CDBurns

Yes Cynique, yesssssss!!!!!!! Man down, shots fired, Unkel Troll you got what you wanted I assume; some confrontation and a response. Considering the complete irony of you taking the time to post on a Black owned website which couldn't have possibly been made by a Black person because we are too stupid to learn coding or to turn on a computer, on behalf of Troy I appreciate you taking the time to click through several pages to write this which gives Troy impressions on the two ads on this page or clicks, and earns Troy Ad Revenue from a billion dollar business to keep running this business. Your contribution, as stupid as it is, contributes to the empowerment of the people. What I hope is that you go to every Black website you find and tell your buddies to do that too. While no one likes to read your vitriol, we will take your money since we can never be repaid for what we've given this country: art, music, entertainment and infrastructure. If Blacks weren't here all the US would have that they actually created is... Oh that's right White's in this country/from this country, like you haven't created or excelled in anything. Okay you're allowed to vent. It's gotta be frustrating that everything great about America was created or made more important by Blacks. No original musical artforms born in America except Jazz, Gospel, Blues and Rock (Black people) Fledgling sports associations before Blacks became a part of the games. Greatest moment in the Olympics (The take down of the Nazis by Jesse Owens) The Civil War was lost until Lincoln finally allowed 200,000 Blacks to fight. You know what's funny is that Whites in the US don't even have a literary movement to claim. I can't think of one... maybe the Confessionalists poets, but they all killed themselves didn't they? Plath and Sexton. Oh, maybe the Beat poets... nah they stole their rhythm and cadence from Black jazz writers and poets. You don't even have a movement that was as fertile as the Harlem Renaissance. I mean damn, no music, no literary movement, crappy at sports, and kissing cousins all while you have dominated society? I guess I'd be mad too Unkel. Carry on.

This dude is on the wrong message board ^^^^^ lol. Brother Ruckus keep shooting... eventually you'll hit whatever target you're aiming for.

Same here. I very rarely tell people I write fiction. I've taken to giving my books of fiction away with every pair of my shoes I sell. I have been reading the Walking Dead series, but that's because I'm so into the show.

This is good. I didn't do any research on either, but this seems to be a gamble on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Official Site Her success continues to keep the door open for international Blacks. It's a door that I haven't seen opened for African Americans since Renee Swindle who got one of these deals with BJ Robbins on her book Please, Please, Please at the peak of the sistagirl book movement. Now I'm making the assumption that both of these ladies are not American and I could be wrong, but the names bring an automatic connection to Chinua Achebe and Chimamanda, and then to Jamaica Kincaid. Either way it's a good thing to see and maybe a sign that books are possibly going to become more important with Coates' big win. Good info as always Troy!

I think most companies don't even realize they should be set up through Google Webmaster Tools. It's one of those things I think people who aren't techies are even familiar with. No Webmaster tools no index.

Good stuff Troy. It was definitely worth taking the time to edit and post.

Dig that!

Excellent Op-ed!!!!!!!! #nailedit #freedomfries Hashtag, I'm hashtagging to really drive home the point of how all of this faux outrage and sadness is representative of a nation that no longer deals with anything in a rational manner. Good stuff up there!

Here you go Troy. You can download the pics from here now. http://www.cbpublish.com/business-how-long-does-a-facebook-visitor-stay/

Good idea. I will upload them on an article I write so you can pull them from the site. I will do that right now.

I have to reduce the size of some pictures to post them here, but I really want to share with you the stats from that article that garnered those 6000 unique visits on CBP in 3 days. I had to explain to someone that traffic from Facebook enters and leaves on the same page and traffic from Facebook stays on average 3 to 5 seconds. So just because you get a click through, it doesn't mean much, unless you're a star. Then your interaction is very good, but we know that already.

I don't know who that Guest CD Burns is, but it's not me, lol.

I am so relieved!!!! Like I said, I won't do this often, but I thought I read in another post that you were submitting books of poetry to agents and publishers and I thought a MFA styled critique was what could help. I'm really glad that you didn't take offense, because even in seminars and workshops, I've seen people lose it over their writing especially when it's so personal. I'll share a poem of mine if you like and you can analyze and critique it if you like. Just say the word. I have a book of poetry that I've never promoted so it would be alright if you'd like that. Keep writing! It definitely has a great therapeutic qualities.

Facebook works for what it is. I tend to login just to check and see if I have any messages since people have to be tricked into signing up for e-mail lists now and then the engagement is not the great there, but at least they do get opened and people choose to see what you are doing. I keep up with my old players and students on Facebook, I share my posts and articles, but I really keep it because it's expected. If I'm going to get into the public speaking and consulting arena, people really do use it to check out what type of stuff you share and write so I stay active, but mainly through sharing work by other people or by clicking the like buttons and social sharing buttons to let the world know I've posted. Facebook can get really irritating, but I've grown accustomed to every month or so purging and not following those people who are redundant in what they share and post. That helps a ton.

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Man I feel the same way. I don't have my birthday posted on Facebook and my wife doesn't tag me in family related topics. My page is strictly for promoting my business and things I want to share. I don't even say Happy Birthday to people on Facebook My wife will post pictures of the kids and stuff like that, but she doesn't tag me. It is for the family in Cali and elsewhere, but we don't get into it. I often say to myself that if you are writing this kind of stuff on Facebook, your relationship must really have gone through some real shitty stuff and you have to "bonify your love" like Jeffrey Osbourne, lol. But I feel you on this one.

Shared this to Twitter, great looking cover.

I made a mistake in saying that Dr. Suess shouldn't be taken seriously. I meant to say that his poetry was intentionally whimsical and full of internal rhymes to create a musical sound that actually appeals to children when they are being read to aloud, which all poetry should be read aloud in my opinion. As far as rappers, the intent is to remain in the pocket and on beat. What's interesting though is how very close to using meter most rappers come without probably ever knowing anything about it. Rappers also don't force rhymes. The rhyme is often very natural and in many instances they use multisyllabic rhymes which is always considered impressive. I honestly think if rappers became aware of technique it would hurt their ability to freestyle. No one wants to sit and count syllables and feet to make sure they aren't running over line length. Rap is poetry however. I consider a form of free verse, which often has elements of meter. Rakim is definitely a lyrical genius. I mean look at how easily this flows: I take 7 emcees put 'em in a line And add 7 more brothers who think they can rhyme Well, it'll take 7 more before I go for mine Now that's 21 emcees ate up at the same time Look at how natural those rhymes are! There isn't any inverted syntax to force the rhyme. Me and Eric B was coolin' at the PaladiumSeen a all-world cover girl, I said 'Hey lady I'mSorry if You're in a rush - Don't let me hold ya upOr interveen or interrupt, butYou got the look - I wanna get to know ya betterI had to let her know - but yo, I didn't sweat her I don't do a lot of writing about poetry because I love the craft so much that I tend to go overboard in discussions and I'm not half as bad as some older poets I know. I do enjoy just reading the artform and Shirley I truly hope I haven't overwhelmed you with my critique and discussion.

Most teachers have never studied poetry with any real depth, so they honestly have a difficult time teaching their students. It's like when people expect English majors to be the perfect people for teaching grammar, when the honest fact is most English majors are better at analysis than grammar. The people who should teach grammar are linguistics majors. Want to see the speech and grammar improve in schools? Hire a linguist and have the students take both linguistics and English in school. Most English teachers and even some professors in some instances, have probably taken one or two courses where they analyzed poetry, but they have no idea of scansion, meter or the "rules" of poetry which poets work with. Poetic license in a limerick is a expected which is what that line is. Dr. Suess does it all of the time, but those poems are not meant to be taken seriously. Suess is also doing inverted syntax intentionally for comedic effect. I don't know if that was the case in this poem as it is in a lot of poetry that is written by those who are unaware of the various methods of creating poetry. I think everyone should write what they feel and what they are comfortable with. However, when we begin to submit to agents and publishers and they ask why you didn't use iambic tetrameter with substitute feet like dactyls or trochees or amphabracs, then novice poets run into trouble. (Honestly publishers and agents simply won't accept the submission.) It is definitely an elitist attitude, but one of the first things that I used to teach in creative writing is that if you wouldn't say this normally, why would you embellish and change the way you speak in poetry? Poetry is not fiction. It is often personal and very close to the person writing so we usually associate it with something the person goes through... which isn't the case in fiction. Now in narrative poetry you can tell stories and make it fictional, but that is often the exception not the rule. Rhymes should not come to close together and typically only when using certain line lengths to avoid a doggerel, but... you can always write whatever you want. I do like the idea of the poem, just not the execution. Now notice the lines from Edna and how natural those lines read. The rhyme isn't an intrusion. That is how and why maintaining syntax is so important it shows command of the craft.

I also avoided this Cynique because I was taught by a strict versification and meter professor when I earned my MFA (poetry and fiction). I also taught Creative Writing and I tend to be very hard on poetry because of the way I was taught. After seeing your comments though I guess I'm doing Shirley a disservice by not commenting. I'm conflicted about commenting because it can scare a person into not posting, but I have a feeling that Shirley has thick skin... so here we go. Life’s Candle (cliche title - much too easy to name the poem this) I saw a candle lit today, long and strong created from clay. (intriguing to see a candle made of clay, but when you use inverted syntax, adjectives after the noun, this moves the poem automatically into doggerel territory, and gives me a pause... what's worse is that I have a phallic image when it comes to candles and long and strong did nothing to stop that.) Hot molten wax, no life in sight, (No, molten? I understand the flame was hot, but to equate it to a volcano implies that the candle was hot enough to melt through anything which means that it couldn't cool so quickly, and you have personified the poem by implying that it can't see life. Molten cooled is volcanic rock and it's impossible to be shaped to perfection after being molten unless it was in a mold.) cooled to perfection and shaped just right. Strong and slender, the wick took form, (Inverted syntax. Don't do this to attain the rhyme. Rhyme should be a natural process and shouldn't be jarring. Also you used strong once already, vary your word choice). the flame its beginning, a new thing is born. (I guess smoke is born from the flame, but once again it's very tricky personifying the candle. I guess as a metaphor you can do it, but below you really push with the couplet dies and cries (predictable rhyme) and giving the candle human qualities. It would be more powerful to actually write about the person the candle represents as opposed to this personification.) A new breath inhaled, the candle—it cries. An old breath exhaled, the candle—it dies. (Much too easy and simple) The success of the flame is the endurance of man, (No, a flame is a flame, use a simile and it still doesn't make sense. The flame sits atop the candle to provide light. I definitely get the connection. But wouldn't this work just as well: Man's endurance, like that of a flame, flickers and flutters fearing the wind. Notice the alliteration of those Fs creates the sound of a flickering flame? That's nice.) it flickers and flutters, so grand does it stand. While melting and bending, it fears the wind’s gust. (You haven't shifted back to the candle so the melting doesn't quite make sense if this is still the flame. You are inverting syntax again which is a serious no-no. You did it the previous line as well.) Life is a mystery with no one to trust. (If you insert a space break here you can shift to a discussion on a person, but by connecting this to the previous line this stanza is forced. More important this is a cliche and an overused idea.) The burning of the wick shows a life endured. (No diggity... We all knew where this was going. It's an emotional poem, but in serious poetry, we don't tell, we show. Imagery is the foundation of all poems and if you've shown in going out, then this can be inferred.) The melting of the wax shows a death assured. (Syntax again, and forcing this rhyme is not good.) No air to breathe, the candle cease to be— (Personification and verb agreement... the worst part is the idea that the candle is breathing. Candles don't breathe.) the flame gone out, I turn to Thee. (Inverted syntax and the introduction of someone else at the close is a no no. Poetry is personal, but there are rules. You have here 16 lines. Two octet stanzas with a rhyme scheme that allows the rhymes to come to close together especially when the syntax and verb agreement has problems. When rhyming it is almost always better form to use Iambic pentameter as the line length because the poem has time to move into the next rhyme. Some of your lines have a bit of ghost meter, but you run the line over into extra syllables without justification or reason.) Once again, I definitely apologize if this seems too abrasive. This was my response after about two reads. I'm sure if I stayed with it longer I could write more, but this is a workshop styled critique and what you can expect if you ever decide to submit your poems to an agent or publisher. The difference is it would be a much longer critique and more than likely you would never hear from that agent or publisher. I don't confess to be the best teacher, but I'm pretty good. Since I don't do this often I will offer a rewrite and my suggestions. The flame danced on the candle as people passed. (Personification/alliteration - p) Melted wax, like water, reflected warm fire. (Simile/alliteration - w) Black wick smoking slightly above the glass, (Imagery/alliteration - s) no one noticed how this transpired. (Note the rhyme scheme is ABAB instead of rhymed couplets. Also each line has 10 syllables very close to Iambic pentameter so the lines read better, but definitely needs work) The candle is lit at birth and at death. (Notice I just said this outright instead of making the candle a living thing. Whether it's true or not is not the point, by default the candle now represents life and death. The one who made the candle doesn't know the person who bought or lights the candle. You get the idea. I really don't do this often, but I'm extremely passionate about poetry and if you've been writing a while, it would be great if you could post a sonnet or a syllabic poem for us to read. I always say that we don't have to know the rules of poetry, just write what you feel. I do believe this, but I know you have said several times that you are considering finding an agent. I wouldn't be helping you if I let you submit a poem without being told how "professionals" view poetry. At any rate, this is only a critique like in a workshop. If it helps, cool. If it doesn't, cool. I just hope it wasn't too abrasive.

I know Troy is going to post something here to talk about Facebook. I have a ton of articles to read on that and we can both share those.

Shirley, this used to be the most vibrant community on the web! I used to be a lurker, just hanging around and not commenting. Then I got into the shoe business and I kind of gave up on the idea of being a writer so I stopped visiting altogether. I then realized that I was contributing to the demise of the site by giving all of efforts to Social Media. I was always writing on my blog, but I needed to make sure there was a viable Black community I was contributing too. I told Troy that what I started doing was putting the information he had on my site. I always had a link on my blogroll on my homepage to AALBC, but I added the Power List. I started interacting because if I give social media time, I need to counter it with the support of an independent platform. I respect Troy's work and I think he is the type of influencer who can help me in the writing world and that is valuable enough that I need to support his work. I agree with you though, it would be nice to see more comments, but the people will come and start just like I did. What you need to know is that their visits are just as valuable as their comments. The way a website makes money is through ad revenue, selling services, selling goods, affiliate marketing and donations/subscriptions. Those people who visit provide impressions and possibly clicks on ad revenue and they may contribute in other unseen ways. It can always be more, but sometimes getting a little is just as good as earning a lot. Slow growth is better than no growth.

I understand completely and I really hope that it takes off and can bring in even more money than shoes. I'm willing to bet if you can say that you have blurbs from X authors that you can get a deal based on the query and the first chapter. It's all about who you know. In regard to the tag I don't have any notifications turned on so I wasn't notified. I hate getting notifications all day so I don't get any. I simply give AALBC the same amount of time I give Facebook. If I give Facebook 10 minutes I spend an equal amount of time here. As of late I've taken to logging in looking through huria/blogs as a balance as well. I tell you what, if I new I could sell books, I would open a bookstore here in Memphis. I just don't think it would be a viable business and I'm afraid to try it.

I tend to think that lineage had a lot to do with the reach of the book. It's interesting... 10 years ago I was the new, young professor with a book with a main character named Buck, but I ended up selling shoes for a living and that book went absolutely no where. It's good to see a young professor reaching some level of fame through academia. A good dad is an amazing thing.

That page looks great! Thanks for doing that. When it comes up for renewal remind me and I'll forward the payment. I understand about sitting at the PC. It's not good for you, but it's necessary as everything we both do is through the computer. I keep looking at opening an art gallery, but I get cold feet because the shoe biz has kept me afloat for so long that I can't see selling enough books or art to dive into it, so I'm stuck behind the PC. In regard to the book, write the book you know unless you're thinking about fiction. You have leverage that I don't have so a book on the failure of social media and the destruction of the black internet is your calling. With your reach, your blurbs will be amazing and you should be able to get someone to publish it based on your resume alone. that's just an idea. I am really hoping that the site comes together for you, but I know the reality of that which is why I pretty much stick with CMS now and stopped coding. The time of investment for me just didn't pay off without the ad revenue rolling in. I'm going to collect my business books into one large paperback once I release the 3rd book. The work never stops.

But this link does: http://www.arch-usa.com/refresh-fall-colors-arch-tr-114-caramel-shadow/ Thanks for the interest!