Troy

Yeah @Chevdove they ticked every box with this creature...

Whoa! Harvey Weinstein, R. Kelly: it seems like to more power you get the less likely would would need to abuse your power to satisfy you sexual predilections... I guess these guys are just sadists and use their power to increase their reach.

I agree @Pioneer1. Pioneer what is your motivation for participating here?

Hi Mea, The search engine here on the discussion forums is restricted to the forums. The search on the rest of AALBC sesrches the entire site. We actually have a great desl of information more than most sites including exclusive video, all his books reviews, etc this query on James Mcbride will show all it. Actually McBride is one of the most prominent Black writers out there. His book, The Color of Water, the story of his Jewish mother thrust him into prominence. Admittedly, his prominence is more in the white community than the Black.

Well science never says something is "absolutely true." They can have a theory that withstands a century of testing and experimentation. But the second an observation violates a theory the scientific community discards that old theory and moves on. Keep in mind that 100% of the people who smoke will not contract cancer. However we do know that 100% of the people who smoke are at a substantially increased risk of contracting cigarette caused cancer. 30% of all cancers come from smoking. 83% of lung cancers come from smoking. This is why collecting data, indeed science, is important. You would not say that because your mother smoked all her life, therefore cigarette smoking poses no risks right? We also don't know what your mom's lifestyle would have been like if she never smoked (cancer is not the only negative consequence of smoking). We also don't know the consequence her 2nd hand smoking hand on those around her... It is like man made climate change: Science does not say that it is 100% beyond an shadow of a doubt true. What they will say is that the predominance of the evidence makes highly likely. Much like astrologers and the religious, climate change deniers, are the ones who assert absolutely certainly in their beliefs.

I do too. I've been an Amazon affiliate for almost 18 years and have collected payment from them every period since that time. But here is the thing. Amazon pushes the ebooks that they publish while encouraging authors to give away ebooks for free (even though these authors paid Amazon to publisher their books) or to sell them very cheaply purportedly to build an audience. Last year Amazon halved the commission they paid affiliates for book sales dropping commission from potentially 8.5 percent to 4%! This is a dramatic decrease to go from earning 8% on a $24 book to 4% on a 99 cent ebook. Amazon also reduced the duration of their cookie and other thing that radically reduced commission affiliates can earn. Sure I still earn money from commissions but the amount of far less that it was a decade ago despite a lot more visitors. Of course if book sellers make less money so do publishers and authors As a result, I have little incentive to sell books as an Amazon affiliate. The only reason I bother with them now as that readers want to buy their book from Amazon. But as I said I need to rid myself of Amazon. Also the big publishers are not in the business of selling books directly to consumers. Though given Amazon's dominance this part of the business model may change; in much the same way as we see producers of video content, HBO, CBS, Amazon, Netflix, etc selling directly to the consumer with their streaming services. If I repost this on readingblack.com Google will give me the smackdown for posting the same content on multiple pages. I'm working with a couple of author's right now to work out a way to sell book directly from AALBC and even other platforms such that the transaction or transparent and commissions can be paid. This will allow everyone to make money. The reality is that this need have a concrete solution then I'll post on #readingblack which I have not shown any love lately.

They award doctorates in religion too, so I'm not surprised, by one being awarded in astrology. Both religion and astrology are deep subjects and require a lot of knowledge to master. But complexity does not make something true -- just complex. The second article you posted was interesting and can be summarized with the foloowing quotes Guinard's Thesis Abstract Patrice Guinard's Manifesto is a statement of 42,000 words based on his 1993 PhD thesis at the Sorbonne, about how astrology provides meaning despite being rejected by educated people, and why it deserves not to be. His central idea is that the planets resonate with our psyche leaving the results in our minds as unspecific symbols and archetypes. So astrology has nothing to do with science or religion or philosophy. It is a psychic phenomenon that has evolved with humanity and should be accepted as part of our nature. A Different Conclusion: The Manifesto is an example of how wordiness and misdirected scholarship can give a false sense of profundity. It boils down to speculations about astrology that the author says are untestable. These speculations are bolstered by frequent long asides, some insightful, some misguided, some fatally uninformed, and some even self-contradictory. Guinard's position of untestability allows him to safely attack any contrary view, which is most of them. But his claim of untestability is problematic because by definition the situation cannot then be reliably known by anyone. In fact the results of relevant empirical studies have generally contradicted his speculations. Guinard has made a bold attempt to strike a conclusive blow for astrology against science; but his "epic analysis" amounts to no more than a massive exercise in pseudoscience. Neither does Guinard offer any clear remedies for modern astrology's conceptual problems. Astrology surely deserves better than this. The Thesis abstract was worded by the guy who wrote the conclusion so it must be taken with a grain of salt. @Delano, were you aware of Guinard's work?

I think you are right about this. All too often I attended book events where men are overly represented as the authors and panelists and the attendees and event organizers are mostly women. I hope you are right about my gender not getting in the way.

I really wish I had the funding to determine the percentage of books, written by Black writers, that are sold, often exclusively, by Amazon. My conservative estimate would be at least 75%, but I would not be surprised if it were 90%. We know; By the fall of 2016, the share of online shoppers bypassing search engines and heading straight to Amazon had grown to 55 percent. Captures nearly $1 of every $2 that Americans spend online. Hosts a substantial portion of the largest websites Ships and sells products at a loss until competition is eliminated (the capital markets facilitate this, which also prevents the emergence new potentially better competition. it is Ma Bell all over again) Benefits from enormous, unnecessary, tax benefits Producers compelled to sell on Amazon resulting in lower profits, sales, and/or higher prices Will manufacture 3rd party products they sell selling well then bury the original producers products on their store Sell bootleg products The New York Times recently reported: “In Amazon’s bookstore, the unruly behavior has been widespread, aided by print-on-demand technology. Booksellers that seem to have no verifiable existence outside Amazon offer $10 books for $100 or even $1,000 on the site, raising suspicions of algorithms run wild or even money-laundering. The problem of fake reviews is so bad that the F.T.C. has already gotten involved.” Despite all of this and more people generally like Amazon. I also wish I had the time and money to explain to people Amazon's monopolies results in less profit for book sellers, publishers, and authors. Why readers see less diversity in reading material despite more books being produced than ever before and more. Nothing any individual can do alone will stop Amazon's domination In my corner of the world I am spending the time and energy to divorce myself from Amazon. It is not something I can do over night, because they are so firmly entrenched in the business of Black books -- indeed they own this business -- but I plan to do it. I have to do it. I'm also trying to help authors understand this as well, but authors are often more enamored of Amazon than the general public. Amazon poses a much larger threat the business of Black books and independent businesses than Google does.

The is un-freaking-believable... “Known on Instagram by her handle @lilmiquela, the 19-year-old is biracial and bisexual, loves high-end labels, and for months had a Black Lives Matter shout-out in her bio. She is an influencer—a social media personality who integrates product endorsements into the online documentation of her daily life—and a multi-hyphenate, with side hustles as a singer and a clothing designer. If she seems to check an unrealistic number of boxes, that’s because she isn’t real.” —Read the complete article in The Nation

They are, for me, if no new information is being brought to the table. However in an effort to not have their world view challenged or to avoid conflict most people, I believe, only seek conversations indeed situation where everyone is in agreement.

More women sign up, buy books, and provide financial support. For, this reason I think if I were a Black woman the site would probably be more successful as my inherent biases would more easily match my demographic, making me better able to select more appealing books for the site. Yesterday I added over 100 books to the site that are soon to be published. One title, a memoir, All Boys Aren't Blue is a book I have zero interest in personally, but I added it to the site because I suspect some of my readers would be interested in it. If I only added books that was only personally passionate about I would have a much smaller audience and far fewer books on the site. Besides I get my kicks from turning people on to books and writers they come to love. I also think woman, especially younger ones, have an advantage when it comes to the media, whuch would also help the site. But no, I don't think any regular visitor is turned off by a Brother running the site.

True, like religion and astrology right? Yep somethings are untestable would you put astrology in that category?

In this case those "facts" were lies or misrepresentations at best. Like any altruism Jeff Bezos expresses.

Oh brother. Pioneer, if that were true why do I reject every word that emerges from Zuckerberg's pie hole.

Yes visionaries are indeed important @Delano. Del right at this instant I'm watching a TV series calked The Orville. It is like Star Trek, but better. At any rate, if you can watch season 2 episode 5 watch it deals with Astrology. Well assuming the planet can still suport human life, I hope so I cause we seem pretty barbaric by my recogning right now. @Mel Hopkins what opinions does science hold?

I studied science too. Joe and Neil's video had no impact on my worldview, though they more or less support what I believe.

@Delano given a choice man I'd come down on the side of science. Having taken a course in Astrology, I'm probably better suited to make an assessment than the comic or degenerate. There are a lot of things, I suspect are true, that science cannot prove or disprove. As I said, there is more to astrology than "What's your sign baby?" So, I'd stop short of calling it BS.

@Delano you should tell us what you think about the stuff you share; that would be interesting. It is hard to take a conversation between a comedian and an "alleged" sexual predator very seriously ;-) “When it comes to Astrology… there’s a lot of believers… but then there’s Science!!” That is the way the podcast I referenced would open the segment on Astrology if they did one. I checked but did not see one. Astrology has no foundation in science, but if it gives people a way to make sense of and cope in our consumer driven greedy little world of ours, who am I to take that away from them? It I take Astrology away from its adherents what would I give them to replace it ... religion? So while the video clip ended with both men agreeing that astrology was "bullshit," I won't go that far because, like religion, it helps some people. The only time I would have a problem with Astrology is if they tried to teach it in school to my kids, made it part of our law, or in anyway forced me to even acknowledge it.

Science VS https://gimletmedia.com/shows/science-vs @Pioneer1 I recently discovered this podcast. Interestingly, they covered most of the subjects we discussed here including; race, vaccines, and climate change. You (everyone) should check this podcast out.

Well it depends on the market. In an environment with plenty of consumers who read a superstore like B&N can coexist with a good niche indie store. B&N, as big as they are, can't possibly carry, and be as knowledgeable, in any given genre, as a strong independent bookstore. Not even Amazon's algorithm (which is profit driven) or their customer reviews (unprofessional and often suspicious) can do what a good bookseller can do. The so-called renaissance in indie stores is a bit premature for those interested in reading books written by Black writers. Basically Amazon owns the business of selling books written by Black writers, and they do a really good job at pushing the ebooks that they've published and convincing authors it is in their interest to publish with them -- even given Amazon exclusive rights to sell! The reality is that it is much harder for, all but the most popular, Black authors to find an audience today -- despite the so called renaissance in indie stores. The job of a marketer of books is much more difficult today.

Yeah I used James' quote on the description of Cannon's book: https://aalbc.com/books/bookinfo.php?isbn13=9781885478535

Apparently this is "a thing" among the retarded adult set. What's a suitable punishment? I dunno, but 20 years seems a bit much. I presume she got off scot-free which is not right. I think they should cane people here in the US. Ariana should get at least 5 smacks on her butt. I bet she won't do it again.

Yes, I know what sexism means, and you were demonstrating it against men.

Thanks I have not heard the news. I never attended any of his events, but I saw him at Medgar Ever where he once taught. I took a photo of him then: https://aalbc.com/authors/author.php?author_name=Steve+Cannon the shot is grainy because at the time large images too all day to download on a website. As you know he was a prominent figure in spoken word circles and his influence goes back the Black Arts Movement.