CDBurns

That definitely sounds like par for the course quota filling. No way to avoid it outside of living in another less policed neighborhood. I would go to the court and fight both even if it took time out of my day. Even if it takes three hours its equal to not paying 300 plus dollars. Overpolicing poor neighborhoods is something I've always explained to whites as the problem with racism in the USA. It's not that there isn't crime taking place in better neighborhoods it just tends to be better hidden and seen less because cops aren't there all of the time.

Very important work and this is real social media. I'm looking forward to adding a Huria blog roll to my site as soon as the logo is made!

I'm talking about choosing blogs to be accepted into the listing. If the blog hasn't been updated in 3-4 months they aren't actively working on the site so it wouldn't be added to the list. Here is a site I visit daily www.politeconversation.com It's pretty good. In regard to the Power List, I was only talking about a logo for the blogroll that would give the list an identity. I guess Huria is that logo, but can a code be generated to randomize what site is visited when it is clicked? Kind of like the old school webring. I would add that to the site and write an article about the importance of visiting sites in a heartbeat. I think you may have finally figured out a way to move people back to visiting sites.

Great way to build the old web ring styled set up. I suggest adding this to the power list in some way. Since my site has the power list logo I'd like a blog list roster of some sort. Thanks for including my site. It says CDP instead of CBP but I'm honored. As far as suggestions I think recent updates would be a necessity.

About two weeks ago I was riding in the car with my son. We were pulled over by the cops. I could see in my rearview the dude was going to pull us over. I saw it as a great opportunity to teach my son about how to respond. As I pulled the car over I reached in my pocket and pulled out my Driver's License and Insurance card. I keep my stuff readily accessible when I'm driving. I had my son open my glove box (where I keep my registration right on top so I can get to it quickly, I explained why to him later) and I had all of my paperwork in my hand with both hands on the wheel with the window rolled down when the officer walked up. He didn't have to ask for anything, I didn't say anything smart and I didn't ask him why he pulled me over. None of that was important. What was important was 1. I knew I hadn't done anything wrong 2. I don't have anything on my record that would warrant any real drama I didn't say anything or make any strange eye contact with the cop so I minimized the interaction. The dude took all of the info to his car. I sat patiently. Had he said get out. I would have gotten out. Had he said turn around and put your arms behind your back, I would have done so. He didn't do any of this. He walked back up to the car, gave some bullshit excuse about why he pulled me over and gave me my stuff back. I pulled off and rolled the window back up. I explained to my son that your only job is to not talk unless asked a specific question. Have all of your paperwork ready when you're pulled over. You don't have to sir, but you say yes officer, no officer. Don't look at the cop sideways or with irritation, even if you know he is full of shit, just give the info. Keep your hands on the wheel and wait for him to finish. In short, don't resist, don't fight back, just keep it simple and straightforward. If it all goes to hell, it was going to anyway, but your job is to minimize the likelihood of it all going to hell. When I watch that video I see a dude who didn't have a dad who explained to him that the best thing you can do is be quiet and do what you're told. I explained to my son that my first priority is getting home to my family, not manning up to a guy with a badge and a gun.

Those long numbers are payment numbers for direct deposit. In regard to the twitter interview those people responding are going over the same information that we already know. The biggest issue is that they will never share the real stats and information about how much they are making. People simply aren't that transparent or honest. Everyone wants to look like they have it figured it when the truth is they are hoping to catch on. You kept aiming for the stats which was good. Show me the proof! and I bet no one ever did. The Blogger week looks like it will be a good event, but just as in Black books, the event already appears to be dominated by Black women. That's not a bad thing, but it is a reality. Women read more, share more, and are really the foundation of every large social media site that has anything to do with reading and art. By default we are behind because we are men attempting to develop brands in women dominated markets. Which tells me the answer is in actually extending an offer to women bloggers who are willing to sacrifice their brand to build another brand. I think ultimately the reason why visitation if down is because the ease in which a feed of information is seen in Social media enables people to constantly participate in the lives of others. A blog only brings you in for a moment. Then that blog has to have related posts and a comment section that actively engages the visitor to stay on the page longer than the time it takes to read the entry that was created. When people share through social media it's a target and opens in a new window, which leaves social media there in the background and that creates a place where people keep going back. Once again, I notice that I don't have to work very hard to get people to my sneaker site. The traffic is consistent and there is very little traffic from social media. 23% Direct Traffic 71 Visits 17% Referring Websites 53 Visits 3% Social Networks 8 Visits 57% Search Engine Referrals 175 Visits While on CBP 46% Direct Traffic 35 Visits 14% Referring Websites 11 Visits 14% Social Networks 11 Visits 25% Search Engine Referrals 19 Visits On ARCH the referring websites are my own and other sneaker sites. Sneaker people share website information because they are looking for the best deal. On CBP the referring websites are all Facebook or twitter which means that the 28% of the traffic comes from links that I have to generate through social media. I guess the major observation becomes what do you offer at the best price that will make people share the site like they will for purses, shoes, handbags and clothes?

Coach Cal really screwed up that game. It just shows, you can have the biggest gun in the land, but if your aim is poor, you won't hit the target. UNLV part 2, smh. Good luck on winning that bracket!

Troy, I just don't think it will be possible to do minimize your usage. I think the end goal is to have people build their personal platforms as well as social media, but the honest truth is Facebook is not going to die like Myspace. I think it will be around so the goal is to figure out how to use it to your benefit. I share my articles from CBP to Twitter, Google + and Facebook. People go to the site momentarily but they don't spend much time on the site before they exit right back to Facebook. My job now is to create a related stories link in each article that will keep the person engaged (potentially) and will make them want to click to another article. I know the reality though, people just aren't interested in more than the one story they are linked to. I make it a point everyday to tell someone to install Disqus and stop posting such great content to Facebook. The problem is that immediate engagement is overwhelming and gives the people that instant gratification (instagram) they won't so badly. I know that I have to get people to my sites to sell something to them and I am pretty successful at it, but overall when it comes to the book business it is much harder than breaking a new tennis shoe. I have been placing more of an effort into being a serious writer since August 2014. I'm seeing the benefits of interacting here on AALBC and on Facebook and on Spreecast with the Mentor Monday group and by trying to share new content each day from CBP. The book sales since are better than they have been in 15 years. Which isn't saying much considering I've never really given it an honest attempt until now. here are my Kindle numbers: 22343190 Jan 01 - Jan 31 2015 Amazon.com Paid Mar 29, 2015 EFT USD 8.26 USD 0.00 USD 0.00 USD 8.26 N/A USD 8.26 19747506 Oct 01 - Oct 31 2014 Amazon.com Paid Dec 28, 2014 EFT USD 3.08 USD 0.00 USD 0.00 USD 3.08 N/A USD 3.08 18751134 Sep 01 - Sep 30 2014 Amazon.com Paid Nov 28, 2014 EFT USD 3.50 USD 0.00 USD 0.00 USD 3.50 N/A USD 3.50 18058002 Aug 01 - Aug 31 2014 Amazon.com Paid Oct 28, 2014 EFT USD 1.90 USD 0.00 USD 0.00 USD 1.90 N/A USD 1.90 13931965 Feb 01 - Feb 28 2013 Amazon.co.uk Failed Jun 09, 2014 Check GBP 0.00 GBP 0.00 GBP 0.00 GBP 0.00 N/A GBP 1.29 19189229 Feb 01 - Feb 28 2013 Amazon.co.uk Paid Dec 02, 2014 EFT GBP 1.29 GBP 0.00 GBP 0.00 GBP 1.29 1.57 USD 2.02 17184795 Oct 01 - Jul 31 2014 Amazon.com Paid Sep 28, 2014 EFT USD 68.87 USD 0.00 USD 0.00 USD 68.87 N/A USD 68.87 Here are my paperback numbers: Total 6$27.00-- One Hour To Wealth Book4$20.80--Details Stages: a handbook on men and relationships Book1$5.60--Details Woman's Gotta Have It MP3 Track1$0.60--Details Now prior to August in paperback I had only earned about 20 dollars in a number of years. Once again though, this is a direct reflection of my lack of interest and effort in regard to finding readers. I was teaching and running my business. I do know that my use of Facebook has garnered me some interaction as evidenced by this: 23 Hits (No referring link) 7 Hits m.facebook.com/ 7 Hits https://www.google.com/ (Keywords Unavailable) 3 Hits www.google.com/search 2 Hits www.bing.com/cr?h=Xv7mrag1CMMhZOAPuyhTlgbrZacYgFLp2nUSrresYRM&v=1&r=http://www.cbpublish.com/category/beale-street-music-festival/&IG=16736827208d468c898c6c7206a39cc6&CID=1B6625EA16C16A9D1572229917DE6AB7&p=SERP,5175.1 1 Hit best-seo-solution.com/try.php?u=http://cbpublish.com 1 Hit l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.cbpublish.com/&h=uAQHrO9Re&enc=AZMBPSshsqT2Y0FX2nc0F0XgnPYB-89xqn8xjKlZdYdlEnYuThj31H17_GtQRLkAFCDFGo-jW_40oVinuyLaTiGrNjgQeCQOW1EwkI-fV1TkhUJ2xKX7b7n7MG8QVdDupq4SL2n8UjHfRdrwxn0HAHSA&s=1 1 Hit lnkd.in/ 1 Hit m.facebook.com/ 1 Hit www.bing.com — one hour to wealth 1 Hit www.google.com/ (Keywords Unavailable) 1 Hit www.google.com/#2 (Keywords Unavailable) 1 Hit www.google.com/#2 (Keywords Unavailable) 1 Hit www.google.com/#4 (Keywords Unavailable) 1 Hit www.google.com/#9 (Keywords Unavailable) 1 Hit www.google.com — published books by cb publishing #3 1 Hit https://m.facebook.com/ 1 Hit https://www.google.com.my/ (Keywords Unavailable) 1 Hit https://www.google.fr/ (Keywords Unavailable) 1 Hit https://www.google.ro/ (Keywords Unavailable) That's on CBP This is on my Sneaker Site ARCH: 76 Hits https://www.google.com/ (Keywords Unavailable) 59 Hits (No referring link) 17 Hits www.google.com/search 11 Hits www.arch-usa.com/ 7 Hits https://www.google.gr/ (Keywords Unavailable) 6 Hits https://www.google.it/ (Keywords Unavailable) 6 Hits https://www.google.pl/ (Keywords Unavailable) 5 Hits https://www.google.ca/ (Keywords Unavailable) 4 Hits https://www.google.fr/ (Keywords Unavailable) 3 Hits www.arch-usa.com/welcome-to-arch/ 3 Hits www.google.ru/imgres?imgurl=http://www.arch-usa.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/nike-air-huarache-cool-grey-2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.arch-usa.com/blog/category/nike-running/&h=426&w=640&tbnid=uPlETOh1VEJBgM:&zoom=1&docid=75-EXoXi2-s0yM&ei=vaAdVYq5DsKpsAGK-ILwAg&tbm=isch&ved=0CBoQMygSMBI4rAIImage Search 3 Hits www.google.sk/ (Keywords Unavailable) 3 Hits https://www.google.com.hk/ (Keywords Unavailable) 3 Hits https://www.google.nl/ (Keywords Unavailable) 2 Hits archceo.startlogic.com/ 2 Hits m.facebook.com/ 2 Hits r.search.yahoo.com/ (Keywords Unavailable) 2 Hits r.search.yahoo.com/ (Keywords Unavailable) 2 Hits tw.search.yahoo.com — adidas tubular usa 2 Hits www.google.com — fruity color jordans 2 Hits www.google.com/ (Keywords Unavailable) 2 Hits www.google.com — 2015 nike air max id grey and white 2 Hits www.google.com — lebron soldier 7 easter 2 Hits www.google.com — Nike Air Max Womens tailwind white/green 2 Hits www.google.com/#26 (Keywords Unavailable) What this kind of tells me is that with books, the traffic is dictated primarily by Social Media. With sneakers my traffic is dictated by Google search. Which is a very interesting analysis and I hope this information kind of helps you in what you're working on. I hate that I missed the twitter interview. I just know now that if I am to build an artistic platform it will have to take place using social media since people aren't really searching for "literary topics". I guess the question is how do we drive interest in AALBC if the people aren't searching for that type of content and the people that are are also writers looking to advertise their work? It's like Poets & Writers writing and asking me to advertise in their upcoming release. Writers read those magazines, and those writers aren't really looking to read other writers, they are looking to be read. So why would I pay for advertising there?

Good luck with your writing. I guess the best thing to do is look for a community locally to get feedback on your writing. The next thing is to use this site as reference and look up agents and to purchase a Writer's Market to pursue an agent if you are looking at traditional publishing. If you have the time and spirit then hire an editor, this site has references and self publish. The world is yours if you want to really pursue the business. Who knows you may crack the market wide open and do great things. Write questions and I'm sure we will all look and answer if it fits out scope of expertise so you have an online community to call on. Stay Motivated!

I want to be that bold. I really do. You know I'm pulling for you in making such a major move. I will be looking for that inspiration.

I will keep you posted on the book. I'm asking about the ad in general because I think that book is less likely to perform well here than Archie's Psalm. Blacks tend to by business or motivational books only from preachers or celebrity speakers. Hence Steve Harveys success. On the Amazon thing, I have certain shoes on my site available on my site but I haven't sold a pair of those. I very rarely share info from my site and unless I post a new shoe the only traffic derives from search. Since I do have amazon associates as my shop now link I can see a few sales generated through the site but I have yet to change the site over to sell direct to the customer only. The interesting thing is I could give the customer much better prices, but I just don't think I would get as many sales. I have the same problem on CBP. I have copies of my books but my amazon shop now is more prominent than my own buy now buttons. My pathology is unsettling.

I think it's an admirable thing to do. Kind of like Toms and Bobs and several other companies that "give" back. There are multiple companies online that are set up to give back. When you say this is one way to do it, I assume you are talking about celebrity though right? Because I tend to think most "give" back companies just lucked up a marketing strategy. Honestly that is the only way to really make a dent is with a catchy marketing campaign, unless you have celebrity, millions behind you or a really strong family background that created a small biz mindset early on. I would feel somewhat dishonest in saying that my shoe company gives back, when my goal in having a shoe company is 1. I like sneakers 2. I want to make money and I am not really interested in giving back to a charity. I prefer to give back to help other entrepreneurs start their own ventures. In other words I want my dough, if I can get it. It's selfish, I know, but it's honest unlike Toms which has added other segments to their company that doesn't apply to the give back rule. It always comes back to the money. Toms made it because of the money the guy who started it had and his ability to get to market first with a concept. When I hear about these companies that get started by giving back it always feels a little shady. I look at the background of the founder and very rarely is that background one of single parent or low income status. very rarely is that background one that doesn't feature a star or celebrity. So then the question becomes how does the regular every day person do this without access to capital or celebrity? I'm glad she is using her celebrity for a cause, because she can't accept a dime of money or it will end her amateur status and she can't play college basketball like she hopes to do (which is really a crock of bullshiggity) but that's a different discussion. Check out this old article about the lack of transparency in Toms. I hope Mo'ne and her handlers figure it out, but the shoe biz is very difficult to crack. At any time Nike can come along and make a Toms styled shoe and wipe out the brand if they get too irritating no matter how "good" they are. http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2012/05/toms-shoes-buy-one-give-one

There is no way The Montgomery Bus Boycott would happen today. Convenience is king and brick and mortar stores are falling everyday. I actually have enough of a cushion to move my store from Amazon, but I'm terrified that I won't get the traffic to my site. But I understand the benefit of building my site and I've created great information and I have the product, but I simply don't push my shoe site out there to the masses. That 15% is a huge number that they take and my Amazon Associates doesn't generate enough to offset that 15% they take each month which equates to roughly 3-4K per month they take. My own convenience costs me money on a daily basis and I won't fix it. smh What I have done is start to empower the next generation. Just this week I taught a rapper how to create his own downloads on his site. No middle man at all. I told him to do what you are doing, post his videos to Youtube, make sure he links to his site and put the Download button right under his videos. He has to pay for the plugin but I set it up really nice and clean: http://www.swiftizm.com/brand-new-music-video-icantlie/ The good thing is he can see how many times it has been downloaded. More important once he decides to charge it's as easy as paying for the 25 dollar plug in and boom! He is his own music store. I attempted to teach a class on setting up sites like this and no one responded. Well two artists did and their sites are moving along quickly. Everyone I talk to who isn't as invested in their platform as I am with Amazon I am directing to go straight to the consumer. I've always known this, but it's been reinforced by the Dame Dash discussion as of late. I understand completely on the use of Facebook. I use it primarily for what it is, finding old friends. I don't have a fan page any longer for either of my companies. Well when I mentioned ARCH they instantly reactivated the old page, but I haven't checked in on it. I do know that you can generate traffic with negative material so I often post something in my hater voice and watch the interactions pile up. I've been doing a lot more responding on sites using Disqus. I have yet to invest in Youtube, though I'm planning a series of Google Hangout videos that will be saved to Youtube. You should look into that as well. It's a nice feature. How is the add on your homepage performing? I'm planning out advertising and I'm still trying to figure out the best way to work with aalbc. I guess it's good that you are mentioned several times in my new book and the link will be active in the ebook. What's funny is that book derived from a negative interaction on Facebook... so Facebook is good for something, lol.

Yep, for selling my own stuff! I submitted all of my GS1 info and they said that I couldn't sell ARCH on Ebay, it was insane. The good thing is that Square is a much faster set up and you can collect your money each day. Unfortunately, most people love and only know Paypal. I have Amazon payments, but it was only used through Kickstarter. I have a Square store, but I still don't have it set up. I have been contemplating moving from Amazon to Square to control all of my product and get that 15% back, but I would spend that 15% trying to get the customers from Amazon to my site... it's a really tough decision to make for me.

Crazy! Do you know Paypal and Ebay closed my Paypal because I listed my own shoes that I made on my store? I own ARCH and these idiots said it was a knockoff brand. I gave them my GS1 information and UPCs and they closed my account! Now tell me if that ain't a crock of poopie! A long time ago they closed my account because some guy lied and said I sold him fake shoes. What's crazy is I sent them the receipt from Nike, and then I showed them that the guy was trying to sell the shoes on his Ebay page. They sided with the buyer and killed my online biz with Ebay and paypal costing me 5-7000 bucks per month. The moral of the story is... Paypal can do whatever the hell they want because they have a lock on the market. The way to go now is to use Square or Amazon, but so many people are comfortable with Paypal that you are literally stuck with them. Oh well...

I'm reading Divergent since the movie is coming out, but honestly I'm not reading it. I've had it sitting next to the bed for the past two weeks, but can't seem to dig in and get started. I guess it's because I'm working on something new in business writing. I tend to shut down from reading when I'm writing. I guess I am reading a lot of blogs. I've been helping a lot of people redesign their websites and I've been thinking a lot about my next move. I have a host of books that I want to review for CBP, but I just haven't gotten to them. I guess this is why it's really hard to sell books if you aren't actively running around selling yourself.

Janelle actually just became a Cover Girl and despite her being very counter culture in her music and art, she is now being featured on all of the night time talk shows (almost in more places than Lupita but it's hard to compare since they are in completely different industries). She is pretty calculated in her approach and she will only wear black and white in homage to her mother when she is on stage or in performance mode which is why she isn't in the gowns at award shows so much. If she's wearing a different color, it's an accessory and we see Lupita at awards shows because it's her job to be there. Janelle's mother was a maid hence her uniform of black and white. She tends to only attend shows where she is performing primarily so she wouldn't be selected to wear the designer labels. I didn't backtrack, I simplified my discussion points. I still think darker people are less prone to acne, I still think Lupita is beautiful and I really think that the Natural hair movement today is a lot more involved than it has ever been in our history. I don't have to prove this, a basic Google of natural hair will show how diverse the discussion is and how the current movement has actually sparked financial wealth for a lot of those involved. I don't think the Black is beautiful movement created wealth... tell me if I'm wrong. Until Carol's Daughter sold, the natural hair market was being pretty much dominated by Black owned companies (and Coconut Oil, but I'm overlooking that for the sake of my point, lol). I think the same empowerment is definitely there, but this movement is something completely different. I think it actually deserves to be studied in depth based on the social ( which is similar to the 60s) and the financial (curly Nikki, Cara B, Carol's Daughter, Motown Girl, my wife's site www.natural-ness.com and a host of other sites out there) ramifications that are allowing women to discuss the decision to become natural in a fantastic old school empowering way as well as a financially empowering way.

So I guess I'll find a black article that supports what I've seen but it won't matter. I know what light skin is. You really crack me up. When I bring up my history it's to make a point about how people describe dark skinned women. My discussions with those students was important since they dealt with a lot more than the other immigrants at the school. My mother was yellow and so is my sister. I've dated every shade and find women attractive in a variety of shades. I tend to personally like athletic women, but I think Jill Scott is stunning. Natural hair goes in and out of fashion but there has never been a time like now in regard to the kind of narrative being built around natural hair and the culture that has been created to support women who are natural. Black women are beautiful which gets us back to the original point but I'm sure we will find something else to debate. As far as lupita being the it girl, janelle monae actually holds that title in my opinion and she is incredibly beautiful...Dorothy dandridge beautiful. Good discussion though over a pretty straightforward topic.

Yeah but Lupita also has a nice ass, and that's not boyish. Some guys like breast, some don't and the idea that a woman's hair is groomed by a barber and that aligns her with being boyish is absurd. Once again, I had Sudanese female students who thought they were ugly and not beautiful based on similar comments as yours. I spent all of my time making sure they understood that they weren't boyish and that their high cheekbones and smooth skin was attractive and beautiful. That their short natural hair was just as beautiful as the mixed race, latino and asian students at the school. This wasn't just me saying this to make them feel better it was true. The girls were just beautiful. But I do get that you are saying it's a fashion industry type, I choose not to say they are boyish so that is what it is. In regard to voluptuous... most of the time Black women and any women who consider themselves as such are just fat. That's it, they are fat. Very often women who think they are thick, are just fat. I chose Serena as an example of an athletic woman who had curves. I do know what the word means, but I was giving an example of a different athletic body shape since we were talking about Lupita. In regard to the article, I chose that because of this section: We know that genetics have a major influence on our skin colour, skin resilience and vulnerability to certain skin problems. In addition, people with a lot of body hair, often have a greater tendency to oily skin and blocked secretory glands resulting in pimples and other similar skin conditions People of different races have the same number of melanocytes but they are more active in dark-skinned people. Oil glands tend to be more numerous and large in black skin, and follicles tend to be larger, so black skin tends toward oiliness, although it is less acne-prone. The darker the skin the more protection melanin provides from ultra-violet rays of the sun and from premature aging and stays younger-looking longer. If those lines don't state that darker skinned people specifically women like Lupita or Sudanese people tend to not even grow beards or a lot of body hair. This means that they don't have as many blocked pores so they have less acne. In the second part it states clearly that "black skin is less acne prone." I'm certain there is more evidence out there, but I'm not going to look it up, I'm just basing this on the student populations I taught where we had over 50 dialects and at least 10 different African nationalities and my African students who were darker simply didn't have as many facial blemishes as their peers. The only students who did have blemishes has tribal scarification. There are a number of factors that affect skin, but in general darker skinned people tend to have less acne. Everyone likes what they like, so arguing what's attractive is really a waste of time because we all like certain things. In regard to women being less critical, only when they begin to run out of their first options/choices. LOL

I think Lupita is fit and and attractive and not boyish at all. Troy you used the word voluptuous... Serena Williams is voluptuous and athletic. She has larger breasts and a larger butt, which is associated with womanhood obviously, but you also hear people say that the Williams sisters look like men in drag. The common conception of Blacks it seems is that fitness and healthy body shapes are less womanly and more manly. Hence your opinion. The sister just has small breasts and let's be real White people do not like small breasts (unless you are referring to fashion only where they want small frames so clothes can hang like on a hanger) Like you said though that is personal preference. The former athlete and coach in me admires women who are physically fit. Most women who are really ahtletic tend to have smaller breasts (by default because the fat distribution is different for athletes). I think that idea of "boyish" is what stops a lot of Black women from shooting for more athletic and physically fit bodies. I mean I've heard women say, "I don't want to look like a man." Which is directly in line with the idea of your "Lupita is boyish." I simply think she is small and while you state that she is what White America finds beautiful, that totally overlooks Queen Latifah as a cover girl spokesperson (an especially high profile spokesperson). In regard to skin, I guess because when I worked as a teacher in San Diego my Sudanese and darker students very rarely had acne problems and they had issues with hygiene (I say this to establish that they didn't have the best regimen for skin care). Those genes were strong, but so was their dark skin. While my lighter skinned Ethiopian students had acne problems. But darker skin is less prone to acne. I haven't researched this, but it is true. here is an article that discusses skin types: http://www.crutchfielddermatology.com/treatments/ethnicskin/doesskincarevarywithskincolorandtype.asp#.VQrkLI7F-So I do agree that people spend a ridiculous amount of dough on hair and beautification products, but that's okay. Our appearance is the first thing we are judged on so it makes sense. Unfortunately, our community, Black people, we just have a lot of history that I still think has been shaped by our grandparents and parents about what beauty is. I guess all cultures have this issue. It's the idea that a dark skinned Puerto Rican reserves the right to claim his race as White on a birth certificate. White is right and this is never more evident in the south than when a woman cuts her hair off and goes around older Black women who all say that women with short hair look like men and must be THE gay.

I think that is the voice in everyone's head. I just tend to ignore it and do stuff. Sometimes it's pretty dumb stuff, but I think I'm on the right path. As far as the map thing, it's another one that will never happen.

Cashflo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If that isn't a rap name, I don't know what is! LOL

I've always loved Alek Wek! I happen to have always liked darker skin basically because the skin has very little damage or flaws in comparison to light skin which has a lot of blemishes and gets acne a lot easier. That's a personal preference which is why I have also been partial to natural hair as it shows a lot of confidence in my opinion, not saying that not having natural hair makes a woman less confidence or that hair creates confidence. That doesn't mean I haven't dated women with straight hair, I have. Anyway, Lupita is beautiful and not the flavor of the moment or boyish looking, but you two are older than I am and I almost expect that level of thought in regard to her look from older Blacks. (ooooohhhhhhh, lol) Seriously though, in the South from the moment we come out we are told that light is right, and more beautiful. I mean there are girls in the south who are worshipped because if their light skin and long straightened hair. But they have moustaches, acne and are typically built up funny, but they are still considered more beautiful than darker skinned women. The reality is beauty and grooming are billion dollar industries. I know guys that pay 40 dollars for a haircut every week and they are geting basically bald heads!!!!! We all adhere to some idea of what we think we should look like. In regard to the natural hair industry it is pretty doggone big and continuing to grow. Think about this Carol's Daughter (which actually sold), Miss Jessie, Jane Carter and Cara B Naturally are million dollar companies that cater to natural hair. This is a completely new thing and has only happened in the last few years. I think as Black women become even more independent and stop waiting on Black men to marry them they will start caring less about the straight hair that men want. (Is this kinda sexist?)

I guess with Lupita, I think she's just beautiful as hell, I never really paid attention to her body. Just like with Jill Scott, a lot of guys don't think she's attractive but I think she is gorgeous. My perspective on natural hair is skewed. I've always dated women with natural hair or when I dated them they went natural... But my wife runs www.natural-ness.com with her sister and although she is not as engaged in the site anymore, her work had her featured in Curly Nikki's book released last year. She even has a natural hair comic strip book I published. The hair industry is taking a serious hit though with perms. peep this article: http://www.mintel.com/press-centre/beauty-and-personal-care/hairstyle-trends-hair-relaxer-sales-decline And that was a few years ago. I think the more interesting statement is White America's acceptance of Lupita's look more than Black America's acceptance of her look. All of the women in my immediate family are natural and you are right, I see more women with weaves, perms, etc, but the numbers are changing really fast.

The almighty cliche... another bastion of misinformation and half truths. It is just too hard and tiring to analyze all of the problems. I say, do you. That is the most powerful bit of info that I think exists. I would add, "without malice" to that though. "Do you without malice or ill intent towards your fellow man." I guess that's just the golden rule though isn't it?