Troy

Is BLM still a thing? How old is that video. All of the NOI representatives, who speak to the general public are highly trained and skilled speakers.

true but all of those things are symptoms of businesses, struggling with limited resources, i.e. money to pay folks. and of course, there’s a shortage of nurses and teachers; poor pay, and the high cost of getting the credentials needed to do the jobs make them harder to fill. But once those professionals are in their roles, they they have tools that make them infinitely more efficient. again, none of the technology that has made the world more efficient has financially benefited the middle class. I mean we all have smart phones, but most of us spend our time scrolling through screens, we are manipulated into watching. our best and brightest are not out there trying to cure cancer or end world hunger. They’re trying to get you to spend another microsecond on some social media app or come up with some crazy financial product — whether it’s a stupid ape NFT, or a toxic mortgage there’s no end to to the get rich, quick schemes out geniuses spend their time cooking up . i do think AI will make things worse. It SHOULD make things much better, but we are too greedy to do anything other than make as much money as we can no matter what the impact is on all the people. How is this related to @harry brown’s original post? Heck if I know?

Depends on what you mean by middle class @ProfD. according to pew research the middle class earns an increasingly smaller share of the nation’s income and are less able to just absorb increases. Living in the big city, you probably don’t see people putting $10 of gas in their tank, rather than filling it up.

well people don’t really have a choice. They have to go to work, the store, etc. the price it does fluctuate, and while it’s highest price it is higher that it has been. But the cost of energy has also higher and did not fluctuate like gas prices — water is even more expensive. My water Bill is like 10 times what it was 10 years ago.

Well I’ve once we acknowledge that we have common problems, perhaps we’ll behave less tribally and the violence occurring in northeast Africa wouldn’t be happening.

Plus we are more efficient. You don’t need as many people to manufacture things or grow our food. you don’t need telephone operators, secretaries, travel agents, people to man toll booths or subway stations, etc. Of course, none of the financial benefits of this increased efficiency have gone to the masses. The billionaires just gained even more wealth. Our productivity has gone up, but people really don’t feel it because everything has gotten so much more expensive. In an economy, where there is increased, efficiency one would expect lower prices. If there is no longer a need for someone to hand out tokens in the subway, why does it cost more to ride the train? If we don’t need people to collect tolls, why has the toll increased? If the United States is energy independent, why do gasoline and utilities cost so much more?

There will be a "global tribe" one day, where concept of racism becomes obsolete. We just need something to become unified against. Maybe that will be climate change, maybe it will be an alien invasion. Whatever if is, it will have to happen. Otherwise, we cannot survive as a species.

Oh, the answer to all three of your questions is simple. Those "UFOligists" are crack pots. The nature of your questions and the way you posed them should have made this obvious.

The entire society would probably be better served if we all kept our sexual predilections in the closet. We talk too damn much, then get mad when others don't embrace what we have to say. As someone approaching 70, I'm not in favor of rigid age rules like that. The are some 70-yeard-olds who are quite vibrant and some 40-year-olds who are useless. Similarly, it makes little sense to me for it to be against the laws for a 20-year-old to drink a beer in a bar, but that same person can die in some war on foreign soil. Sure, if you are ceasing up at the podium or are literarily at death's door -- it is past time for you to go. Maxine is 85, should she have been forced to the sidelines 15 years ago? I don't know enough about her, or her record to say, but I don't get the sense that she should have been removed. Dianne Feinstein was another story -- she was clearly too infirmed to do the most basic part of her job -- show up.

You did a good job. I would however tweak this notion: The white supremist is a tool of the powerful, not unlike our politicians and media. As greedy or evil as they may be, I don't think the folks really running things are stupid enough to be racist. What does "VGQ" mean?

I see bowers eventually did the cover

https://blackfilmarchive.com/

Hi @Terry Wells-Jones thanks for sharing your story with us. Please share a link to your site.

Really? Regarding blacks being pro immigration. On my old block the house next to the one I owned (119st off Lenox) is being used to house migrants and the folks there are protesting this. The mayor of NYC said they are going to do everything to house the migrants and was pleading for help form the federal government. They can’t even house NYC citizens but are bending over backwards for the migrants… I’m not sure what you mean by being “pro-lgbt.” what would you have done with gays and lesbians @Pioneer1?

He was very repetitive, but has a point when it comes to the lack of desire to pay attention to Black Africa. yeah @ProfD I thought the school was opened by now. He said as much a few years ago. i saw one brother serving in the Israeli army. It would be interesting to know his story.

Media Contact: Steven Silvers | 720-402-8820 | communications@tatteredcover.com Tattered Cover initiates Chapter 11 reorganization to obtain new financing, improve inventory and strengthen operations for long-term sustainability Elects to use streamlined Small Business Reorganization provisions of Chapter 11 (Subchapter V) to expedite restructuring process while arranging up to $1 million in debtor-in-possession loan financing from existing investors and board members More books and products, consolidation of store locations among actions to position Tattered Cover for a successful holiday sales season DENVER (October 16, 2023) Bended Page, LLC, which owns and operates Tattered Cover Book Store, announced today that it has filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 Subchapter V in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado. Utilizing the streamlined small business features of Chapter 11 will allow Tattered Cover to obtain supportive financing while working quickly toward overcoming substantial financial issues that have stymied the iconic, beloved 52-year-old independent bookstore’s liquidity and ability to recover from changing market conditions exacerbated by the COVID pandemic. Once approved by the court, Tattered Cover will have access up to $1 million in debtor-in-possession financing provided by a newly created entity comprised of current company board members and investors. This new funding will be used to obtain much-needed additional inventory in time for the critical 2023 holiday consumer buying season, fulfill customer orders, upgrade technology, and to maintain operations and staff compensation during the restructuring process. Congress enacted small business provisions of Subchapter V of Chapter 11 in 2020 to provide a more cost-efficient, streamlined process for revenue-generating small businesses like Tattered Cover and promote a faster path to successful financial and operational reorganization. “The board of directors, senior management, and prospective lenders and investors agree that reorganizing with the favorable tools of Subchapter V of Chapter 11 is the most expeditious way to regain our financial footing so Tattered Cover can continue its long legacy as a favorite Colorado destination and champion the First Amendment for generations to come,” said Brad Dempsey, a Colorado native and Denver attorney who was appointed Chief Executive Officer in July. “Our objective is to put Tattered Cover on a smaller, more modern and financially sustainable platform that will ensure our ability to serve Colorado readers for many more decades,” Dempsey said. “Restructuring for long-term viability requires managers to make very difficult business decisions that affect people and business partners, and we intend to do what we can to minimize these impacts. We’re thankful for the professionalism and dedication of our management and staff in helping Tattered Cover transition to its next successful era.” Dempsey reiterated that all customer gift cards will be honored and orders will continue to be fulfilled without interruption. “Since I’ve come on as CEO, support from Tattered Cover customers, the community and business partners has been simply incredible,” he said. “We’re going to do our best to get people to continue coming into the store, as well as ordering online during this holiday season. A strong holiday season will help expedite the completion of our reorganization process.” With all actions subject to court approval, Tattered Cover will continue its operations but will begin implementing the following steps to facilitate the restructuring: Tattered Cover will close three stores from its seven current locations: Denver’s McGregor Square, Westminster and Colorado Springs. Closure of these locations is expected to begin October 23, 2023 and be completed by early November. Inventory and technology from the three closing locations will be promptly transferred to the store’s four other locations, where it will be business as usual with much improved inventory at Colfax Ave. and Union Station in Denver, Aspen Grove Shopping Center in Littleton, and the children’s store at Stanley Marketplace in Aurora. Events currently scheduled for October and November 2023 at closing locations will be rescheduled, if possible, to take place at the store’s remaining locations. All event information will be updated on TatteredCover.com. The TatteredCover.com web site will continue to operate and fulfill orders as normal. Tattered Cover’s “Friends of Tattered Cover” loyalty program and related benefits will continue without interruption, including private shopping events for members to be scheduled during the holidays. At least 27 staff positions out of Tattered Cover’s current 103 positions will be impacted by the closures. Some impacted employees may fill temporary seasonal positions at the remaining stores during the holiday season. The company is working to develop severance packages for eligible employees affected by the closures. All customer gift cards will be honored and orders will continue to be fulfilled without interruption. Debtor-in-possession financing is being provided by a new entity that currently includes current investor board members Leslie Rainbolt and Margie Gart. The company’s restructuring will be led by its senior management team of Brad Dempsey, CEO, Margie Keenan, CFO, Jeremy Patlen, COO, and Alexis Miles, Vice President of Human Resources. Previously Vice President of Buying Jeremy Patlen has officially been named Chief Operating Officer, after having informally served in that capacity since February. Tattered Cover’s Denver International Airport locations will continue operating as part of a license agreement with Hudson Bookstores. ABOUT TATTERED COVER Founded in 1971, Tattered Cover is Colorado’s largest independent bookstore. Noted literary and free speech advocate Joyce Meskis, who passed away in December 2022, became sole owner in 1973, leading the store to become an iconic, nationally-recognized Colorado destination for residents and tourists alike. The store was acquired by Len Vlahos and Kristen Gilligan in 2015, and then by Bended Page, LLC in December 2020. ###

@aMhayes post a like to the site.

Yeah, celebrity gossip and dysfunction, particularly when it is of a sexual or violent nature sell every well. I just added Jada's new boo to the site. Honestly, with some apprehension. Ultimately my goal is to include every book written by or about Black people going back to Our Nig, so, as "creepy" as it may be, I have to include Worthy.

This is true and something that is well known and used by business owners. Clubs maintain lines outside, unnecessarily, to creative this illusion -- this counterintuitively increases demand. Maybe I need to figure out a ways to show popularity to drive demand. I just recently started adding my newsletter subscriber count to the end of my newsletters. But then you have to contend with the other man's colder ice conundrum Yeah, as the culture continues to drive people toward our baser nature this will become increasingly true. The New York Times success with their paywall (which I subscribe) is promising, as it demonstrated there is stil demand for content that requires a deeper dive -- which is costly to produce. I will.

KUSA-TV in Colorado reports: The Tattered Cover bookstore chain has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, three years after the iconic local business was sold to an investment group, and plans to close three of its stores over the next two weeks. The bankruptcy filing on Monday said Tattered Cover owes its creditors, numbering in the hundreds, between $1 million and $10 million. The company listed its assets in the same broad range. Why do I care? Well, I always considered the Tatter Cover a great indie store. I visited two of the chains, one as recently as 2021. The stores were just a great space for book lovers. The 50+ year old chain was the target of a LOT criticism for not supporting Black Lives Matter. They were not against it, they chose to remain neutral. In the moment, I was like who cares. I though the social media mob bolstered by headline chasing media was hypercritical and unnuanced. The store was sold, apparently under pressure, to an investment group which was co-owned by a brother, Kwame Spearman who eventually became the CEO of the Tattered Cover CEO bookstore chain. At that time, I considered adding the Tattered Cover to my list of Black-Owned bookstores, which would have easily made the Tattered Civer that largest Black-owned Indie bookstore chain -- perhaps ever (based upon total square footage). The only one that came close would have been the now defunct Karibu Bookstore chain which operated out of the DMW a decade ago. The only reason I did not add the store was because it was not clear to me if it was truly Black-owned as Kwame has partners and I was pretty sure he did not own the majority of the firm. I did reach out for clarification, but no one responded. Kwame stepped down from his role as CEO, back in April, to focus on for the Denver school board. Issues of ownership aside. The closure of these stores is a loss to the community and does not bode well for bookstores in general.

I watched the trailer but did not read your detailed response as I’ve want to see the movie first. I see it is based upon Percival Everett’s novel Erasure. Looks like I really should read that first.

Today I added two books to the site: Temple Folk by Aaliyah Bilal and Worthy by Jada Pinkett Smith Both books are enjoying a great deal of notoriety right now. Worthy simply because it is about Jada and Temple Folk because it is critically acclaimed and a finalist for this year's National Book Award for Fiction. I could care less about Jada's book. The media is besides themselves all excited about the revelation that she and Will have been separated for 7 years {yawn}. My feelings have nothing to do with Jada personally, it is just my inability to comprehend our culture's fascination with celebrity gossip. Now Aaliyah's book sounds far more interesting to me. Her's is a fictionalized account of people in Nation of Islam. It sounds fascinating and not anything I'm aware that anyone has written about in this fashion. I can't imagine anyone doing it during the Nation's prime. I think Aaliyah's talk at the DC bookstore Politics and Prose is worth checking out. @Pioneer1 this might be something up your alley. For the Jada Pinkett Smith fans don't let me dissuade you from checking out her book. Here she is on the Today show with Hoda. Though this story has been all over the internet and anyone minimally interested in the Smiths will find no relations here:

Well, the reality is that today most people, certainly those under 40, tell me that AALBC HAS to be on social media. So the Brother may have actually believed what he was telling me. TicTok is often cited as one of those platforms. I tried TikTok for a couple of months hot minute and the number of views my videos got was decent, but the problem still remains. TikTok's goal is to boost engagement on their platform and that is how success is measured. I measure success by how many people come to AALBC.com as a result of my activities on the platform. TikTok did not result move the needle when it came to new visitors. Maybe I did not give it enough time, maybe I did not do it correctly... I dunno. I trying to figure all that out for the website I have no time trying to figure that out on TicTok. The reality is that I will get 10K people to open an email this week -- many more will visit this discussion forum alone through organic search. By any measure that is excellent, but no one cares unless it is happening on a social platform. If a few celebrities decided to post here from time to time I can't even imagine what it would do for the website

Thanks @Pioneer1 Years ago I attended a conference hosted by Black Enterprise who was touting the benefits of Twitter for Black Entrepreneurs. Being an entrepreneur I asked one of the panelists (not an entrepreneur) how can a platform we don’t own actually benefit Black people? The Brother who has subsequently risen to a senior position within Black Enterprise said he “rejected” my premise then went on to explain the benefits of Twitter. The brother did not get it. I would have explained if he asked, I saw Twitter, social media in general, as a threat to anyone running a content site on the web. Twitter was the sponsor so I understood the response. what I did not see was social’s exploitation of people’s narcissism, the need to gain and keep our attention at all costs — even too the point of hacking into our brains. twitter’s demise was delayed by President Trumps activity. Elon musk’s activity was the nail in the coffin. X well almost certainly never be profitable. Good riddance.

Twitter or X locked me out of my account a couple of weeks ago. I have not been able to access it since. I can't even look at my own twitter page. I've asked them to fix it several times, but I guess they are too understaffed to deal with me. I have now given up. Twitter and it’s so called "Black Twitter" are dead to me. It is only a matter of time before the platforms completely implodes. I predicted this a few years ago.