Troy

Happy belated Birthday Cynique!

Chris your reaction to the current situation, which I've seen coming over the last 20 years, is... well, interesting. Part of the problem Chris is that the schools are not teaching vocational skills either. You'll always need plummers, carpenters, car mechanics, cooks, etc, but even those skills, increasingly, require skills historically provided by a good secondary education. For a number of complicated reasons men, in general, and Black men in particular are not fairing well in the pubic school system.

It is too late for Whites to wrest back complete control of this country, which is what is really meant by “White Citizenship”. Those days are slipping away, and we can't go back. As the economies of countries in Africa, and Asia continue to grow and strengthen, the influence of white people will wane, not just here but globally. <BR style="mso-special-character: line-break"><BR style="mso-special-character: line-break"> This is a direct consequence of a global economy. Labor and goods are allowed to move freely (essentially) across borders in search of increasingly higher revenues. It is white folks own fault. They want free or cheap labor then complain about the very people providing it, when those very same people predictably, begin to assert their own rights. You can’t have it both ways. I'm actually marveling at how Mexicans have come into East Harlem, have established businesses and are continuing to grown in influence and power -- they are not just bussing tables anymore -- that whole story diminishes their accomplishments, and arguably their humanity. I have not been following the Tea baggers very much, but I assume they, like a lot of people, are frustrated with being taxed to smithereens without realizing a commensurate benefit. And like most of us they are really not sure who to blame, but that is not gonna stop them from finding and rally around a scapegoat; whether it be Obama, Bi-partisan politics, religion, race, immigration, fill in the blank…

I noticed Junot Diaz [http://aalbc.com/authors/junot_diaz.htm] on the list the sample quote used used by the critic to demonstrate Junot's mediocrity is: I actually like that line. Though truth, be told I read about a 1/3 of the book. It did not interest me sufficiently to complete it.

Get paid for selling your own book and track how frequently your link is being clicked! http://runt.it/join_amazon Attention all authors! Here is something you must do: Sign up of as an Amazon Associate. Far too often I see author post links here, and elsewhere, for other to purchase their book from Amazon, and they are not an Amazon Associate – that is simply leaving money on the table. When I post an advertisement for an author or publisher on AALBC.com; if they provide me a link to Amazon without an affiliate code, I use AALBC.com affiliate code – someone needs to get that commission. That is not the only benefit, check out the article.

Hey Thumper, Chris Abani: http://aalbc.com/authors/chris_abani.htm another home run for akashic huh?

Yeah, this was interesting. Chris, I thought you hated NPR.

Chris, Obama will absolutely make it out of office alive. I'm sure the prospect of martyring Obama is more abhorrent – even to the most racist among us -- than letting the man finish two more years. Can you imagine all of the streets, highways, schools, government buildings, airports that will be renamed “Barack Obama This" and "Barack Obama That” for a slain Obama. A BO national monument to rival that of Lincoln or Jefferson, maybe even a Barack Obama national holiday! Obama will finish his term and be beaten by any half way decent Republican candidate in 2012.

OK Chris, I thought you were talking about 'Judgment Day" after the 2nd coming of Christ. While you were not referring to this, many in your age group are... In any case, the education system here in the US is not a complete loss. Until I start seeing foreign students staying local and our best American students going abroad, I have to assume our higher educational systems are still world class(for those willing to fork over the cash). I'd also have to assume the same for our private, parochial schools, and public school in affluent communities. I bet, for the majority of the middle class, (the majority of people), the educational system is doing just fine. Now the system for our inner city youth it is a dismal failure, but to say American educations, as a whole, are defective is an exaggeration -- particularly when you compare the resulting standard of living of this system's beneficiaries.

This discussion board will be upgraded momentarily. Besides some backend imporvements there will be upgrades for better integration with Twitter and facebook. You'll be able to easily share posts from this discussion board with thise social media platform. I encourage you to do this as this will help increase the visibility of the discssion baord and expose our converations to a larger audience. This in turn will help increase particpation. New Features Content Sharing Tools AALBC.com Discussion Board features brand new content sharing tools, letting your members share community content across the internet. We include support for all the major social networking and new aggregation services, and with Facebook and Twitter – you won’t even need the board (other options open a new window instead). We've also included a new sidebar block which shows the most shared content in your community. And of course, it's easy for developers to utilize the new sharing framework too. Topic Preview Click the new topic preview icon in the topic listing or search results views, and see the first and latest posts without leaving the page. Centralized Notifications AALBC.com Discussion Board introduces a brand new centralized notifications system. Notifications have been available in the past for several events (topic subscriptions, etc.), but they used disparate generation systems. The new notifications system provides consistent, central management of notifications, as well as several new events that can send notifications (such as 'someone quoted my post'). Profile Customization Users can now choose an image to be their profile background. They can even automatically have their Twitter background imported to use instead! Updated Features Status Updates Status updates have had several big improvements. Most notably, members can now comment directly on each others' statuses. We've also added a new Community Statuses page, allowing all member statuses to be viewed and commented on at once. Member profiles have been updated with a new tab to show a history of that user's status updates, as well as an overview of comments they've given on other status updates. Finally, Facebook and Twitter status integration means your users can bring their external statuses into your community, and vice-versa. Revamped Search AALBC.com Discussion Board features a completely revamped search engine, making it easier to find content within your community. It's now easier to search individual applications, and each application has custom filters available to find precisely the material you're looking for.

Chris, whenever people hit 50 they start talking about the world coming to the end -- soon. Whooping Cough and this other sicknesses that were eradicated are coming back 'cause there are enough now who believe the vaccinations are actually bad for you -- good night nurse! Cynique, I would recommend you skip Inception. It was a plodding mess of a movie. Seek alternative ways to manipulate your dreams :-)

It was a poor likeness but obvioulsy supposed to be Obama. I'm not sure that this stupid game at an obscure backwater church's fair was news worthy. The broadcast generated unnecessary attention. I guess it was a slow news day in that town.

A member of Ray, Goodman & Brown (Harold Brown, I think) sat behind me on a flight to Atlanta last week. In the midst of his persistent conversation with another Brother across the aisle from him I learned of Al Goodman's passing.

Intersting conversation. The death of "Black Literary Fiction" is but symptom of a much larger societal problem. Of course Black folks are the canaries in the mine. Black literary fiction, literary magazines, intelligent film, serious television, music, websites, you name it, will be increasingly difficult to make commercially viable going forward. The only ones who will try to produce this stuff, including Black Literary Fiction, will be; subsidized by the government (not for profit), or be on a mission. Either way they will not be interested in getting rich or even making very much money... We don't have very many people in our community willing to invest in this type of thing. Oprah will seemingly support Tyler Perry before Spike Lee. If makes business sense. Besides we make Tyler box office king. I watched 30 minutes of Soike Lee's Do the Right thing the other nigth, that 30 minutes was better than all of Perry movies combined. I have to sign off as my flight is landing.... @aalbc

Carey I hear you, but I think you are missing the main points. Many of the interactions taking place on facebook would not have taken place at all. Think of it like writing a letter. A century ago people could stay in touch because there was a reliable mail delivery system to transport letter. Prior to that people who were at great distances from each other simply could not stay in touch. Needless to say the interactions on facebook, via hand written letters and in person are different. However it is up to each individual to determine which form of communication is better at any given time. Facebook more than anything else is a substitiute for face to face interaction, and a way to complete interactions between people who actually see each other regularly. I can definitely relate to Anthony's comments and had to take similiar actions to restrict my time and what I do on Facebook. Simialir to what I have to do at Thumpwer's Corner

Carey, I disagree with your premise. The face to face social interactions which you suggest are being impeded; never would have taken place in the first place. In reality people are connecting with folks they would never have met and can now interact with them in the real world. I would argue the opposite: Facebook facilitates face to face interaction. Of course, as I’ve said before, Facebook, like life in general, is what you make of it.

Cynique in LeBron's case don't hate the playa hatee he game. Professional sports was jacked when they became big business; it became more about money than the love of the sport. Can you image a time when professional players had to work as car salemen during the off season to make ends meet. Players use to actually live in the community with the fans. Go to the local bars they were part of the community. LeBron, if he is sucessful (wins a championship), will build a global franchise: He and his boys will make FAR more money than the relatively platry sums offered by the NBA. The game of basketball is incidental.

Xeon, yes it really does depend upon the individual. If you are not a business owner and do not like social networking sure don't bother. Despite the hype one can still have a full and meaningful life without Facebook. I hosted a dinner party on Friday with people I connected with over Facebook that I went to grade school going back to 1967! A couple of these folks I have not seen since the mid 70's. This is not likely to have happened -- certainly not as easily -- without Facebook. Now one can argue that there is no point in getting together with people you have not seen in 30 years. While I enjoyed that diner great deal, I completely understand that some people have no interest in getting together with old acquaintances and friends. Again Facebook would have zero value for these people. I also know people who have been reunited with family members via Facebook. I created a secret group on Facebook just for my family members. It was born from a family reunion I organized last year. I think Anthony Wallace's opinion about Facebook, in general, is wrong. However I know there are people who are wasting time there, and for those individuals, he is right.

Carey I agree with everything you wrote. The analogy "crying like a 1863 slave owner" was completely on point. I'm not so sure about the lakers though, but time will tell!

rambam you can discuss ANY topic of literature here. Thumper, this boards namesake, often makes forays into hsi "winter wonderland" and reports on his finds here. Elliott, Shakespeare and the rest was required reading for anyone with more than a grade school education here in the US so, most folks here have read those works unless they were home schooled or went to a private school that did not focus completely on Western culture. The best way to broach a new topic is to tell us what YOU think, then pose a more specific non open ended question. Enjoy

LeBron is using his talents in ways that no other baller has before. He is playing the NBA rather than getting played by them. He is demonstrating control over his destiny. He has not allowed money alone to dictate his decisions.

Xeon I accept your premise. However, how do we reverse the problem, without imposing draconian laws and seriously restricting our freedom? Indeed, perhaps the REAL problem is TOO much freedom. Seemingly any behavior is acceptable. Celebrities who behave badly are still idolized. Teenagers who have children out wedlock are still given big baby showers. Men who have a couple of "baby mommas" are still view as desirable. People who claim the above are problems are shouted down and derided as "old fashioned" or God damned "Republican" This is just not a Black thing, though we seem to be a leading indicator of very serious cultural problems.

I spend at least an hour, sometime more, a day on Facebook. I rationalize that it is part of my job, and much of what I do is work related however I do use it for personal stuff too. I strive to be very disciplined on Facebook, early on I saw how it can be a huge time sapper. I found myself posting a link to a book review -- next thing I know I was looking at someone's photos for 20 minutes. I don't play games like Farmville or Mafia Wars. I don't have the time. I've even blocked those apps to prevent people from sending emails from those programs. I also block the apps that send virtual flowers, I love you hearts, drinks, if I get something new -- I immediately block the ap. I disabled the chat feature. I don't reply to messages unless they are directed to me specifically and are business related or from someone I really know. The Facebook Fanpages (AALBC.com Fan Page) help a lot. I recommend people using Facebook for business purposes create a fanpage rather than a profile page (Troy's Profile Page). At the end of the day Facebook, like the Internet in general, is really what YOU make of it. It can be a fantastically useful and beneficial place -- indeed the Internet is the source of my livelihood. At the other extreme it can be a very dangerous place. I know of a man who was murdered by someone he met on-line and invited to his house. However for most of us, it will range from being a relatively innocuous waste of time to being a really cool place to stay connect with family and friends. I don't foresee any terrible adverse impact on culture -- at least not nearly as bad as the impact of the Boob-Tube!

This is classic Cynique y'all! Cynique with your permission I'd like to republish -- this is great. "...hoping they didn’t take you up on the offer." HA, HA HA! "The Internet - the enabler of every bizarre facet reflected by today’s society." - Deep! I OFTEN think about the things I do for my children that they are unaware of and/or take for granted -- things that my parents would not have dreamed of doing for me. I'm sure the kiddies benefited in some respects but I think they may have placed at a disadvantage in others. My kids have been to more places, acquired more processions and experiences by 16 than I did by 30 -- no exaggeration! Net-net this is a good thing. I'm fortunate I had the resources to provide this for them. However part of me wonders how they will react when times are hard. Well they reflect on the good times, continue to work hard, confident things will improve; or will they fall apart unaccustomed to going without the luxuries to which they've become accustomed. "children taking center stage as their doting parents over-indulged them" this seems so true -- especially in upper middle class families. Some of my buddies have given up their entire weekends shuttling kids from “play dates” to baseball practice to piano lessons. They spend lavishly on sweet 16 parties, Christmas, vacations, camp, schools, cars, salons, clothing, etc. But even lower middle class parent do the same thing spending a ton of money on sneakers ("tennis shoes" for you southerners), jewelry and clothing. Speaking of sneakers I was a teenager when the real pressure to get the latest sneakers started. If you got the $100 Air Jordans you was the man! You could get by with Puma, Addias, Converse or maybe Pro-Keds -- anything less and you were the object of ridicule and scorn. There was no surer indicator of how poor you were if you stepped outside with rockin' some no-name brand sneakers ("skippies"). The mentality persists into adulthood and the cycle continues... ...and we are seemingly becoming a nation of spoiled brats unable to instill discipline into our children -- because we never had it.

I'll disagree with that. Or rather I'll say AMERICA IS FUCKED UP! compared to what? America does not have the crushing poverty other countries have. America is a relatively free country where you can come and go as you please, and pretty much say what you want. Try going on-line, in China, and say, "China is Fucked Up". America is not perfect and she is does do some fucked up things. But to claim the whole country is fucked up is sheer hyperbole. Maybe, at the rate we are going, in a generation or two, or three you might be right...