Troy

It is spelled "bologna." Remember the old Oscar Mayer Jingle -- Some ad exec figured out a way to burn this into my memory after almost 1/2 a century.

Seriously, I figured since it has made national news it must be pretty serious. What is the sentiment on the ground? Has it become like a scene from Mad Max in the Outback?

@Delano, have your been following the news about the record heat in Australia? The thinking is that it is a direct result of man-made climate change. It is being called an ecological disaster.

Yeah, religion has had a huge negative inpact on the world. It was used to justify American slavery. Consider all the wars, inquistions, and then there is that bit about my damnation But those days are largely over. most Europeans do not practice a religion. No one there is gonna go to battle over christianity It is only those nuts in the middle east who run around killing each other over religious differences. But even there the religious differences are used to minimalize the humanity of the people whose land they want to control. Many here are more interested in the positive aspects that come from practicing a religion the fellowship and community it offers. The rituals and dogma are falling to the wayside. Fundamentalists who take the bible literary are largely viewed as nutty. Sure politicians play to these people, but most politicans are not righteous people. @Delano and many atheists are great cooks.

@NubianFellow I feel you man. The very first lesson I learned when I started this business over 21 years ago is that Black people will NOT support you just because you are Black. Sure, there are some people who will but it is not very many -- certainly not enough to guarantee the success of a business. One Brother I'm working with actively supports Black businesses. he does not go around proclaiming it, but I observe how he operates and it is what he does. I even used him as an example in a a#readingblack video: I agree in that it seems like Black people often define success by the level of white validation. You have to be covered in their media, win their awards, have credentials from their companies and schools. If you are not validated by white folks Black folks will not recognize you as a success. This mentality feeds on itself because it increases our dependence on white folks for financial success. I'd argue in most cases you can not be successful without the white cosign. You mention social networks, I remember how excited I was to learn about the popularity of "Black Twitter." I read hearing about it all over the media and remember thinking, finally Black folks have gotten together and have built a social platform -- even earning the elusive white cosign. When I discovered it was just Black folks on Twitter -- I just shook my head. But there is hope. Think segregation, when we were forced to patronize our own business because we had no choice. Today as corporations screw us over, people are seeking alternatives. This will benefit all indie businesses including Black owned ones.

Perhaps it is because you are being watched, and very closely. Not only are we being being watched ,we are being subjected to all forms of manipulation, often without even realizing it. I know some feel this is alarmist, and over reacting, but it is still true. It is one reason I simply don't consume information on social media or consume news sources that "push" information to me in the form of a feed or notifications/alerts. I learn something new and interesting everyday, sometimes I share the information here on posts, but it is information I seek out. If you only read what you are told to read, or what some corporate algorithm chooses for you, then you are not thinking for yourself and are being manipulated -- like watching a continuous stream of commercials.

And then he proceeds to eviscerate all religions LOL! While I don't follow a religion, I'm not so quick to condemn the practitioners. Life can be hard, indeed very hard, and if going to church gives some people comfort then good for them. It if gets them to be more charitable to their fellow woman even better. Some people who get high every day. I know folks like this, and it is not something I would ever do, but hey, if it gets them through another day, without killing someone else, then great. Some people obsess over grown men playing kids games on a court or field. Others gossip about celebrities on social media. We all waste time, have vices, and do things that are not always our best for us, because it gets us through what might otherwise be a mundane or hard existence. As long as you are not hurting anyone else why should any of us care. I drink, eat rich foods, gamble, and fornicate. According to some I'm going to "hell." I believe were are in hell now, and heaven awaits us all when we transition.

The live conversation is going on now:

My neighbor is Haitian in fact he is an author. Yeah parts of Florida is a gay haven (but what large city isn't). I was hanging out on Duval Street in Key West, FL this summer and accidentally walked into a gay roof-top bar. I was shocked to see dudes sun bathing and butt naked at the bar -- dicks and balls everywhere! I bid a hasty retreat LOL! I went into another gay bar everyone was clothed and it was a very congenial atmosphere I ordered a drink (I was bar hopping) and chit-chatted a while. @Pioneer1 both bars were all white. There was nothing no one could have done to turn me gay. This is one reason why your conspiracy theory hold no water. Some people are just gay, get over it.

Well Gibran there are a number of subtle clues: The way the post was written, it was not written like a native speaker. The person posted twice in these forums in a manner that rang disingenuous to my ear. The domain fictionghostwriting.com was registered just 3 months ago and for only a year -- this is a red flag The real giveaway was the way the website is designed. The site is optimized on for terms like "Fiction Ghost Writing Western," "Fiction Ghost Writing Crime," etc. I this is not a natural way to design a website and was clearly done for SEO (search engine optimization) purposes. Trust me; I understand the motivation, and I create content with SEO in mind every day. This is the only reason I let the posts stand (though I did remove the hyper links). If the person/site is legit, they come back and defend their posts. Plus people like you can see this exchange and exercise some caution when considering the business they deal with. The WWW should stand for the "Wild Wild Web."

Ah there is the @Pioneer1 I've come to know -- an unqualified admission of error would be impossible. I'm just glad I don't have to compare IP address or any of that stuff to make sure your account was not spoofed

Hold the phone! Did some one else take over @Pioneer1's account?! The Pioneer I know would NEVER make this statement.

Not more than any other place with a significant Black population. There a large enough Caribbean population to support a large festival here, but I've never attended it.

Explaining something well,in a minimal number, of words is a skill requiring command of the language and understanding of the subject -- even if it is just an opinion. I welcome the experiment.

James Baldwin (age ~47) and Nikki Giovanni (age ~28) in conversation This conversation was taped in London in 1971 on a TV program called Soul! I remember when programming like this were more common and popular here it the US. Today there is much less focus on intelligent people. It is interesting to consider that i'm almost 10 years older than Baldwin is in the video below. It is even more interesting to consider that Nikki is now 76 years old. The photo on the right is one that I took with Giovanni in 2017. I really liked the way the interview filmed; the closeups, the tight shots of a hand or knee — it was really well done. They are both smoking during the interview — which seems so crazy by today's standard. Baldwin said during the interview: “No white critic can judge my work. I’d be a fool if I depended upon that judgement.” —James Baldwin Today we are all fools, because unless Black work is validated by white people, we do not value it ourselves. Part of the reason is that with white validation comes money -- indeed it may be a prerequisite to earning money. The sole pursuit of money, the basis of American culture, has never served us a people.

The video below is the "Unboxing" of the the Power of Presence and a short intro with author Joy Thomas Moore. @DORIEL LARRIER will be hosting a live conversation with the author on January 24th, Thursday at 8 p.m.

@Peggy Allen Towns post a link to you website.

I saw a meteor shower once. I got the entire family up and we drove about 30 minutes outside of the city. It was the most amazing site. @Chevdove if you can post you photo. I heard this moon was called a "Blood, wolf, super moon."

Ok ill add it back later this morning.

I think the issue is getting a critical mass of us on the same page. Because you and I can't do anything alone. Figure out how to get enough people thinking about the issue and the solutions will some easily. Interesting, just yesterday I dropped the #readingblack hashtag from the social media sharing buttons for books on this site. Maybe I should add them back.

White folks don't play in Mississippi. Sure they've learned you can't go around stringing up nigras anytime they want, and they have some wonderful monuments for Black folks. But don't get it twisted, they still maintain firm control over wealth and resources.

True, but people (authors and consumers) are, for lack of a better word, "lazy." People are not sufficiently motivated to seek out or exercise options -- even if they are superior. There are many products that Amazon actually charges more for than going directly to the vendor's site, but people can't be bothers to open up another browser tab and create a new account on a different website. It is why people are more than happy to treat social media as if it is the entire internet as long as they can get some facsimile news, entertainment, and contact with friends -- why bother going anywhere else? It is why fast food thrives. Everyone knows it is shit, but who can be bothered to cook? We live in a fast food culture... We have a fast food political system with a fast food president.... but I digress.

I missed this reply earlier @Pioneer1. I like living "Down South." But honestly, in the back of my mind, I keep thinking something is gonna set poor white folks off and they are gonna just start blasting away. There are WAY too many guns down here and too many people under stress. Sure ATL and HOU have more sisters, but Tampa has plenty and I only need one or two

below is a photo I took of the moon last night again it was just so bright it filled my house with moonbeams

@Mel Hopkins the book is listed for sale at $62, actually it is listed at almost $500: https://amzn.to/2MpHAqe but that does not mean it is "selling" at that price. I believe 3rd party sellers are programmatically listing books at outrageous priced artificially inflating the "value" of books unavailable directly from Amazon. If they get a few people to buy the books these "booksellers" can made a ton of money. The Amazon is rife with so many gimmicks to separate people from money it is absurd. Some 3rd party sellers pirate physical books -- Amazon knows this too. The problem with alternative ebooks formats is that the kindle reader/software is the defacto standard and Amazon is the only one who can sell these ebooks. An increasing (alarming really) number of authors have opted for Amazon KDP Select program which gives Amazon the sole right to sell these e/books. I have chosen not to add these titles to my database moving forward. I like Pressbooks, but your typical author will go with Amazon because kindle ebook creation is free. They will then option for the KDP select because they earn slightly higher "royalties" -- even though Pressbook is more flexible and is actually more profitable after a few sales. Also I think you'd want to lower your ebook price to discourage pirating. Few will risk pirating an ebook selling at the Amazon minimum of 99 cents, but they would a more expensive title.