CDBurns

Buy the Writer's Market and everything Mel just wrote will make even more sense. She's right on point. Here is a link to the Writer's Market: http://amzn.to/1QVuKtq Here is a video where I kind of answer a similar question:

I hear you, but I can only base my opinions on where I live and have lived in the US and by looking only at my experiences, it just doesn't carry any weight and removes the personal responsibility and choices in regard to the actions of the people. I'm just unable to give over the ignorance and violence to "lead in the water" right now. As the evidence becomes clearer in connection maybe I will accept it, but right now I will look at as an additional theory in regard to the low performance of kids in the ghetto. That's the best that I can do. When I look at Memphis it's gentrification that shifted violence in the city. It's also an unwillingness to work. I've told Troy this before and I guess I'm telling you, Memphis is 64% Black. It's one of the few cities where Blacks rival the numbers of Whites. Blacks hold very high positions in the city and a considerable amount of status. Memphis actually has a middle class (a shrinking one, but still). Memphis on any given day has more job openings than one could imagine in the US. These aren't just cheap, low paying jobs either. They are well paid warehouse positions and a lot of tech positions. If we look at Memphis' high crime areas, Hickory Hill, for example, less than twenty years ago it was a mostly White area so the pipes and infrastructure couldn't have possibly been shifted over the last few years. The same with the Raleigh/Frayser area. Maybe this could have happened, but what I know did happen was the projects in Memphis were demolished and all of the people from the projects moved to these middle class areas and the crime shifted with them. If I use your logic on Memphis this would mean we'd see the same problems in the White community, and that just isn't the case. It also avoids the discussion on how many of these students become the graduates of high schools and colleges out of this area. I don't know if there is a way to skip houses with lead poisoning, so the theory just doesn't fit when there are so many who are unaffected. Once again, I can make the same assumptions about Southeast San Diego where I lived and Los Angeles where I lived for a short time. The violence and issues with health were cumulative. In Memphis there are a ton of factories in South Memphis therefore you have a lot of kids with asthma in that area. This is verifiable so I know this is true. Does this contribute to violence... maybe, but it's a stretch. I do admire that you are taking the time to draw connections and put in the work and that's more important than anything.

I like this thread, but I'm very hesitant to blame the problems of Blacks on what is really an infrastructure issue. although I guess you could argue that the poisoning of the water system contributes to a lot of social issues. I think it is an opportunity for creative solutions.

Video is the next wave and while it is mostly crappy, silly videos that get all of the love, there is a market out there for informative videos. The thing is we stop creating content and never find our niche. The more videos you have the more you show up in search and that improves your ability to reach more people. Now, I said I want to see how the Facebook video performs. I lied. Unless the Facebook video successfully steers people to AALBC, what is the point other than notoriety? I do know that Facebook video is seen more than your written posts, but if it doesn't lead to conversion what's the point? I guess if the goal is to get more people to see what you have and then get them to follow you to your site via a callout of some kind, then it makes sense to post natively. However, I don't see how Facebook video helps those of us not in the music biz or entertainment and we don't get paid for it. You should definitely make this video your welcome video for AALBC. You also need to start utilizing the annotations and cards. They work very well in producing more content being watched. You could also go to your description for the video and add time breakdowns for each individual section instead of splitting the video up. By adding the minute:seconds it creates a hyperlink in the description and people can click to the section they are interested in. It's an awesome tool!

Oh, then nevermind! LOL!

You're right I got off topic. I guess I've always wanted to ask the question and thought maybe someone would answer who is gay.

I see you shared it natively to Facebook. I can't wait to see what you think about the response to video on Facebook. Native videos get a ton of engagement vs written content on Facebook. This video is good and it's not irritating at all. It's a great pitch. I need to do something similar for my site. It's a great idea. You might want to break it down into 5 different videos called the features of AALBC. Use Cards to direct viewers to each independent video. You can also add annotations to clickthrough to each video. Right now I would have to imagine people will not watch it all which will diminish your watch time which will affect the search quality on YT.

@Pioneer1 I gave the statistic that Sara is referring to. What I was doing was saying that 3 out of 10 boys on a high school campus and on college campuses are carrying themselves in what can be considered effeminate ways. So she was asking me about that. I made sure to tell her that this is my observation and should not be taken as the standard or as factual for all cities. It is only what I observe, because it seemed to me that she was missing my point which was too many of these kids are acting like or carrying themselves with "feminine" swag. It has a lot to do with everything you said up above. I was talking with my wife today and she said something that I had mentioned, and you mentioned, these dudes don't even realize they are carrying themselves in effeminate ways. If you don't know you can't fix it. Like I said, I didn't know I got into a car like a woman until someone told me. The irony is that the video you posted of the gay dude is an exaggeration of the way women walk. Women don't even behave like that. You know the more I study, the more I realize that there has always been a large gay population in the Black community. I mean many of our major writers were gay, but they weren't so feminine that it was easy to decipher what their orientation might be. That is the problem... gay now seems to mean that you have to carry the characteristics of the sex you are attracted to. Men act more like women and women act more like men. I've always wanted to ask someone gay why this is necessary if being homosexual is about the attraction to someone else. Why does a person forego the stereotypical qualities associated with their sex? I don't ever ask because these questions always lead to confrontation and I'm not that interested in fighting through the confrontation to ask, lol. But... I really do want to know why a gay woman takes on the "male" persona? And why the gay man takes on the "female" persona? (I do know that not all gay people do this.)

I'd read it! I read the chapters posted and it's engaging. I would sit and read each chapter if they were posted... which would defeat the purpose of writing the book, lol. I would buy the book though. I shared it also. Congrats and I'm looking forward to the release.

I've avoided the Beyonce discussion overall, but I really don't get the excitement behind the song and imagery. What Kendrick Lamar did at the Grammys was a thousand times more powerful for the diaspora. Beyonce has a hook in her song that says "If he fuck me good, I take him to Red Lobster." That might be the tackiest shit I've ever heard in music outside of 2 Live Crew and Uncle Luke saying, "Hey we want some pussy." Doing a video set in Post Katrina New Orleans and using Mardi Gras imagery to support the above line isn't dope to me, but it is catchy as hell, just as the 2 Live Crew was catchy, but it wasn't empowering. I get that the fact that Beyonce is able to compete in entertainment at such a high level is empowering. Her status is important because she is doing something that is extremely difficult. Her music however is overall empty. She has made some great songs though in Independent Woman and To The Left. She is a hell of an entertainer though and business woman.

No pun, but it was funny.

I don't know who you are asking this question to, or attempting to engage with your question. Take the time to go out and observe for yourself. Look at what's happening around you. Any information I give you is in regard to me working in education and on a daily basis being around the group that buys what I sell primarily. In the malls and in my daily interaction with kids where I'm picking up sneakers, it's clear that guys carry themselves in a way that can be described as effeminate. The mannerisms and actions, the way they dance and speak in many instances. I mean when you have NBA players dressing up as women in commercials there is a clear image of how men are being told that it's okay to have mannerisms that are stereo-typically associated with gay men. I can only speak for what I see, as everyone who is making these statements can only speak to what they see. If you aren't seeing it, then you aren't seeing it. If you agree with Cynique, cool. Keep it moving and be done with the issue. All I know is I took my family out last night and I didn't even bring up this dialogue that's taking place and my wife without any idea of what we've been saying glanced ahead of us at three black men, shook her head, and said, "I would probably be single if I had to date today." I asked her why she said that and she pointed to the three black guys. I was holding my daughter's hand and hadn't really paid attention to it, but when I looked at the dudes I understood what she was saying. This wasn't a one time thing while we were out. Most of the guys hanging out had this "style". Take what Troy said as an example. We didn't have both ears pierced, we wore straight legged jeans but the goal was not to have our asses out. We danced and it wasn't an imitation of what gay men in the fashion world did. We didn't wear lip gloss or keep shiny chapstick readily available, we didn't roll our eyes or exhale at every response we didn't like. We didn't excessively groom (which looks funny to read)... but I'm sure you get the picture. We can't or won't know if these guys are gay and that is the point. We are at a time now where androgyny and metro sexual is a part of the norm so it only stands to reason that a lot of the men are okay with this.

Very, very good analysis. The garden tower is a small attainable vision. I don't ever look at things in their totality. I look at manageable chunks that can be tackled quickly and efficiently. Before you teach a baby to run they have to walk and before that crawl... and before that, the conception has to occur. If you look at the greater picture and attack there first you can spend a lot of time missing the grassroots movement that can be initiated immediately. Instead of looking at the big picture, quite possibly start with placing the small things into action and then remaining consistent. The garden tower is an attainable, easy project that will inevitably lead to community gardens once people see how easy it is to begin a farm on a small scale. I am pulling for your creativity and thoughtfulness to come to fruition. I backed a local Kickstarter last year for community gardens here in Memphis. It's something that I could see taking shape. Conquering the world is always on a street level, then local, then it expands, but the great idea can start anywhere. Oh on the Chinese men I actually wrote something about that on my blog, but this isn't the place. Just know that I am in complete agreement with you.

I can't break it down to the very last compound, but that number is pretty close in my opinion. There are no hard facts to support it, but Cynique is very right about why many of them seem to be effeminate. In order to distance themselves from the perception of Black men, young guys take on personas that aren't considered traditionally manly. Easily 3 out of 10 will have mannerisms that are considered suspect. It might be higher especially you witness these kids at games or on the yard and they are doing the dances, etc. Are these guys gay? Probably not and I have no idea of whether they are or not, but the traits associated with women are there. 1. They talk way too much 2. They argue 3. They roll their eyes and will scoff at various comments Now, these stereotypes are associated with women, but it's guys that are doing it.

Yes there are a lot of guys who are effeminate. I'd say about 30%. He's right.

The dances today are really close to vouging in the way they are done and no one really seems to notice. The Quan, The Whip and Nae Nae, all look like what the gay male community has been doing since the 70s in disco and in the fashion world. As far as the men being effeminate, if no male tells them what they are doing looks like what a woman does they will never know. I didn't realize that I got in the car like a woman until I was in the Navy. We were all in front of the barracks listening to music and I was about to get in my car and leave. Instead of placing one foot in the car and then sitting down, I actually turned my back and sat on the seat with both legs together and then turned and placed both legs into the car; like I was wearing a dress. I laughed like my mom, and I still hold my hand high on my hip when I'm tired after playing ball or running. It's an unconscious act that represents my being raised by my grandmom, mom and sister. I never had a man in the household so I unconsciously modeled the women around me. What is interesting is that I never even paid attention to it until that day outside of the barracks when one of my shipmates said, "Man, you get in the car like a bitch." I stopped and looked and responded, "Fuck you bro. The hell I do." All of the fellas said, "get outta the car and get back in." I stood up, turned back, sat on the seat and put both feet in the car. Everyone said, "awwwww dammm, that's gay as hell." That was almost 25 years ago and I remember it vividly. Today I am very aware of how I get in the car and my mannerisms. Basically, I think a lot of the young males are simply doing what they see. Are they experimenting sexually a lot more? Yep, but when the imagery is so prevalent, there is no longer the same negative stigma associated with being gay. When you can turn on every television show and see same sex kissing just as regular as heterosexual kissing, the natural progression is for people to accept it a lot more. There are more gay kids in schools though and I chalk this up to kids simply finding another clique to be a part of. Kids want to be accepted and the hierarchy of high school is horribly isolating. A lot of kids have no where else to go and be a part of the group so being gay is just another segment of the high school crowd. It's like being a Goth kid, Athlete, Nerd, Teacher's Pet, etc.

Man, really bad decision to use China as an example of sustainability. Remember China put a cap on the amount of kids a family could have which has literally wiped out an entire generation of people. The men are now leaving China and marrying women in Africa and other places simply to propagate their lineage. Also China is choking itself to death. It's air pollution is causing so much damage that it can't be measured. I feel you though. When you talk about sustainability and better cities, we backed a Kickstarter a few years back for a project called a garden tower. We even ordered a newer version and then gave away our old one because the concept is amazing. You can grow a variety of veggies in the tower which teaches the fundamentals of farming. This is only a small change, but imagine if everyone owned a garden tower. That would be powerful. I know it seems that I'm making light of the situation, but I'm not. I honestly think there are forces at play here that are systematically diminishing the population. I do agree though that we have a generation of people who won't have jobs available so they will have to be creative in how they attack employment so this is the perfect time for new technology to emerge.

It would be nice to have the infrastructure rebuilt and redesigned. The power grid, high speed rails, the water systems, etc. will continue to go unchecked. I hate to sound pessimistic, but nothing will be done. There will be temporary patches put in place to satisfy the issue enough to make it go away. What we are dealing with is possibly beyond repair of pipes even. Water is officially a commodity that will soon be traded on the stock exchange like gold and oil. The WHO is aware of the problem of overcrowding in the world and if every country can slowly decimate it's population through "various problems" it helps overall. That's about as conspiracy theory as I get, but it's the truth. We are not bold enough to put a ban on childbirth as they did in China and we are not so disadvantaged that we can get away with allowing the spread of diseases ala Ebola, Zika, (insert your virus). We can't kill thousands as they are doing in the middle east through war so what can the US do in regard to overcrowding? You see it in Flint and you see it in the incarceration rate of Black men. (I just reread this and it's clear I've been watching too much X-Flies.)

@Chasitie you can start by adding a signature to your profile and an avatar. You can also update your profile with your website information. Doing this will allow any lurkers to see who you are and provide a click through quickly. That will help with traffic. The only other thing that helps is creating content and sharing in the places you are a part of (community). Other than that the best you can do is make sure your tags, metatags are all updated on your website. Make sure you have submitted and verified your site through Google Webmaster Tools which will help with search. Keep writing and sharing.

See! This is how community works. She now has the ammunition to make a decision about her direction. This is social capital and social capital in many instances is much better than financial capital.

Chalk that up to Shondaland!

LOL! Kanye needs to look at what progression is by watching Kendrick Lamar. Kanye has been off of his rocker since his mom died. I get it, but he hasn't seemed like the old Kanye since then.

He may be a bit too late as there are countless YouTubers who have been able to transition from the computer screen to mainstream, or they have been able to build a solid enough following to generate their own outlets. Some of these are already linked to a variety of new services...but at the end of the day if his goal is to create another outlet and make a killer profit it's all good.

Art, writing, music, creativity is a way of fighting and this post you've written is powerful. It's a start. Sometimes the only thing we have are our words and as much as people want to think that the pen or song isn't powerful enough to make a difference, I know that reading or hearing something can turn the switch on for the person who is receptive to the words. Keep writing and sharing, get the website better and better and continue sharing, that's the best we can do sometimes. It's action and it's just as powerful as pulling a dollar out of your pocket, or going and building a wall. One action of purpose does not mean more than another.

You definitely need to install the Disqus plug-in. I immediately shared this post once I read it. I'm thinking of posting it to my site when time permits. Powerful, descriptive writing... thought provoking and ultimately another sad addition to the mounds of literature being created about a horrifying situation. Now, you make a point that I often talk about when people spend time posting about the problems of the world and why I don't typically get into the idea of sending help abroad. There are more than enough issues right here to tackle that everyone avoids. When Flint happens, before I moved to Cali, we had a place here in the Mid South called Sugar Ditch. What has happened Flint barely holds a candle to what was happening there and what continues to happen in many small Southern towns. Hell, I can drive out to parts of Memphis right now and see imagery that isn't too far removed from the shanties. I'm sure we could all do this and there lies the dilemma. How do we analyze the world when self analysis creates paralysis and temporary amnesia in the minds of fellow Americans? Excellent post.