Troy

I have to purchase premium gas. Yesterday I paid the most for gas than I have ever had to pay im my life, $5.099 ( really wish they would stop pricing gas in 10th of a cent). In the early days of the pandemic gas was a cheap as I've seen it in recent memory less than 2 bucks! There has been a dramatic, and I'm sure unprecedented increase in the priced of gas in the last two years last two years. No, I don't buy the idea that Russia's behavior is the only reason for the increase. You don't think American's are not complaining enough about the price of gas? That said, gas is still relatively cheap here relative to other countries. In fact, the taxes on gas should be higher to reduce demand. Here in the south people drive big ass gas guzzling trucks for no particular reason. I'll be driving less. It is almost $70 for fill up my little 4 cylinder 2-door... and that is at Costco

Oprah To Host Interactive Book Club Conversation with the Author and Oprah Daily Insiders on June 30 only on OprahDaily.com Los Angeles - Oprah’s Book Club today announced the latest selection is “Nightcrawling,” the debut novel from Leila Mottley. “Nightcrawling,” published by Knopf, is available now wherever books are sold. Oprah will sit down with the author alongside Oprah Daily Insiders for an interactive book club gathering on Thursday, June 30, in addition to immersive editorial content being available for readers on OprahDaily.com, the online hub of Oprah’s Book Club. Oprah announced the selection on CBS Mornings, as Mottley then joined the hosts in-studio to discuss the latest Oprah’s Book Club selection and the surprising way she found out her novel was being chosen. You can view the CBS Mornings segment HERE. “It brings me great joy to introduce readers to new authors, and this young poet Leila Mottley wrote a soul-searching portrait of survival and hope,” said Oprah Winfrey. “I was absolutely floored when Ms. Winfrey popped up in what I thought was going to be a regular meeting,” said Leila Mottley. “It was the surprise of a lifetime! I am beyond grateful to be able to share my debut novel with the passionate readers of Oprah’s Book Club.” “Nightcrawling” tells the story of Kiara and her brother, Marcus, who are scraping by in an East Oakland apartment complex optimistically called the Regal-Hi. Both have dropped out of high school, their family fractured by death and prison. But while Marcus clings to his dream of rap stardom, Kiara hunts for work to pay their rent—which has more than doubled—and to keep the nine-year-old boy next door, abandoned by his mother, safe and fed. One night, what begins as a drunken misunderstanding with a stranger turns into the job Kiara never imagined wanting but now desperately needs: nightcrawling. Her world breaks open even further when her name surfaces in an investigation that exposes her as a key witness in a massive scandal within the Oakland Police Department. About Oprah’s Book Club Oprah’s Book Club connects a worldwide community of readers to stories that truly matter by today’s most thought-provoking authors. Readers around the world can join the conversation on Oprah’s Book Club across social media using @OprahsBookClub and on OprahDaily.com. All selections are available now on Apple Books in both ebook and audiobook at apple.co/OprahsBookClub, and wherever books are sold. About Oprah Daily In 2021, building on the mission and legacy of O, The Oprah Magazine, Oprah Winfrey and Hearst Magazines introduced Oprah Daily, a new multi-platform lifestyle venture offering audiences the content and tools to make living their best lives a daily practice. The brand features digital destination OprahDaily.com, offering the latest in wellness, culture, personal growth, style, beauty and more—including Oprah Daily Insiders, a special membership-only community where Insiders connect live with Oprah and each other in her monthly livestream The Life You Want Class; as well as with Editor-at-Large Gayle King, Creative Director Adam Glassman and other O personalities for exclusive events, videos, lives and more. The brand also publishes O Quarterly, a premium print edition published four times a year, available on newsstands and included with every Insider membership. Follow Oprah Daily on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. # # #

Here in the south people say things like “i need to protect my family.” This is despite the fact that there are few instances where someone successfully thwarts a home invader by killing then before they are killed. It is far more likely a kid in the home will use a that gun to accidentally kill themselves or someone else. Many believe there is a pending race war violent over throw off the government and are arming themselves in preparation. given the “news” being fed on Fox News, and amplified on social media it is completely understandable why people feel this way.

Yeah TSA went over my baby stroller with a fine tooth comb but kids too young to buy a beer can legally roam the streets with a rifle

Coinbase Lets Users Know What a Bankruptcy Could Mean for Their Crypto https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-11/coinbase-gives-256-billion-reminder-about-agonies-of-bankruptcy

For me there is no compelling use case for crypto for the general population. It is no surprise the mark who paid 3 million for Dorsey's first tweet will was not able to resell it for a profit. But I understand if someone is willing to pay $70MM for a jpeg others will try to jump on the band wagon -- even if they can only make a fraction of that amount. But who, other than someone fantastically wealthy would spend that much on an NFT? As far as the energy required to mine that is a problem which is not limited to crypto. As long as people are making money we will not address this issue. Again the problem is much bigger than Crypto. The price of Crypto could be described as being in "free fall" since this past winter (see charts below) but this probably considered a buying opportunity for a investor with a high risk tolerance.

Yes white supremacy is real. I doubt any Black person over 25 will dispute that. The link you provided of the bus being tossed for weed is a good example. My point of contention is that it is "getting much worse, week by week." I don't agree with the statement. Perhaps I need to better understand what you mean... Are you comparing the racism today with the racism of the 19th century, or the racism of the Jim Crow era? Surely you can't believe racism today is worse that those periods. Are you asserting that racism is worse today than last year or the year before? If so, I think you are just reading more accounts of racism and are getting the impression it is worse. It todays algorithmically driven social media world I suspect you are simply seeing more incidents and more frequently and it is making you believe racism is worse today. A generation ago thet story you shared would have been a local story -- it if made the news at all. There would have been no video footage and you would have not known about it at all. As a result it is not possible to use these stories to draw the conclusion that racism is getting worse. The are however much easier ways to quantify racism and in ways that we can you'll conclude that racism is decreasing. That does not mean that it does not exist. you and I will not see and send of racism. Are biggest problem is that stories of racism make the news and stories of racial unity do not, as a result people get the false impression that racism is getting worse.

Fat Ham, by James Ijames A funny, poignant play that deftly transposes "Hamlet" to a family barbecue in the American South to grapple with questions of identity, kinship, responsibility, and honesty.

Of course my distain for how Wikipedia is used is motivated by my self interest and that of my people. @Stefan, did you not see a problem with how biased the editors were for promoting the most scandalous aspects of the lives of Zane and Terry McMillian? Do you also not see how corporations like Goodreads, Google, and Facebooks copying of that scandalous of information helps that negative information propagate more quickly and more widely cross the web. I appreciate most people don't get it (which is why I wrote the article) or if they do get it they may not care. Yes, as a book seller, I am more aware of the accomplishments of writers like Zane and McMillan, so when I saw their lives described as it they are no more than tax cheats and victims of cat fishing. I did not like it. Corporations marginalize Black people is ways we can not full appreciate. So, if you want to sing Wikipedia's praises go ahead, but based upon what I know I will not.

Thanks Richard. Of course spam on your blog has increased since i blocked guest posts on the forum… i honestly believe someone just wants to make my life miserable. @Pioneer1 would say it is an overt act of racism.

That is a problem, for it would have revealed that your conclusion is baseless. I suspect that is not the only response of mine you have not read. Do you think it is better to ignore my thoughts and superimpose yours? I agree; Wikipedia can be very biased. Check out how they portrayed a couple of Black writers in an unnecessarily overly negative light: “What is Wrong with Goodreads and Wikipedia?”

@richardmurray can you see the spam on your blog? I’m just checking before i delete them.

Yeah compared to the spam on the boards the spam on your blog is negligible -- at least up until now.

Well, they are doing a horrible job in so far as Black people are concerned.

Absolutely. Unfortunately, Black people get played the most and we do very little about it. Whether it is through ignorance, apathy, helplessness, or greed, collectively we don't very much to change our situation. ...and that is entirely understandable.

Wikipedia is another problem. People volunteer to update it, but companies like Google monetize it. if i monetize Wikipedia the way Google does, Google would bury me in their search results. Again, as with journalism, people expect encyclopedias, like Wikipedia, to be “free.” It is not rational. As a result we have a sub par product. i won’t even get into how Wikipedia citations are exploited by marketers.

I’m not so sure the federal government will be so willing to pay three years of back rent for people in New York City. Hope do you sell that to the rest of the country without giving them something too? The solution will need to be local as the problem is local (mostly). The last place you went to be behind in your rent is New York City. NYC can’t not evict everyone who is behind on their rent as a result of the pandemic. They must find a solution. As does every municipality in this situation. Up next: student loans. On deck: health care.

@richardmurray here are two spam guest comments on your blog. I guess I’ve been deleting them before you see them. Maybe you can’t see guest messages until I approve them?

Why do you refuse to play real dollars to obtain it? It cost real dollars to generate "the best news reportage." This is the crux of the problem. People have been programmed to think journalism is free. Stefan's stance helps explain why. The situation is much worse for Black publications simply because they have FAR less support to begin with. I not saying that YOU are lying. What I am saying is that the NY Post's coverage was once sided and, as a result, a poor source to understand what actually happened an why. @Stefan I read the Black Enterprise article. The NY Post was a better. The BE article was a rehashing of the NY Post article with images taking from Twitter. They did not add any additional incite or information. As a side bar: I thought the Google ads here were intrusive, but the ad situation at Black Enterprise is intolerable! I could barely read the article. That coupled with the fact that the article was cobbled from the NY Post's article, gives me pause for concern regarding BE's content. What do the rest of y'all think?

If the account is "true," then tell me why she was treated like a "leper" and "banned." Surely there must be a reason, or some form of justification, whether we agree with it or not. What is it? Black Enterprise covered the story. Please share a link I'd like to read the article. Black Enterprise, unfortunately, is no longer what it once was. What do y'all think of the trajectory of the publication over the past two decades? That said I'll support the business as long as it exists.

I have no though on the matter as I was unaware of, or have completely forgotten about. the initial effort. Is Orkut Black owned? Actually I liked the opening sentiments and have signed up for the updates. The problem, unfortunately, is that in order to do all the good things promised in their opening salvo will require Orkut to do things that the other corporate site do... that is unless they charge people to use the service.... and you know people think everything online should be free. AALBC secured some modest funding and will be working to improve the site over the next few months. I'm also looking into alternative ways to support the site without the use of Google ads which have become increasing intrusive over the years.

@Stefan, coming from New York City, I have to tell you (perhaps again), the New York Post is not known for its journalistic excellence. It is a classic tabloid biased to sensationalism over accuracy. I would not cite it as a source of racism, or anything else, for that reason. I did however read the article as it was possible I knew the principal, as I got to know a lot of educators in NYC, a couple of whom founded schools. The City started many new schools sometimes taking an existing school and breaking it up into 4 difference schools with all the reductant overhead and additional cost--paying 4 principals where previously one was paid. I always though this was a bad idea... but I digress. I read the article and it only told one side of the story. Did the Post even try to get the current principal's side of the story? The other side of the story was all hearsay, so we don't really know why the former principal was not welcomed with open arms--maybe she deserved to be treated the way she was treated. To jump to the conclusion that it is racism is a real stretch.

Richard, I changed this on each forum individually. I did not touch the blogs, so I don’t see why anything should have changed there. Has your blog ever been spammed? Thanks for your support! Yes, if you blow up, that will be the true test of your relationship with the site 🙂

Oh, I can say with certainty that it will not end in our lifetime. But I do believe it will end. Maybe, maybe not, but i don’t know. Do you think more white people are racist today than say 50 years ago?

Man auto correct actually changes what you type all after you’ve moved on. My typos would be better than the corrections. @Stefan I meant to write “Do you believe…” it was a question not a presumption. I don’t care about Twitter; what i do care about is Black people who use it to the point that there is a so-called “Black Twitter.” I wish there was a Black-owned platform(s) that we embraced with the same gusto. But we will continue enriching the worlds wealthiest people rather than supporting our own. @richardmurray they wouldn’t even need to scarifce it, just continue some of it 🙂 Actually more of this is actually happening; for example there are many efforts today to support Black entrepreneurs. Racism will end one day. It is ending now. Racism is a relatively, short bump in the road In the evolution humanity. We just had the unfortunate experience of living through the tail end of it. It could have been worse; Imagine living in 1822 rather than 2022.