25
    Everyone wish Nicole Decandis a happy BESOONED BIRTHDAY!!! seven days from the time of this post

     

    circa 13:31 
    They talked about the Alien or PRedator franchise and whether the story for Alien vs PRedator helped Sanna LAthan. 
    I saw all the Predator films or the ALien films 1 to 3 before this film. 
    It is a standalone, it refers to either film franchises but doesn't own either. It is standalone and even alludes, in location,  to the legendary story "who goes there" more commonly known in the film world as the "the thing from another world" or "the thing"

     

    circa 15:52
    I want to merely repeat what Nike stated about a film I will not type out in name, but say it is the supposed sequel to Alien vs PRedator. 
    It didn't need to happen. 
    Those who know about an annihilation, that is a clue , know what I am talking about. How can all that is good be killed in a sequel?  It makes wrath of khan look magical.

     

    circa 16:04
    I don't rate or star films, enjoy Nike or Nicole's rating.
    My review is, if you are looking for a fun action film ride, Alien vs Predator is a fun ride. If you are a hardcore

     

    Alien or PRedator fan that wants the details followed, this movie isn't for you. 

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EZcgCyq8B0

     

    MOVIES THAT MOVE WE- aalbc search
    https://aalbc.com/tc/search/?&q=%22movies%20that%20move%20we%22&quick=1&search_and_or=or&sortby=relevancy
     

  11.  

    MOVIES THAT MOVE WE with Nike Ma and Nicole Decandas , discuss Alien vs Predaotr

    My thoughts with time indexes as I listened

     

    circa 3:47
    Its funny, Black people in terms of film have an interesting relationship with the room in the house of fantasy called science fiction.
    When I think of Body and Soul, Sankofa, Daughters of the Dust, black people are more interested in dream fiction, which is in fantasy, more than science fiction.

     

    circa 4:06
    As I ponder Nichelle Nichols I realize in cheap retrospect what many Black people see, what MArtin Luther King jr. saw, and what I don't like. 
    Nichelle Nichols in star trek, the original series, is interesting cause she is so lauded by Black people, including me, yet the production is in many ways something between anti-black or not pro black.
    To be blunt, Black people in the USA love Nichelle Nichols as Uhura because as a thespian or the character itself, she represents what they want. The Black Individual in the USA doesn't need or exclusively want a star ship designed by black people, populaced by black officers, in Black interstellar law enforcement agency or governmental union. 
    The Black people in the USA are content with Black people living happy, or respected aside non Blacks in a ship not designed by blacks, in a ship mostly populated by non blacks, in a non black interstellar organization or law enforcment organization. 
    It is not that Black people in the USA do not want the black designed ship, with the black crew , with the black interstellar organization, but they are content to live as individuals without it, hoping or knowing it will happen one day. 
    I don't like that, but that is the potency of Nichelle Nichols as Uhura

     

    circa 4:32
    The terms science fiction or fantasy have commonly accepted definitions but are in no way bounded to the common definitions. 
    I define for this section fantasy as any film that involves the unreal, so aliens/monsters/psycopaths any unreal character, including faux biographcal characters is fantasy. 
    Musicals I define as films where exhibitions of songs are inacted by thespians in the film on more than one occasion, thus seven brides for seven brothers <which I never saw, but I recall the title>, Purple Rain, west side story are musicals. The fifth element, footloose, the color purple, ray are not musicals based on my definition.
    I will not speak for Nike, but when I say major production in USA cinema, I refer to volume of money spent on the film. Blackwood, Black financed cinema in the usa, is historically in comparison to Hollywood,white financed cinema in the USA, lower budget. But I do not concur with comparing Black cinema to white cinema financially in the usa. The distinction of Black cinema in the usa is it is historically with the leanest finances, thus expensive fantastic productions are not possible. Thus why Dream Fiction is so popular in Black Cinema: Body and Soul, Sankofa, Daughters of the Dust, Ceddo , Emitai
    In the USA no high budget Hollywood film involving what is commonly called science fiction had a black female lead before sanaa lathan. Dionna Ross was in a high budget film , but the WIZ is commonly considered a musical or fantasy film, not science fiction, in the USA.
    Oddly enough, the journey of Dorothy is a dream journey which is historically interesting with the prevalence of dream fiction in Black cinema.

     

    circa 5:38 
    Nicole asked a historical question. She asked, I paraphrase her, Black people are usually cast in Hollywood, note I define hollywood as white financed cinema in the USA, in dramatic or comedy roles but to what extent are Black thespians comfortable or the Black audience comfortable with Science fiction? 
    I recall Eddie Murphy saying he turned down who framed roger rabbit based on the screenplay he received or pitch he got, and he didn't buy it. The white actor, bob hoskins, who played the role Murphy let go ,oddly enough to my themes, was in a movie in 1986 called Mona Lisa, which is a dream fiction film. 
    So Eddie Murphy's admitted career choices show Black thespians have doubts. I add, Denzel Washington turned down Seven, which Morgan Freeman did. Sequentially, "the nutty professor" or "doctor dolittle" from Murphy or "the little things" from Washington. 
    In defense to Murphy or Denzel, I read screenplays. And if you ever read the original screenplay of 1986 legend, by Hjortsberg  ,  you will realize how what thespians are originally pitched can be far away from what is finally produced. 
    Now, why does that matter? To Nicole's point, Black Thespians based on the two examples I gave maintain the Black labor mentality in the USA. The Black labor mentality is based on the fact that Black people rarely are the owners, thus our employment is never secure and must be merited. Sequentially, as a thespian, mistakes are costly in a career. Sequentially, Black Thespians don't take the risks that early scripts present themselves to be.
    As for the Black audience, the Black audience was always ready, but only recently had the money.

     

    circa 6:51
    Nike spoke on Black Panther and how a question existed in media. The question was: if people, I will define people as ticket buyers to films, was ready for an all black cast superhero film, I define ready as willing to buy tickets? 
    The reality is , consumers are always artistically ready, but not always financially able. I restate, Black people always wanted to see Black people in everything. But Black people didn't have the money, nor did the non black ticket buyers show the willingness to buy a ticket for an all black high budget film in the past. 
    But past the year 2020 when Blacks in: Africa,Europe, the Americas, Asia are all financially potent, let alone capable, they have the money to buy the tickets. 
    And, non Black ticket buyers past the year 2020 are willing to buy an all Black cast. 

     

    Circa 7:52
    Nike states Hollywood, I defined it earlier, does not feel non blacks are willing to pay a ticket to see Black leads today. I concur. But I will say in the fantasy film realm, especially, that some Black creators haven't helped. 
    From Poitier in the film "The Longships" <oh the Black Moor:) forgive me> to  Sayles, a white director, "Brother from another planet" starring Jellyroll Morton to Wesley SNipes as Blade, Black thespians have taken fantasy roles seriously.
    But from "Cleopatra Jones" to "The Adventures of Pluto Nash" to "Fat Albert" to "MEtero Man" Black creators or thespians have played fantasy roles in a comedic way that hurts the role. 
    To be blunt, fantasy can easily become comedy, as it is easy to laugh at the unreal. To many examples of Black thespians making a fantasy role comedic exists. 
    And that is why Sanaa LAthan's heroine in Alien vs PRedator is a great role. She is Black, she is a woman, the film is a hollywood high budget, but she isn't comedic. While she still offers the full range of emotions through the character's scenes, from funny, to sexy, to brave, to afraid, to legendary.

     

    circa 8:42 
    Nicole makes the point, I restate her, Black money has finally reached a point where it can influence larger fields in the film universe.
    The 1970s Hollywood films involving or starring Black thespians, commonly called Blaxploitation, was reflected on greater Black revenue in theaters as well as white ticket buyers willingness to buy said hollywood films with black thespians. How many white women know the Shaft song? 

     

    circa 10:39
    They , Nike side Nicole, speak on Sanaa Lathan's preparation, and how they felt she forced some of her lines. Sanaa was inexperienced in the genre. When you look at Sigourney Weaver in Aliens as compared to Alien you see what having one of these in the belt means. But they do make a great comparison between LAthan in "Alien vs PRedator" in comparison to Angela Bassett in "What's love got to do with it". 
    My only issue is I would had compared Sanaa LAthan in "Alien Vs PRedator" to Angela BAssett in "Strange Days" . Yes, Ralph Fiennes was the lead thespian but Angela Bassett was totally convincing as the single mom black security driver who has a unrequited love to a man who earned her respect and is going through his own internal chaos while los angeles is going through a potential phenotypical war, and the man in question happens to be white.
    I argue it will be nice to see if Angela BAssett was called for Alien vs PRedator and did any casting tests.

     

    circa 12:10 
    Nicole side Nike go over Sanaa Lathan in films like "Disappearing Acts" or "Brown Sugar"

     

    circa 12:25
    Everyone wish Nicole Decandis a happy BESOONED BIRTHDAY!!! seven days from the time of this post

     

    circa 13:31 
    They talked about the Alien or PRedator franchise and whether the story for Alien vs PRedator helped Sanna LAthan. 
    I saw all the Predator films or the ALien films 1 to 3 before this film. 
    It is a standalone, it refers to either film franchises but doesn't own either. It is standalone and even alludes, in location,  to the legendary story "who goes there" more commonly known in the film world as the "the thing from another world" or "the thing"

     

    circa 15:52
    I want to merely repeat what Nike stated about a film I will not type out in name, but say it is the supposed sequel to Alien vs PRedator. 
    It didn't need to happen. 
    Those who know about an annihilation, that is a clue , know what I am talking about. How can all that is good be killed in a sequel?  It makes wrath of khan look magical.

     

    circa 16:04
    I don't rate or star films, enjoy Nike or Nicole's rating.
    My review is, if you are looking for a fun action film ride, Alien vs Predator is a fun ride. If you are a hardcore

     

    Alien or PRedator fan that wants the details followed, this movie isn't for you. 

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EZcgCyq8B0

     

    MOVIES THAT MOVE WE- aalbc search
    https://aalbc.com/tc/search/?&q=%22movies%20that%20move%20we%22&quick=1&search_and_or=or&sortby=relevancy
     

  12.  

    MOVIES THAT MOVE WE with Nike Ma and Nicole Decandas , discuss Alien vs Predaotr

    My thoughts with time indexes as I listened

     

    circa 3:47
    Its funny, Black people in terms of film have an interesting relationship with the room in the house of fantasy called science fiction.
    When I think of Body and Soul, Sankofa, Daughters of the Dust, black people are more interested in dream fiction, which is in fantasy, more than science fiction.

     

    circa 4:06
    As I ponder Nichelle Nichols I realize in cheap retrospect what many Black people see, what MArtin Luther King jr. saw, and what I don't like. 
    Nichelle Nichols in star trek, the original series, is interesting cause she is so lauded by Black people, including me, yet the production is in many ways something between anti-black or not pro black.
    To be blunt, Black people in the USA love Nichelle Nichols as Uhura because as a thespian or the character itself, she represents what they want. The Black Individual in the USA doesn't need or exclusively want a star ship designed by black people, populaced by black officers, in Black interstellar law enforcement agency or governmental union. 
    The Black people in the USA are content with Black people living happy, or respected aside non Blacks in a ship not designed by blacks, in a ship mostly populated by non blacks, in a non black interstellar organization or law enforcment organization. 
    It is not that Black people in the USA do not want the black designed ship, with the black crew , with the black interstellar organization, but they are content to live as individuals without it, hoping or knowing it will happen one day. 
    I don't like that, but that is the potency of Nichelle Nichols as Uhura

     

    circa 4:32
    The terms science fiction or fantasy have commonly accepted definitions but are in no way bounded to the common definitions. 
    I define for this section fantasy as any film that involves the unreal, so aliens/monsters/psycopaths any unreal character, including faux biographcal characters is fantasy. 
    Musicals I define as films where exhibitions of songs are inacted by thespians in the film on more than one occasion, thus seven brides for seven brothers <which I never saw, but I recall the title>, Purple Rain, west side story are musicals. The fifth element, footloose, the color purple, ray are not musicals based on my definition.
    I will not speak for Nike, but when I say major production in USA cinema, I refer to volume of money spent on the film. Blackwood, Black financed cinema in the usa, is historically in comparison to Hollywood,white financed cinema in the USA, lower budget. But I do not concur with comparing Black cinema to white cinema financially in the usa. The distinction of Black cinema in the usa is it is historically with the leanest finances, thus expensive fantastic productions are not possible. Thus why Dream Fiction is so popular in Black Cinema: Body and Soul, Sankofa, Daughters of the Dust, Ceddo , Emitai
    In the USA no high budget Hollywood film involving what is commonly called science fiction had a black female lead before sanaa lathan. Dionna Ross was in a high budget film , but the WIZ is commonly considered a musical or fantasy film, not science fiction, in the USA.
    Oddly enough, the journey of Dorothy is a dream journey which is historically interesting with the prevalence of dream fiction in Black cinema.

     

    circa 5:38 
    Nicole asked a historical question. She asked, I paraphrase her, Black people are usually cast in Hollywood, note I define hollywood as white financed cinema in the USA, in dramatic or comedy roles but to what extent are Black thespians comfortable or the Black audience comfortable with Science fiction? 
    I recall Eddie Murphy saying he turned down who framed roger rabbit based on the screenplay he received or pitch he got, and he didn't buy it. The white actor, bob hoskins, who played the role Murphy let go ,oddly enough to my themes, was in a movie in 1986 called Mona Lisa, which is a dream fiction film. 
    So Eddie Murphy's admitted career choices show Black thespians have doubts. I add, Denzel Washington turned down Seven, which Morgan Freeman did. Sequentially, "the nutty professor" or "doctor dolittle" from Murphy or "the little things" from Washington. 
    In defense to Murphy or Denzel, I read screenplays. And if you ever read the original screenplay of 1986 legend, by Hjortsberg  ,  you will realize how what thespians are originally pitched can be far away from what is finally produced. 
    Now, why does that matter? To Nicole's point, Black Thespians based on the two examples I gave maintain the Black labor mentality in the USA. The Black labor mentality is based on the fact that Black people rarely are the owners, thus our employment is never secure and must be merited. Sequentially, as a thespian, mistakes are costly in a career. Sequentially, Black Thespians don't take the risks that early scripts present themselves to be.
    As for the Black audience, the Black audience was always ready, but only recently had the money.

     

    circa 6:51
    Nike spoke on Black Panther and how a question existed in media. The question was: if people, I will define people as ticket buyers to films, was ready for an all black cast superhero film, I define ready as willing to buy tickets? 
    The reality is , consumers are always artistically ready, but not always financially able. I restate, Black people always wanted to see Black people in everything. But Black people didn't have the money, nor did the non black ticket buyers show the willingness to buy a ticket for an all black high budget film in the past. 
    But past the year 2020 when Blacks in: Africa,Europe, the Americas, Asia are all financially potent, let alone capable, they have the money to buy the tickets. 
    And, non Black ticket buyers past the year 2020 are willing to buy an all Black cast. 

     

    Circa 7:52
    Nike states Hollywood, I defined it earlier, does not feel non blacks are willing to pay a ticket to see Black leads today. I concur. But I will say in the fantasy film realm, especially, that some Black creators haven't helped. 
    From Poitier in the film "The Longships" <oh the Black Moor:) forgive me> to  Sayles, a white director, "Brother from another planet" starring Jellyroll Morton to Wesley SNipes as Blade, Black thespians have taken fantasy roles seriously.
    But from "Cleopatra Jones" to "The Adventures of Pluto Nash" to "Fat Albert" to "MEtero Man" Black creators or thespians have played fantasy roles in a comedic way that hurts the role. 
    To be blunt, fantasy can easily become comedy, as it is easy to laugh at the unreal. To many examples of Black thespians making a fantasy role comedic exists. 
    And that is why Sanaa LAthan's heroine in Alien vs PRedator is a great role. She is Black, she is a woman, the film is a hollywood high budget, but she isn't comedic. While she still offers the full range of emotions through the character's scenes, from funny, to sexy, to brave, to afraid, to legendary.

     

    circa 8:42 
    Nicole makes the point, I restate her, Black money has finally reached a point where it can influence larger fields in the film universe.
    The 1970s Hollywood films involving or starring Black thespians, commonly called Blaxploitation, was reflected on greater Black revenue in theaters as well as white ticket buyers willingness to buy said hollywood films with black thespians. How many white women know the Shaft song? 

     

    circa 10:39
    They , Nike side Nicole, speak on Sanaa Lathan's preparation, and how they felt she forced some of her lines. Sanaa was inexperienced in the genre. When you look at Sigourney Weaver in Aliens as compared to Alien you see what having one of these in the belt means. But they do make a great comparison between LAthan in "Alien vs PRedator" in comparison to Angela Bassett in "What's love got to do with it". 
    My only issue is I would had compared Sanaa LAthan in "Alien Vs PRedator" to Angela BAssett in "Strange Days" . Yes, Ralph Fiennes was the lead thespian but Angela Bassett was totally convincing as the single mom black security driver who has a unrequited love to a man who earned her respect and is going through his own internal chaos while los angeles is going through a potential phenotypical war, and the man in question happens to be white.
    I argue it will be nice to see if Angela BAssett was called for Alien vs PRedator and did any casting tests.

     

    circa 12:10 
    Nicole side Nike go over Sanaa Lathan in films like "Disappearing Acts" or "Brown Sugar"

     

    circa 12:25
    Everyone wish Nicole Decandis a happy BESOONED BIRTHDAY!!! seven days from the time of this post

     

    circa 13:31 
    They talked about the Alien or PRedator franchise and whether the story for Alien vs PRedator helped Sanna LAthan. 
    I saw all the Predator films or the ALien films 1 to 3 before this film. 
    It is a standalone, it refers to either film franchises but doesn't own either. It is standalone and even alludes, in location,  to the legendary story "who goes there" more commonly known in the film world as the "the thing from another world" or "the thing"

     

    circa 15:52
    I want to merely repeat what Nike stated about a film I will not type out in name, but say it is the supposed sequel to Alien vs PRedator. 
    It didn't need to happen. 
    Those who know about an annihilation, that is a clue , know what I am talking about. How can all that is good be killed in a sequel?  It makes wrath of khan look magical.

     

    circa 16:04
    I don't rate or star films, enjoy Nike or Nicole's rating.
    My review is, if you are looking for a fun action film ride, Alien vs Predator is a fun ride. If you are a hardcore

     

    Alien or PRedator fan that wants the details followed, this movie isn't for you. 

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EZcgCyq8B0

     

    MOVIES THAT MOVE WE- aalbc search
    https://aalbc.com/tc/search/?&q=%22movies%20that%20move%20we%22&quick=1&search_and_or=or&sortby=relevancy
     

  13. now0.jpg

    Loretta Devine, Sheryl Lee Ralph and the THR Blackfamous Roundtable – The Hollywood Reporter

     

    After reading the article, the argument is what in completion? ... Black thespians in the USA movie industry, titled hollywood, are revered by Black Audiences or in Black owned or mostly populated media outlets in certain roles or films , most with heavy black involvement behind the camera, while underrecognized by White audiences or in white owned or mostly populated media outlets. ... The solution in my view, is perspective. I will explain. Most people use the term bollywood to refer to the cinema of india. But I know a few indians who live in india and people who live in india relate all media by region or culture. Very few things in Entertainment in india are deemed by Indians in india as pan indian. In parallel, people or media outside India like to suggest all media in india is pan indian. Bollywood/Tollywood/Kollywood I heard of before. The following wiki displays how many more there are. < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_India#Cinema_by_language > .. Now what is the point? the point is, each of these woods have their own identity. It isn't Kollywood thespians are underappreciated in Bollywood. Each wood in india is its own ecosystem. yes, some thespians can go between, but it isn't usual. Now, to the USA. If you look at the Cinema of India, a highly internally multiracial county, as a good comparative to the Cinema of the USA based on quality of racial complexities from the people in their country respectively, then you see the issue is not that Black Cinema's stars are underecognized in hollywood. It is that Black CInema is not hollywood. To be clear, Blackwood needs to stand isolated from hollywood the same way the hindu and tamil speaking woods do in india. yes, most black people in the usa speak english, but the culture of black people in the usa is not that of whites. Even though many black people work hard to make it so.

  14. now0.jpg

    Loretta Devine, Sheryl Lee Ralph and the THR Blackfamous Roundtable – The Hollywood Reporter

     

    After reading the article, the argument is what in completion? ... Black thespians in the USA movie industry, titled hollywood, are revered by Black Audiences or in Black owned or mostly populated media outlets in certain roles or films , most with heavy black involvement behind the camera, while underrecognized by White audiences or in white owned or mostly populated media outlets. ... The solution in my view, is perspective. I will explain. Most people use the term bollywood to refer to the cinema of india. But I know a few indians who live in india and people who live in india relate all media by region or culture. Very few things in Entertainment in india are deemed by Indians in india as pan indian. In parallel, people or media outside India like to suggest all media in india is pan indian. Bollywood/Tollywood/Kollywood I heard of before. The following wiki displays how many more there are. < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_India#Cinema_by_language > .. Now what is the point? the point is, each of these woods have their own identity. It isn't Kollywood thespians are underappreciated in Bollywood. Each wood in india is its own ecosystem. yes, some thespians can go between, but it isn't usual. Now, to the USA. If you look at the Cinema of India, a highly internally multiracial county, as a good comparative to the Cinema of the USA based on quality of racial complexities from the people in their country respectively, then you see the issue is not that Black Cinema's stars are underecognized in hollywood. It is that Black CInema is not hollywood. To be clear, Blackwood needs to stand isolated from hollywood the same way the hindu and tamil speaking woods do in india. yes, most black people in the usa speak english, but the culture of black people in the usa is not that of whites. Even though many black people work hard to make it so.

  15. now3.jpg

    Somewhere online I read a commentary concerning the situation of Brittney Griner in Russia.

     

    First commentor 

    Listening to a radio show this morning and they were discussing this and one of the female DJs said "To be honest I don't think they would use her as a political pawn because this country doesn't value or respect Black women and it would be a lost cause." and honestly I agree with her.
    Second commentor
    I don’t know…they don’t necessarily value black folks in general. They don’t care what happens to her either.

     

    Now most Black people in the world , or the USA in particular, know comments like these. Black folk love using pronouns for the white community or the usa or the united kingdom or white power. I do have a huge dislike when Black people say they instead of whites. I truly feel we, meaning Black people, have to stop that pronoun crap. Say whitey. That isn't hurting them. 
    But, after clarifying who they is, a question, a functional question comes to my mind. 
    What do Black individuals who live in the USA want for the Black community, I can ask for the world but I will not go there, in the USA fifty years from now? 
    If so many Black people know whites don't like them, and the government they live in is controlled by whites, then what do black individuals want for the black community down the road? 
    It seems to me, Black individuals don't speak about what they want for the Black community. I know what Black individuals want for themselves. That is easy. Every Black person has heard another Black person say, I want benjamins, I want to be respected, I .. I ... I something. But, what does the Black Individual want for the Black community?

    It isn't one answer for all, it is each having their own answer, but what is it? Cause I don't hear many Black people saying what they want for the Black community down the road?  If nothing, that is fine, but say it even.

     

    https://thegrio.com/2022/03/06/russia-griner-extract-concessions-united-states/


     

  16.  

    https://richardmurrayhumblr.tumblr.com/post/678038069744697344/transcript

    Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, to whomever is listening, I am Richard Murray , a creator who utilizes Kobo Writing Life, Kobo is K-O-B-O or is a member of the African American Literary Book Club, A-A-L-B-C or I am a member of Deviantart, hddeviant is my tag.  In either Kobo or AALBC search my name Richard Murray or Sunset Children Stories. 

    International Womens day is upon us all and two questions was asked. 
    What do you believe can be done to address gender stereotypes?
    Who are your favorite women, and why do they inspire you?

    What do you believe can be done to address gender stereotypes?
    Are works of fiction stereotypes? Stereotypes means a solid form, I rephrase as a solid representation. But, is any representation in fiction solid? 
    I am a writer,as well as painter or programmer, and I will place myself in the siege perilous. For example, if I write a female character in a story, where said character falls over constantly or is abused by males gleefully or is disrespected in conversations absent cognition, is that character a stereotype? Is that character traits I just described a solid form of woman? 
    I say no. In my personal life, it is rare for females, women or girls, to have such traits. So, the character in my faux example is not a sterotype to the females I know. But, can any females, including the ones I know, be insulted by the presence of said character? 
    The answer is yes. And that is what the issue is. It isn't about the unsolid being solid. It is about the idea that if you see no evil, you think no evil. If no female ever sees a character as I just described then no insult to females, thus a betterment to their mind. 
    I am not a woman. But I am of the phenotypical race commonly called black. When I see some fictional interpretations of Black people, from the formerly enslaved Black woman beating the free while wild Black elected officials in Birth of a Nation or the bucktooth black female centaur in fantasia to the black-faced thespians still present in modern media, I don't feel positive. But, does that mean those interpretations are solid forms or stereotypes? Moreover, do said interpretations define me or my phenotypical race because they exist? 
    I say those interpretations are not solid forms nor do they define me or my phenotypical race.
    But, I am not every single Black person. Some Black Individuals can't see or experience those negative interpretations. 
    And that is where the issue lays. 
    The strategy is, if you don't present negative interpretations, then negative interpretations can't hurt someone, regardless of the artistic consequence. 
    The biggest flaw in that strategy is art, by default, is beyond limitations. I quote the gmork from an interpretation of Die unendliche Geschichte, fantasia has no boundaries. I add, if fantasia has no boundaries then in fantasia are all the negative interpretations as well as the positive. Sequentially, blockading art is never being true to art.

    Who are your favorite women, and why do they inspire you? 
    My mother is my favorite female. She is parent while also my friend, as my father is my favorite male while also my parent or friend. My mother doesn't like when I mention her but not him:) 
    My mother inspires me because she is so positive, no matter how much my focus on or belief in functionality or efficiency or truth exists, she proves that having fun, being positive has a way of making life pleasant, regardless of dysfunction or inefficiency or lies.

    ART 
    TITLE: Valentine's Day 2022 Color gif
    Artist: Richard Murray
    URL: https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/Valentine-s-Day-2022-Color-gif-906988319

    Valentine's Day 2022 Color gif

    POST COMMENT
    https://www.deviantart.com/comments/1/907160601/4972967062


    POST
    https://www.deviantart.com/team/journal/International-Women-s-Day-2022-907160601


     

  17. The work at the deviantart link is a little surreal. Can you see why? 
    If the work linked below is the cover of a book, what is the first line? 
    Title: The Lemon Eater and the Vioo Kite
    Artist: Richard Murray
    https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/Eat-A-Lemon-Challenge-from-Richard-Murray-908793325

     now0.png

  18.  

    Hidden Figures

    review from

    Movies That Move We

     

  19.  

     

    Thistle and Verse, Genre Book Tag

     

     

  20. now0.jpg

    Loretta Devine, Sheryl Lee Ralph and the THR Blackfamous Roundtable – The Hollywood Reporter

     

    After reading the article, the argument is what in completion? ... Black thespians in the USA movie industry, titled hollywood, are revered by Black Audiences or in Black owned or mostly populated media outlets in certain roles or films , most with heavy black involvement behind the camera, while underrecognized by White audiences or in white owned or mostly populated media outlets. ... The solution in my view, is perspective. I will explain. Most people use the term bollywood to refer to the cinema of india. But I know a few indians who live in india and people who live in india relate all media by region or culture. Very few things in Entertainment in india are deemed by Indians in india as pan indian. In parallel, people or media outside India like to suggest all media in india is pan indian. Bollywood/Tollywood/Kollywood I heard of before. The following wiki displays how many more there are. < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_India#Cinema_by_language > .. Now what is the point? the point is, each of these woods have their own identity. It isn't Kollywood thespians are underappreciated in Bollywood. Each wood in india is its own ecosystem. yes, some thespians can go between, but it isn't usual. Now, to the USA. If you look at the Cinema of India, a highly internally multiracial county, as a good comparative to the Cinema of the USA based on quality of racial complexities from the people in their country respectively, then you see the issue is not that Black Cinema's stars are underecognized in hollywood. It is that Black CInema is not hollywood. To be clear, Blackwood needs to stand isolated from hollywood the same way the hindu and tamil speaking woods do in india. yes, most black people in the usa speak english, but the culture of black people in the usa is not that of whites. Even though many black people work hard to make it so.

  21. Delano < https://aalbc.com/tc/profile/3868-delano/ > asked

    He asked what type of leaders we need, and then defined we from the black community on earth to each black community in a city or town, indirectly. 

    Well first, the scope of the group is the largest factor in the quality of leadership needed. To rephrase, the black community in your town , that I think Delano is a part of needs a leader that is inadequate for the global black community. 

    The global black community varies in fiscal quality/knowledge/culture/views/gender demography. Yes, all humans are human. All humans need water/food/shelter but we all don't need money, we all don't need to be superstars, we all don't need a mosque or a church, we all don't need to be married, we all don't prostitution to be illegal, we all don't need something that another human being needs.  And once you add a racial element , ala Black/male/christian/asian/or other categorical form to the pronoun. you have a problem. Who determines who is black? who is male? who is christian? who is asian? 

    What I have found living in NYC is individuals have an idea on the collectives they are apart of. Individuals like myself. But , sadly in some ways, what all humans who live long enough find out is, the idea of the group you are apart of is rarely the truth. 

    For example, Former Mayor Bloomberg is considered a new yorker by many and I daresay most in NYC, but not by me or many others. He was raised in connecticut or massachusetts, he is not from NYC. But, because he is a businessman who as an adult did most of his activities from NYC he s a new yorker to most in the city. 

    What is the point? Who is we. 

    Many Black people in the USA see themselves more American than Black. More Christian or Mulsim, than Black. More Asian than Black. 

    When searching for leadership qualities, the smaller the group of people the more specific or less complex leadership needs. 

    For example, fiscally rich black people in NYC don't need the leaders the fiscally poor black people of NYC need. And a leader to the fiscally poor or fiscally rich black people combined has a very complex problem, cause the needs of the two fiscal halves in the black community in nyc have needs that collide with each other. 
    FORUM POST

     

  22. Delano < https://aalbc.com/tc/profile/3868-delano/ > asked

    He asked what type of leaders we need, and then defined we from the black community on earth to each black community in a city or town, indirectly. 

    Well first, the scope of the group is the largest factor in the quality of leadership needed. To rephrase, the black community in your town , that I think Delano is a part of needs a leader that is inadequate for the global black community. 

    The global black community varies in fiscal quality/knowledge/culture/views/gender demography. Yes, all humans are human. All humans need water/food/shelter but we all don't need money, we all don't need to be superstars, we all don't need a mosque or a church, we all don't need to be married, we all don't prostitution to be illegal, we all don't need something that another human being needs.  And once you add a racial element , ala Black/male/christian/asian/or other categorical form to the pronoun. you have a problem. Who determines who is black? who is male? who is christian? who is asian? 

    What I have found living in NYC is individuals have an idea on the collectives they are apart of. Individuals like myself. But , sadly in some ways, what all humans who live long enough find out is, the idea of the group you are apart of is rarely the truth. 

    For example, Former Mayor Bloomberg is considered a new yorker by many and I daresay most in NYC, but not by me or many others. He was raised in connecticut or massachusetts, he is not from NYC. But, because he is a businessman who as an adult did most of his activities from NYC he s a new yorker to most in the city. 

    What is the point? Who is we. 

    Many Black people in the USA see themselves more American than Black. More Christian or Mulsim, than Black. More Asian than Black. 

    When searching for leadership qualities, the smaller the group of people the more specific or less complex leadership needs. 

    For example, fiscally rich black people in NYC don't need the leaders the fiscally poor black people of NYC need. And a leader to the fiscally poor or fiscally rich black people combined has a very complex problem, cause the needs of the two fiscal halves in the black community in nyc have needs that collide with each other. 
    FORUM POST

     

  23. Valentine's Day 2022 Audio Cover.png

    HAppy Valentines Day!! Enjoy the calligraphy or poetry
    Title: The Last FLail
    Author/Artist: Richard Murray
    Colored version
    https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/Valentine-s-Day-2022-Color-gif-906988319


    Black and White- if you color it , do tell
    https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/Valentine-s-Day-2022-BW-906988146


    Audio version- if you like to listen, not just read
    https://www.kobo.com/audiobook/the-last-flail


     

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