CB Publishing Reviews, Updates and Information

Relocated! It's not that bad...

2011-10-16T10:59:00.000-05:00

Thanks for visiting the CB Publishing Blogger page. I have relocated, migrated, transported, teleported, (insert your own word), the blog to Wordpress so if you simply click on the Home link now it will take you to the new site with new articles and information. Thanks for visiting and bookmark the new site. www.cbpublish.com

Chris B.

I Remember 9/11...

2011-09-10T23:10:00.000-05:00

I can't tell you what I ate for breakfast this morning, I always miss my best friend's birthday, and I can never leave the house without forgetting something important behind.

My parents would always tell me they remember what they were doing when they heard the news about JFK, and ten years later, I am not surprised that I remember every grimacing detail about September 11, 2001.

I was a 15 year old sophomore at Emerson High School in Gary, IN taking the GQE (the required Graduating Qualifying Exam) sitting front row center with my approved No. 2 pencils ready. I was wearing my favorite red tank top that had a faded scripted "Cowgirl" on the front with bronze rustic looking stones outlining the tank top's straps. Along with my favorite shirt, I wore my favorite sized 12/14 dark faded jeans with the red stitching and red sandals. I always thought that looking your best for test day would result in, well, good results.

During GQE testing, students are required to stay in a classroom undisturbed for hours. We tested non-stop from 8am -12noon.

As soon as our moderator opened the doors releasing us for lunch, an eerie feeling swept the hallways. I had no idea what was going on but fear settled in my stomach as I passed my open classroom doors with teachers huddled around tiny tv's whispering, shaking the heads, and covering their mouths in awe. What was going on?

"...terrorist attacked New York...war"

"The World Trade...."

"...they're coming for Chicago..."

I picked up phrases here and there but still had no idea what was going on. All I knew for sure in my 15 year old brain that something really bad had happened and America no longer felt like a safe place to be.

Blame my social studies class, but I had no idea what or where The World Trade Centers was, why the existed, or why anybody would want to blow them up.

Well, the day went on and the awkwardness of being left out of the news loop only made me more paranoid because the only sources I could rely on was my 15 year old peers who were equally if not more ignorant then me about the situation.

I road home on the bus in fear that it was going to blow up. I walked home from the bus stop in fear that Chicago was going to be attacked with some "nuclear weapon of mass destruction" (a term I picked up that day) and cause radiation to seep into the pores of Gary, Indiana residents.

Finally when I got home, to ease my worries, I flipped on the TV. Cartoons will do the trick. However, every channel was filled with horrible images of one plane hitting one tower and a second plane hitting the other tower, and a third plane in a heap in a field. My fears were confirmed. America was attacked and I was very scared. Rumors of America at war flung across the breaking news screen of every new channel. I fixed a snack in fear. I got ready for bed in fear. I went to sleep in fear. I woke up scared.

10 years later, I am no longer fearful but there is definitely a sense of "Post 9/11 Anything Can Happen At Anytime" feeling that nobody talks about but we all walk around with. My heart goes out to all the people who lost friends, families, and co-workers. My heart goes out to all the 15 year old who had to grow up without their parents.

Lisa B.

www.TheLisaBExperience.com

www.youtube.com/lisabpoetry

Kindle Release of One Hour To Wealth

2011-09-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

The Amazon Kindle is one of the best e-readers on the market. However a lot of people don't realize that you don't need a Kindle to actually purchase books. There is an app that is made for your PC, your Smart Phone, the iPad, let me just give you the link. The great thing about the Kindle App is that it is free.

This means that you don't have to worry about paying money for an app and then paying for the book. You can simply download the App to your device of choice and in a few minutes you can download my new book One Hour To Wealth and begin reading. Shameless plug? Yeah Buddy!

One Hour To Wealth is the first book that actually gives you a definition of wealth and then takes it a step further than simply restating mantras and facts. The book gives you a plan of action to either copy or develop your own plan.

Grab a copy, read it and let me know what you think, or ask me questions. Of course you could wait for me to continue posting the Key Points here on the site, but why not use the five that you were going to grab some momentary Mickey D's with to improve your life?

Here is the link. One Hour To Wealth

25 Key Points: Key Point 4 - You Need A Business Plan

2011-09-06T12:45:00.001-05:00

Key Point 4: You Need a Business Plan – While I have failed to cover business plans, I am adamant about the importance of organization. The reason I made the mistakes I made with my first business is because I failed to analyze my market and understand terminology and create projections that would enable me to generate a better path through the wilderness of small business. When I began developing my sneaker business, the second time around I took one year to develop contacts and the ideas to establish ARCH. I included in that plan the fact that I would have to grow slowly because I did not want to create debt. I also added an expanded plan which included creating a sneakershop that carried more than just my brand. My business plan is over 40 pages in length and it includes, Purchase Forecast, Sales Forecast, Marketing Strategies, and of course Mission Statements and my personal story (developed after reading Primal Branding). If you are talking to someone about business and you ask them if they have a business plan, and they don’t…Get the hell away from them as quickly and nicely as you can. Oh, run away also if the person tells you that they don’t revise and add to their plan every now and then. I would like to add that spending too much time on a biz plan can prevent you from ever actually starting your biz.

Key Point 1: Be Creative
Key Point 2: Capitalize on Opportunities
Key Point 3: Stay In Your Lane

25 Key Points: Key Point 3 - Stay In Your Lane

2011-09-05T10:18:00.002-05:00

Introduction: 25 Key Points to Stay Motivated in Small Business

Key Point 1: Be Creative

Key Point 2: Capitalize on Opportunities

Key Point 3: Stay In Your Lane – Once you’ve decided to try one of your ideas, it will be tempting to try other things that look like they are working for others. You may see a friend or associate selling flowers and making pretty good money, so you start thinking that you can do that as well. The thing about doing this is taking this kind of action leads you off of the path. Your business may be mobile detailing for vehicles which is a good business. You could add selling air fresheners to your job but deciding to sell tamales and do mobile detailing would be way out of your lane. Stay focused on the idea that you believe in and learn as much as you can about it. Then place the time and effort into that idea. Don’t weave in traffic unless you want the idea cops to pull you over for drunk thinking.

25 Key Points: Key Point 2 - Capitalize On Opportunities

2011-09-01T14:38:00.000-05:00

Introduction: 25 Key Points to Stay Motivated in Small Business

Key Point 1: Be Creative

Key Point 2: Capitalize on Opportunities – Sometimes people approach you with ideas, but you are so consumed with work that you pretty much blow them off. Someone can be interested in giving you the tools to launch your own business, but these are the general comments made,

“Man, I don’t have time for that.”

“When I get home all I want to do is relax.”

“It’s not that easy.”

“Easier said than done-”

“I have to pay these bills.”

I can list a host of other words used to explain why people fail to take action. The thing is though none of those are as serious as not capitalizing on opportunities. When a person makes any statement of negativity, the mind produces the reaction, so in a sense your reality is what you have made it. There are often workshops or events that promote entrepreneurship. Sitting at home and pretending to be busy is a lot easier than getting up and acting on those opportunities that are presented. Honestly, are you really that busy? Probably not.

25 Key Points: Key Point 1

2011-08-31T14:09:00.001-05:00

25 Key Points-Introduction

Over the next 25 days I will post a Key Point. Collect them, share them with friends and other people thinking about starting a small business, leave feedback and make sure you give credit. I appreciate you reading. If you'd like to read some of my fiction, look to the right and download a Kindle version of three of my works of fiction. Enjoy Point 1.

Christopher D. Burns, MFA

Key Point 1: Be Creative – There isn’t any such a thing as a stupid idea. If somebody tells you to create a fart catcher, sit down and think about if you can be passionate about it. I’m not kidding. Creativity is the realm of childhood and the dreams that you have when you are young, become the memories that dissipate due to inactivity. People forget how to be creative. Watch your child play with some LEGO Blocks. Children have the knack for creativity and they can sit for hours building bridges and playing in imaginary worlds. When we get older people tell us to stop playing games and get serious. The only thing getting serious does for us is make us overweight, tired, stressed and angry. I challenge you to keep a journal for a month and in that journal write down every odd idea you can think of that you can be passionate about. Write down the ones that you can’t get excited about as well. The goal though is to be creative.

25 Keys: Points to Stay Motivated in Small Business-Intro

2011-08-31T14:01:00.000-05:00

I have been working on a book for 4 years and I recently finished the book. I was in the process of sending it to the printer and I had to stop because things changed in my business again. In other words, my small business is constantly changing and I have to adapt. I finally realized that I can't sit down and make things so cut and dry. I also can't sit back and not pass on information that has enabled me to keep moving forward. I have decided to share part of that book here on the blog. If you use any of this, please share my web address and give credit where it is due. I hope these 25 Keys can help you with something you are considering. Enjoy.

25 Keys:

Get Your Janitor On

I have lectured on building businesses and websites at the University of Memphis, Southwest TN. College, the YWCA and the Memphis Housing Authority. In each lecture I discuss the importance of entrepreneurship. I would like to leave you with these key points which are really for diving into your own business, but are for you since you are your own business. While the length of this book does not determine its power and potential, I do hope that you are beginning to think about how to build your own One Hour To Wealth program. Next are my 25 Key Points. A key is used to gain access and these 25 points will allow you to begin creating ideas. There isn’t a thing in the world that I can write that will make you rich. You will have to generate your own idea. Everyone has something they are good at, something they are passionate about, and something that occupies their mind. What I want is for you to actually do something about those dreams instead of letting others, or yourself, kill them. With that said I truly appreciate you reading this short book and I hope it has inspired you to do something. If it has, take a few minutes to visit any of my sites and drop me a note. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Christopher D. Burns, MFA

http://www.cbpublish.com/

http://www.centercourtbasketball.com/

http://www.arch-usa.com/

Get To Know: Backpackramento by Mahtie Bush

2011-08-22T08:28:00.000-05:00

Being an ex Cali representative, we knew we had a nice Underground Hip-Hop and poetry scene featuring guys like Mantis, Orko, Bennie Heron, Jahsun, but we rarely gave credence to people outside of San Diego. It wasn't disrespect, it was just a real focus on our work. Now that I'm 2000 miles away, and older, I'm discovering the power of the North, Bay Area (not quite), Sac Town. I lived there for a minute with my pops, and oddly enough I discovered Digable Planets in Sac (yep DPs og backpackers, spiddyocks, sun moon and star, planet of Brooklyn). Gives you an idea of how long ago that was. Anyway, I got this link from Lou Slugga of MLS and anytime I can get a Roots allusion it takes me another level. The video is dope and I have to say it: ANTHEM! Check out Backpackramento by Mahtie Bush. Like the ish out of this video.

Memphis Hi-Lites: The Memphis Chess Club

2011-08-11T08:19:00.000-05:00

As I continue to find reasons to like Memphis, I also find reasons to actually like Facebook. It's not that I dislike Facebook, but sometimes my feed is cluttered and I miss out on information that I later complain about like some old, angry man. This past week Facebook worked. I recently wrote a comment on Facebook about the lack of a barber shop that I could take my son to that provided an atmosphere similar to R.Spot in San Diego. R. Spot is no longer in San Diego due to imminent domain. Damn local governments and their need to take over locations of interest in their gentrification process. Sorry, about that... What was great about R. Spot was the fact that we could play games of chess while we waited, read books, listened to music and enjoyed great conversation.

On Monday I recieved a message from Allan Bogle who had this to share:

MCC stands for the Memphis Chess Club. It is the second oldest chess club in the country. We have a wide spectrum of players, from absolute beginners to experts. Black, white, asian, male, female, every age from 9 to 90; we meet every Friday night to play. Some play rated games, some play casual pick-up games. Don't worry about being a novice, there are many there. It is free for casual games, the only fees are what the USCF charges for rated tournaments (about half the club are profesionally rated).

This is our website:

http://www.memphischess.com/

Nothing can improve your game like playing at the MCC.

AllanGary's Facebook

http://www.memphischess.com/

History, games, calendar, officers of the Memphis Chess Club

This is another great Memphis Hi-Lite so take advantage and check it out. It's on my to do list.

A Few Thoughts on Obama and Presidents in General

2011-08-08T13:57:00.000-05:00

Wait a minute, you really think this is my fault?

I am not going to go into detail about the US losing its AAA credit rating with S&P. Although the fact that it happened on a Black President's watch is pretty darn funny, in the funniest unfunny way that I can approach it. (Insert random Black person and credit joke here.) When President Obama was elected I told a close friend that this was the only time in history that a Black man could get the job. The country was losing trillions on wars abroad, the home loan industry, which had become the backbone of the economy since the 90s was in the dumps and the crisis America faced/faces was paramount to walking in front of a firing range at Marine base Camp Pendleton. In other words, the country was literally going to hell in a handbasket with the devils singing Brittany Spears (Ooops I did it again) and eating copious amounts of gas inducing beans, blasting a stench that would linger for at least 4 years into the next presidency. In other words, if there was anytime to let a Black man take the fall for a country that has been falling for 30 years, why not now?

With that said let's get to my primary point for writing this short post: Obama and Black People. Just a quick thought on Obama's presidency:

Has any president ever made good on his campaign promises?

Has any president in the last 40 years placed an emphasis on improving the quality of life for Blacks?

Okay, I'll wait while you search the internet for facts that show how Presidents have tackled the Black agenda... I'm waiting. Nothing huh? Let's think about it: President Reagan was on watch when crack and cocaine literally destroyed the area around the White House and the rest of the country. His foreign policy literally opened the flood gates for the drug trade to blossom. Who did that hurt? Black people. The first Black President, Bill Clinton, ended educational programs in prison that increased the recidivism rate of Black men who were already being imprisoned at a higher rate than their counterparts who had drugs like cocaine and heroin. The drug laws, three strikes, etc. targeted Black men; let's not act as if they didn't. Clinton removed the education programs that could have brought some balance to men who had been institionalized. Clinton also oversaw a government that actually created many of the tax breaks and regulation issues that President Bush increased during his presidency.

In short, there really hasn't ever been a President that has placed the Black agenda at the forefront. Our President is now expected to act on behalf of the lower-middle class, just because he is Black? Talking heads all over the place are calling for the President to remain true to his Campaign promises. By my count the President said he would try to fight for universal health care. He did that, while it won't ever really be implemented, he did that. Under his watch Gay Americans are now being married and it has yet to be repealed, kind of... He did that. Drawing down of troops has been taking place, although he has taken the country into another war. Let's be serious though... Had he not sent troops to Afghanistan, or assisted with Khadafi, he would have been considered a coward President who was afraid of confrontation. The President has continued to bail out big business, and extended the tax cuts. Alright he could have done a better job of this, but when has the President ever had the ability to pass legislation? That belongs to the House and Senate which is controlled by? The most important thing that this President did is prevent a complete crash of the economy.

But simply because the President is Black, Black folks are doing what we have grown accustomed to doing in the last 40 years, asking for a hook-up. Prior to the Civil Rights movement these are things that were better for Blacks:

1. More Black men were enrolled in college than were in jail.

2. More Black families existed

3. Blacks showed the greatest growth for any race in the country as far as improving their status in life.

4. There were more Black owned businesses

5. Neighborhoods existed where people didn't have to fear for their life from other Blacks.

In other words Blacks have never required assistance from the government or the President to make themselves better people. President Obama is being held to a completely different standard than any President has. White people hate whoever is in office, so their mistreatment of the President is status quo. Sorry White people. Black people though, if you are going to complain about this President because he hasn't given you a hook up, take a few minutes to write the people who can actually make a difference in your life: Your local councilperson, your local government, your mayor and state reps. Those are the people who will have to get the President's ear. I really don't want to end this post with something that sounds so simple, but I will: Ask not what your President can do for you, ask what you can do for your own damn self.

That is all.

Memphis Hi Lites: Trolley Night July 29, 2011: New Stops on South Main

2011-08-01T09:28:00.000-05:00

Kpreshas opening night

Trolley Night was great as usual. The turnout was solid and the stores were offering the standard varity of "spirits" and finger foods to guests stopping by. While we didn't jump on the Trolley, since we got a great parking spot on Beale Street for the Sade concert (I'm not talking about the concert here, it deserves its own post). We walked down to South Main checking out the various restaurants and galleries. We even found a door to nowhere. A giant wall saddled between two buildings with a door opening that lead to what looked a path into the television show Lost. As I stuck my head into the door, every episode of Supernatural and Lost kicked in and told me, "Watch out for smoke monsters." I pulled my head out stared at the door for a moment and we kept rolling. We only made two stops before turning around and heading back towards the Fed Ex Forum.

The first stop was KPreshas. Kpreshas is located at 323 South Main. This was opening night for the boutique and the store was packed. Chairs were arranged throughout the store. People were enjoying drinks and an ambiance that included music on the inside and a live band on the outside. People walked up and down the loft stairs and stood in front of shelves featuring wedge shoes and designer purses for women and a lineup of footwear for men called Pointer. The layout of the store was still a work in progress but the styling was a combination of rustic, fall and wood with a color pallette that will compliment the type of apparel that will be carried. While I couldn't figure out who Kpresha was in the mix, I am pretty sure I'll be dropping in to grab a pair of those Pointers for the Fall (If I don't make my own casual shoe again.)

The second stop was The Blues Foundation. Memphis is the home of the Blues, Rhythm and Blues, Soul Music, Rock and Roll, but Beale Street and Graceland are the only placards that are promoted in the city and those places have their own "culture". Graceland draws the Elvis fans and Beale attracts drinkers. Memphis isn't really about music anymore. If you ask someone what represents music now, it won't be WC Handy or BB King, it will be Three6Mafia and Yo Gotti. While this isn't bad, it does not cater to a promotion of the rich heritage that exists in the city. Memphis has at its core a foundation that should be promoted in the same way that Downtown Nashville has crafted the Grand Ol Opry into a huge portion of its economic development.

The Blues Foundation is one of several small pockets of information that you have to seek out to learn about the heritage of music in the city. Located at 421 South Main, the venue has wood floors, walls lined with photos of legendary Blues Artists, a resource area with books and and enough space to host small events. Joe Whitmer, deputy director, is pulling together a location that should become a part of Memphis' Music City Tour. Oh, wait a minute... Memphis doesn't really have a music city tour (shakes head and says driving past Sun Studios is not a tour). The Blues Foundation is completing their move to this new location and is definitely worth your time if you drop into Downtown Memphis.

Overall it was another great Trolley Night. I'm making the suggestion now that Trolly Night adds another date for the middle of the month. If you haven't done Trolley Night take advantage of it and get there. Don't wait to see South Main though, take a drive down today.

Chris B.

Downtown Memphis is the place to be July 29th, 2011

2011-07-29T10:52:00.000-05:00

I'll be at the Sade and John Legend concert tonight. If you don't have tickets there is something for you to do tonight as well in Downtown Memphis:

It's Trolley Night! beginning at around 4:30 you can hop on the trolley and ride through the South Main Arts District for free.99. In other words you don't have to pay a dime and the doors will be open at each individual store, boutique and art gallery. If you haven't taken part in a Trolley Night, what are you waiting for?

Also in Downtown Memphis there will be a grand opening:

July 29, 2011

Kpresha Boutique Grand Opening

323 S. Main

4:30pm

Get up, get out and do something in Memphis tonight. I'll be in Smooth Operator mode.

That's Not What It's For: Another Facebook Article

2011-07-27T08:41:00.000-05:00

Like John Coffey, I couldn't hep it

Common mistakes that come with the comment "That's not what that's for," are all over the place. When you decide to work on a car and grab a flathead instead of a phillips you hear, "That's not what that's for." When you're getting ready to brush your teeth, if you were raised in a house that didn't have much money, and you grab the Arm & Hammer because you're out of toothpaste, and your kid looks at you like, "WTF?" You hear it then. When you're in the bed and you slip up and hit the wrong.... okay nevermind, you get the point. That's Not What It's For is so common that often no one realizes when this is really the case.

Yesterday an interesting thing happened on Facebook. A conversation was started that generated a ton of likes on seperate Facebook walls. The conversation began with this quote: Clean out your Facebook closet. There are people doing incredible work, but you can't see it because there is too much garbage on your wall. Also, if someone is doing something that looks like it took time to do, is artistic, is positive, or is thinking out of the box... make a comment. Honestly, you never know how that might help a person throughout that day. Big shout out to all the people pursuing various dreams.

When something generates a lot of feedback it is called going viral, no explanation neccessary. While this statement was created because I had gone through my Facebook page hiding a lot of people, people that I friended or they had friended me so the initial online relationship was mutual, I began seeing posts by people who were doing some very cool stuff. I mean, singers, actors, photographers, business people, were writing about important ventures they were creating. The problem was, my wall was so cluttered with what I thought of as useless information that I was unable to see the posts that I actually was interested in. Where does That's Not What It's For, come into play? After sleeping on it I had an epiphany. I kind of touched on it here Is Facebook Good For Small Biz? I think I need to clarify though.

A few weeks ago I gave my wife something really good... wait for it, wait for it... A Facebook Ad credit of 50 bucks. I was not in a position to use it myself because I had not finished setting up my online store and the NBA lockout was looming so I wasn't going to be updating my NBA blog. I gave her the credit and her site http://www.natural-ness.com/ and her Facebook fan page took off. Her likes jumped from the 200s to over 1K and is still growing. In the article that's linked I talked about the fact that I advertised on Facebook and spent a comparable 60 dollars on advertising and in a short amount of time the money was gone and the results where underwhelming to say the least. We had two completely different experiences in using Facebook Ads. This created an opportunity for learning though. What does this have to do with That's Not What It's For?

Last night I realized that although I said people should clean out their Facebook closets, I was not completely right. As much as I want Facebook to be a tool for small business, that's not what it's for. Facebook was created to make Facebook rich. It was created to allow people to interact with people quickly and without worrying about a response, or quick responses. It was created to help people have a voice on certain issues without having to really study the topic or be accurate in their approach.

Facebook is basically a one night stand and while the site does serve a purpose in helping to disseminate information, it is only surface info, in chunks that are often taken out of context. While a lot of very good things are happening there, Facebook is setup in a way that those great things have to be fed by the minute. This means that something that may have taken you 2 years to complete is only given 5 minutes of interest by the constant updates that make Facebook, Facebook.

This morning a good friend of mine suggested that we capitalize on the interest in the post on Facebook and I realized again, that Facebook is only interested in keeping you on Facebook. Think about this: yesterday countless people responded to that post. This means that Facebook generated numerous impressions on the ads that run on the sidebar. Those ads probably also earned clicks. Either way someone who decided to pay for advertisement had their funds depleted because so many people viewed that wall post, that based on whether they set up the ad to run with impressions or clicks, they probably ran out of money and in all honesty people came to read what was being said and probably never saw the ad. So, how do you convert a passionate discussion on Facebook into action? Terrell Jones, a local Memphis designer and an extremely talented guy, founder of Medatsu, started a group on Facebook for Memphis based designers in the fashion industry. I think it's a fantastic idea. The group is creating a discourse that probably could not happen in any other setting. Great suggestions and information is being shared and possibly implemented. Facebook is in the business of keeping you on Facebook, but it does not want you to leave Facebook. In the words of MLS, well actually Morpheus, "The Matrix is all around you." This is especially true in regard to Facebook.

When a great conversation is begun, it also ends on Facebook. Starting a group on Facebook has to translate into establishing a network outside of Facebook and eventually praying that the people will move with you from that venue. I was wrong about cleaning out your Facebook closet. Facebook is supposed to be cluttered because that is how Facebook generates revenue. Facebook was not meant to showcase talent although it definitely has the ability to introduce ideas. The thing is though, those ideas have to be clicked on and visited. If a group begins on Facebook they don't ever create the opportunity to generate their own revenue or create their own small pockets of networking, or do they?

Is Facebook Really Good For Small Biz?

2011-07-22T08:54:00.000-05:00

Social Media, for those who aren't keeping up, consists of any form of media based in technology that allows you to maintain contact with people at anytime you feel like reaching out and touching someone. The old adage from the phone company has never been more true. Social Media: Twitter, Tumblr, Myspace, Youtube, Facebook and now Google+ all allow their users to drop in at anytime and pick up on a conversation taking place in a group, on a wall, through a Tweet and now in a circle (Google+) In marketing circles having a Facebook page is now a required form of guerilla marketing that will allow you to reach more people simply based on the sheer numbers on these various forms of social media. I've been thinking lately though, is this really a good thing for small biz? I mean, you can post to Facebook and get an immediate bump in web traffic. You can even advertise for free, but with the fact that so many people are fighting to be seen in Social Media there is a problem taking place that has to be rectified by the various outlets. While Social Media was the place to go to build a following many small biz people are finding themselves utilizing Facebook as a primary source of information for their fans, followers, and potential clients.

Now this is not a problem, but it is. See the time a person invests into getting traffic to their Facebook page pays off for a company like the NBA, or ESPN, or AmEx. Why? These brands have customer loyalty, a following and the ability to drive people to their sites through extensive marketing in traditional media forms. No matter what the NBA posts on Facebook, they will have visitors who go directly to their websites. Their foundation was not established through the various forms of social media. Let's focus on Facebook. Facebook holds a person's attention and the short blasts of information, the ability to hold discourse and to share pictures in a central location for the common person and the business person is too attractive. It is so attractive that let's say Small Biz guy A posts something about his company, chances are that the people they expect to visit their webpage will only look at it on Facebook. Facebook uses the App Networked Blogs and in all actuality the person remains on Facebook where the blog/website is presented in a frame.

Why is this important? Small biz has to create traffic that will revisit THEIR site and create new followers. One primary stream of revenue for many small biz people/bloggers/website owners is ad revenue. If you are posting and maintaining your conversations on Facebook, then the conversation never moves to your webpage. Facebook generations millions and millions from ad revenue on their site while your poor site only gets cents in impressions instead of dollars which can really help. In other words, Facebook is like a really great drug that makes you feel important, but when the effects wear off, you feel... well, out of it. More important, you have less traffic and you are failing to really build the following you are looking to build.

Instead of being vague I'll come straight and say what I mean: Facebook is really good for connecting with friends and it can be a nice introduction for your company, but in the end with the amount of business people on Facebook now, the casual user is beginning to hide multiple posts, or even worse they are marking posts from legitimate business people as spam. In other words that great amount of free advertisement you thought would work for you through Facebook is not really working for you as much as you would have hoped. Posting on Facebook does give you an alternative, but the CTR (click through rate) is not that great for small biz.

Some people like numbers so here are the numbers for using a Facebook Ad. Consider that this is paying for advertisement on Facebook as well as using Facebook as a personal page/business page. This is for one week of advertising:

123,117 Impressions (People really don't pay attention to those adds on the side)

195 Clicks (I marketing to a target market so of all of these impressions, only 195 clicked)

91Connections (Even fewer clicked and liked my page)

0.158% CTR (This is basically telling you less than 2/10ths of the people who saw my ad visited)

$61.89 Spent (Not a lot of money, but it is a fill up in the mini van, shrugs shoulders)

$0.50 CPM (basically telling you how much it costs per 1000 visitors)

$0.32 CPC (basically telling you how much it costs per click)

What does all of this mean? This experiment to test Facebook's ability to convert visitors into potential clients was not very successful and actually following this experiment, someone in this group labeled my blog posts as spam and now I am not able to post my webpage content to either my fan page or personal page. Real quick, I built a part of my small business through ebay recently and was making very good money. In an instant however, ebay cancelled my account and my paypal (They are connected) I've been writing about this on my sneaker store blog. CLICK HERE to read about this. The reason I mention this is because I have made two major errors in buying into the belief that Social Media can be a strong springboard to business success when I should actually state that Social media should be a very small part of a small businesses marketing strategy. Another thing to consider, what if you have been building your site through Facebook and people have always associated you with Facebook? They never actually type your web address into the URL bar, they never bookmark your site, the only have used links to visit your site. If your site is marked as spam you're done. People are always looking for more stimulation (insert corny sex joke here). When they are on Facebook if you don't appear before their eyes, they will move on and look at the next thing.

This takes me back to the original question, is Facebook good for small biz? I am now thinking that it is a nice tool when used in moderation and if you don't have a message board for your website. However, think about this: When you are a person looking to expand your business and you need as many revenue streams as possible, does it make sense to begin a great conversation on Facebook where they are making millions from the multiple clicks and impressions on Facebook and you are feeding and fulfilling their content quota? I know the problem is, how do you get people to visit your site? Unfortunately any person who says they have this answer is a lying. The only thing that will drive people to your site is content. It may be better to spend your time creating something worthwhile to visit, than it is to post another link to Facebook. In the long run, someone may stumble across your little biz and they might tell a friend. Then one day, you may find yourself getting traffic to your site and your small business the old fashion way, the best way, word of mouth. Well word of mouth and of course learning as much as you can about SEO.

Rework by Jason Fried and David Hansson

2011-07-15T09:21:00.000-05:00

What is Rework? Rework is a book on rethinking what it is to be a small business person. The book was written by the founders of 37signals. Real quick, what I just did by inserting their link into this blog post has helped to increase their SEO. Why is this important in a book review? Well not really a book review... but a thank you to the writers of Rework. SEO is the search engine optimization. In the world of the internet in order for your business to be found in the search results of Google people have to share your link. This is placed in some funky program in Google's search engine and the more links to your site, the higher your site is listed when someone searches for certain information. This is important to me because I have found that through research and all kinds of stuff, my site ranks very low. Damn you people who don't understand this!

Okay sorry about that, but as most of you know who follow me shoe company blog/store I'm going through a transitional period right now. If you want to read about that visit http://www.arch-usa.com/ and you can't miss my current attack on ebay. How is this book review getting so far off topic? It isn't, bare with me and everything will come together. I recently read Just Do It by Donald Katz. This is an insider's look at Nike from 89-94. Another turbulent period for Nike. This book was a different more business based approach than Swoosh, which read like fiction. I guess that's because Rob Strasser a former Nike Man from the early days, wife wrote the book. Once again I deviate. Just Do It gives this incredible insight into the culture of Nike and how the company has come to so thoroughly to dominate the sportswear market. This is relevant to my small business because I am working on ARCH. So what does Rework have to do with this and why isn't this turning into a book review?

Rework is the book I just wrote. Let me rephrase that. I've been working on my book since 2008 and I finally finished it this summer. The book is called One Hour to Wealth and Wealth really isn't what the book is about. It is, but not in that way. This isn't about me, this is about Rework. I read Rework in about 3 hours.Why so fast? Because I am going to read it again. It's that type of book. There is so much great advice in the pages that it becomes overwhelming, but it's not overwhelming. Paradox? Yep, but no. The book is/was written in a way that makes it accessible. It doesn't sound like the advice of a millionaire who is a millionaire giving advice to a thousandaire on the verge of becoming a millionaire. Wait a minute, let me make that clear. Fried and Hansson have written a book that is for any person aspiring to work on their ideas for business. They don't give a framework and a step by step manual; they look at the excuses, the obstacles, the lies that a person tells themselves when approaching the start or the continuing of a business, and they explain why you have to rethink, redo, revise a lot of the ideas you have about business.

Rework captures the essence of Just Do It, and well, tells you to stay motivated. Okay you caught me with that one. Stay motivated is the slogan for ARCH. I had to throw that in there, along with one more link to Rework. If you are in a business funk, rut, hole, slowdown or if you are booming and your biz is doing well, I recommend this book because no business person should remain in the same place. You have to constantly change and rework your plan... sorry actually don't rework the plan, "stop guessing and start doing," or something like that. Read the book, thank me later and do what I did. Write them and thank them.

Memphis Hi-Lites: Memphis Redbirds

2011-07-04T14:37:00.000-05:00

Redbirds Park in Downtown Memphis

My family recently went back to our home state of California. We lived in a resort that was about a half a mile from the beach in Oceanside. We were only 45 minutes from California Adventures and Disneyland and we visited both. I went shopping at the border near Mexico, visited my alma mater San Diego State University (which has added an underground trolley station-something that is probably ruining GPAs all over campus) and then I went to eat at Sombreros, Pat and Oscars and Sammy's Woodfired Pizza. I stood in the Pacific and watched my son play in the ocean and I held my daughter as the June gloom began to recede and the sun was breaking through over the horizon. I felt the sand shift under my feet and I realized that I missed San Diego. I missed the idea of going to Julian for apple pie and ice cream. I missed the beach. When we got back on the road to come home, I realized that I was returning to a place that was going to be hot and for the most part angry. In my head, Memphis was not a choice as much as it was an agreement. Especially after being back in Cali, Memphis just seemed... blah.

Then I realized, that my mentality was creating my personification of the city. I forgot that I enjoyed watching the Grizzlies play at the Fed Ex Forum. It's not the Chargers, but it was great this year. I forgot that I had written several articles about the Trolley Tour in Downtown Memphis. Check the Memphis Hi-Lite tags. I decided that I was going to do the same thing in Memphis that I had done in San Diego. I went out and looked for the good. This weekend, the good was visiting the Memphis Redbirds at Autozone Park. It's not Petco in San Diego overlooking the Pacific, but Autozone has its own ambiance and qualitites.

Redbirds Action!

We decided on a whim to go to the game. We jumped in the car and began to drive. We considered the movies, but four people, popcorn, and drinks, to watch Kung Fu Panda wasn't that attractive. So we went downtown. We parked and walked to Autozone Park. Had we ordered our tickets online we would have saved a bit, but we were able to ask at the gate for a deal and we got 4 tickets which included 4 vouchers for free hot dogs and drinks for around 50 dollars! I realized that I had not taken my son to a baseball game before. As a matter of fact our family had not gone to a sporting event together in a while. As we entered the park there were displays, stores to purchase gear and smiling faces all around. My son was excited and my daughter was looking around with interest, she's three. We went to a line and recouped our snacks and made our way to our section. The game was not sold out, but there was a nice crowd. The Redbirds were playing Oklahoma City. The heat wasn't ridiculous and the bugs, were, well, bugging. We still enjoyed ourselves though and to cap it off, the Redbirds hit a grand slam (of course sponsored by Sonic).

Overall the value of the experience and the game were well worth the visit. I'm beginning to learn that Memphis has it's own charm. It may not be San Diego, but nowhere is like San Diego. Memphis though has its own flavor and I kind of like it (My next game, I'm getting some of those nachos!)

Check out the Redbirds online and go to a game doggone it. You'll enjoy yourself.

Rabbit Hole: A review

2011-06-28T08:52:00.000-05:00

Often when a stageplay is translated into a movie, there are certain nuances and quirks that can't be conveyed. The film has the ability to better explain small details through the use of various scene settings, lighting and production that a stage play doesn't capture. However, the character inflections, the capacity to interact with the stage and the ability for the theater to create a deeper cathartic moment tends to make stage plays more appealing. David Lindsay Abaire's Rabbit Hole won the Pulitzer in 2007. It was turned into a film, that he was able to write, in 2010 featuring Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart.

Watching Rabbit Hole is an uncomfortable interest. Once you realize what is occuring, when you move past the literary references to Stoppard in the dialogue and you stop admiring the visual presentation, you come to the realization that Abaire is forcing you to deal with something that no one wants to ever consider or discuss. The ability to relay a story of a couple that has to deal with a death (no spoilers) is a difficult job. However the script is so delicately drawn, yet forcefully delivered by the actors who play their parts so well, that watching at times creates the type of peripeteia for the viewer that turns us into the victim, but also turns us into the critic. How does a person deal with death? How should a marriage carry on after tragedy? Is the natural reaction to conflict to run away? Is running away the way to deal with it? Should I cheat because fulfillment at home is difficult to attain after a tragedy? Is sex a means to pacifying a relationship, or mending the fence?

The first allusion to Rabbit Hole that is considered is Carrol's Alice in Wonderland which should not be the case. The Rabbit Hole in the film actually relates to a comic drawn by a young man who has been given the ultimate burden. Jason (Miles Teller) is a young man who makes a mistake that shapes his life and the main characters lives, Kidman and Eckhart (Becca and Howie). The amazing subtext of the story is the relationship that forms between Jason and Becca, although this same relationship will never take place between Howie and Jason. In writing and showing how Jason is moving towards his catharsis by creating the comic Rabbit Hole, the explanation of the comic and it's basis in parallel universes lends itself to the hope that somewhere out there, "the other you is having fun."

While the movie has a darkness, there are some fantastic comedic moments that happen at moments of clarity for the characters. In the Pot Smoking Scene at the therapy session one of the best comedic acting jobs I've seen happens with Sandra Oh's character Gaby and Howie. This scene is at once liberating, and immediately reversed with the sobering cut to Howie's return to the house where his high is blown and all of the problems come crashing down all over again.

Rabbit Hole may be the best adaptation of a stage play into film that I've watched. I highly recommend the film.

This film was rented through Netflix.

Lecture on Entrepreneurship at GEAR UP

2011-06-21T23:00:00.000-05:00

Christopher D. Burns speaking to GEAR UP students
at Southwest TN College

I have had the pleasure of speaking to a number of groups about entrepreneurship in the last year and a half. The series of lectures that I've done have implemented my six years of small business experience, my instruction of Business Writing at Park University, and the recreation of my own ventures since going through a major failure in 2008. I had the experience this month (June 2011) of speaking with a group of high school students enrolled in the GEAR UP program at Southwest Tennessee College. I was invited by Dr. Young. This is a write up of the lecture. Take a few minutes to check this out and to visit a lecture from the University of Memphis on entrepreneurship.

Untitled for Ji Jaga

2011-06-05T10:41:00.000-05:00

In the garden, things grow
nurtured, soil turned, watered.
In time, from the soil, seedlings
breakthrough.
In Time, the grass turns from
brown, to lime, to green to
brown, and weeds crawl through
invasive, creeping slowly,
turning green grass brown
then dying
In Time. A man turns,
ages, learns, becomes
understood and this life
takes time. In 40 years a tree
is still young, still growing.
In Time, a people, oppressed
destroyed, learn to live and fight
for rights, die, reborn, learn to fight
back
against the weeds turning green
to brown.
In Time, short time, people
expect it all to go away.
A President, the athletes, singers,
a people, like weeds, hurting,
contributes to brown
patches.
In a week, I scream Gil-
Geronimo, and realize
we are like grass
In time

Welcome To The Rileys: A review

2011-05-31T08:59:00.000-05:00

Hypothetically answering, what would you do if your spouse decided to put headstones on your cemetery plot with your names on them and you were still alive? Welcome to the Rileys is a film that manages to create questions through a slow paced, carefully crafted narrative using characters who don't require a complete understanding. It isn't often that a film can take stock characters, familiar everyday people and make them compelling without adding in elements of the absurd. I don't mean absurd in the style of Beckett... Then again maybe I do.

When I think about family narratives, they are generally poorly, melodramatic Lifetime movies that are driven by the visual depiction of drama. A person dies tragically, is injured, or abused and the viewer is shown these images and instead of being led into the disentagration of family, the viewer is thrown headfirst into the emotional baggage of the characters forcing an emotional response. The only movie that I can speak of in terms of Black film where the death of a child is the center of the rise in action is Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married and that was with the characters played by Malik Yoba and Janet Jackson. The story line there presented a unique opportunity to establish a movie that could have been very similar to Welcome to the Rileys, but Perry dealt with that complicated storyline like Blacks couldn't handle a slowly drawn narrative of discovery.

In Welcome to the Rileys the viewer comes to the point of recognition and catharsis at almost the same time as the main characters. While watching the film was a bit awkward, because my familiarity with James Gandolfini (Doug) stems from the Sopranos, and his Southern/Midwest drawl was odd, I kept waiting on someone to get wacked, his character was a combination of distant, brooding and sensitive that enabled me to move beyond my idea of who he typically plays. Melissa Leo (Doug's wife Lois) is a character who creates small comedic moments in a tense film. Her character suffers from agoraphobia due to the tragedy of their daughter's death.

Interestingly enough Welcome to the Rileys does not focus on what has strained the relationship, but on the subtle changes people make after encountering a difficult, life changing tragedy. The story is given further depth through the introduction of Mallory, aka Gina, aka... A young girl who Doug meets while at a convention in New Orleans. Mallory (Kristen Stewart playing the girl from Eclipse, but she plays that role convincingly) is a stripper and part time call girl. The romantic image of New Orleans, since Katrina, has changed and the Director Jake Scott does not glamorize the city. He uses very interesting shots of the city to detail what has occured in New Orleans as a direct parallel to what has happened to the Riley family, or any family that deals with death and its divisions. Mallory lives in a home that is obviously in the ward that was flooded during Hurricane Katrina. The director does not state or show this directly and a person watching would have to be familiar with the images of the city. In a very understated way the house is shown and the red paint diamond, with an X marked through it, with the date in one section, the number of people found in the home alive or dead in one section, is seen only as a backdrop to Doug and Mallory's first united trip to the house.

There is an uncomfortable moment for the viewer as Doug interacts with Mallory, but slowly recognition occurs in his behavior towards her. Lois overcomes her distance in an attempt to save her relationship and the film becomes a study in hope. Welcome to the Rileys is definitely worth your time. I give the film 4 out of 5 stars.

Written by Ken Hixon

Night Catches Us: a review

2011-05-30T08:54:00.001-05:00

On January 1st, I dropped a trailer for the film Night Catches Us. I didn't know a lot about the film but I knew that Kerry Washington and Anthony Mackie were the lead actors and to me this meant that it was a movie worth my time. I had generally forgotten about the film since then, until it showed up in our Instant Watch on Netflix.

Night Catches Us is the feature film debut of Tanya Hamilton who wrote and directed the movie. In the easiest description of the film Marcus (Anthony Mackie) returns to Philadelphia where he was a member of the Black Panther Party. Patricia (Kerry Washington) another former Panther still remains in the same neighborhood where a tragic situation has created in her the need to carry on the programs created by the Panthers, although the BPP is no longer in the position of influence it held.

Hamilton uses an artistic lens to capture Philadelphia and the film is more like a study of the neighborhood for photography and videography. The images of the Philly streets are often captured with the street signs in the background, or buildings or abandoned lots, trash strewn streets, in contrast to the images she captures of children playing and people walking from neighborhood stores. Every shot involves a character, in thought, standing face to face with someone or something that seems to be eroding. The score by the Roots recreates a seventies sound without sounding antiquated. Overall the movie is beautifully crafted and at 1hour and 30 minutes the scenes shift and move quickly, which isn't jarring, but does create questions.

Although the imagery and quality is incredible I could only give the film 3 out of 5 stars. It was not due to the acting, which held together a script that had more potential than follow through. The acting was powerful and Mackie and Washington lend credibility to their roles and depth to lines that lack the needed development to really grasp the time. The Black Panther Party has appeared in film often and there has yet to be a portrayal that has really defined what the Panthers did and how important they are to history. Hamilton does use actual footage of the Death of Fred Hampton and archival footage of the Panthers and their food programs and of course the shots of Bobby Seale and the chants are always there lingering at moments of confusion, but the story is rushed and some plot points are established but not given enough clarity. Black Thought (Tariq Trotter of the The Roots) plays Marcus' brother Bos, a Muslim who is only utilized in a few scenes, but his voice and the visual depiction of him in his all black clothing and his relationship with his brother could have been a stronger storyline.

What Night Catches Us does do very well is to capture the confusion of the 70s and this makes the film worth watching. The 70s saw the removal of certain political and social walls for Blacks. It seemed that the advancements of the Civil Rights movement had actually given Blacks some status, but the actual facts were that the Black neighborhood became more fractured and the Panthers' role in the neighborhood, became unstable due to government (national and local) forces that infiltrated and corrupted the organization. This destruction of the people from the inside out, left a whole generation with the ideals of the Panthers, but without the foundation. In other words the destruction of the Panthers created the current state in Black America: People who are unaware of the damage controlled media images and broken homes create in the community. This is given incredible power in one scene with the character Jimmy (Patricia's brother) who is a young man searching for an identity in a world that is not ready to accept him as a man and a world that does not want to explain to him the past.

While somewhat predictable, with stock characters, Night Catches Us is a solid film that should be watched because it is important and entertaining.

Here is the link to the trailer here on CB Publishing.

The website for the film can be found by visiting http://www.nightcatchesus.com/

Get To Know: In Honor of Gil Scott Heron

2011-05-27T23:25:00.000-05:00

I wrote this paper while I was enrolled as an undergrad at San Diego State University. I did not edit this in any way. I felt compelled to post this because people will allow Gil Scott's death to go uncelebrated, and unrecognized. I hope they won't. I won't because his death diminshes my creative world, but in his own words of Guan Guanco, we are born to discover ourselves and in doing so we have our rebirth and regeneration. Gil Scott is now among the ancestors and within all of us we carry his spirit and by sharing we keep him alive. This is long so come back to it if you have to. Chris B.

The Words of a Modern-Day Jali

(Gil Scott-Heron’s Influences, Social Commentary and his Affect on the Hip-Hop and Spoken Word Community)

I stood with the others along the shimmering coast as waves pushed loose sand from troughs and carried rocks onto the shore. We had awaited the call of the Atumpan for several days waited for the master drummer to tell of us any impending danger. Each day seemed longer than before. Our chieftain had informed us that we did not have the weapons to match the gunpowder that the British men carried. To calm us he asked everyone to listen to the sound of the talking drum. After listening he then told us that this was our advantage. I failed to understand. The Atumpan gives us notice, we see the enemy through the words of the drum, he explained. After waiting for close to five days for the White men to arrive the warriors began to finish the tasks of moving baskets of yams too heavy for the women and children to carry.

It was early, quiet. The sun made long shadows of trees on the shore. The waves echoed the warning from the Atumpan that the White men had returned and would be arriving with guns and various weapons, I felt my chest tighten. The women and children ran to safety. I prepared along with the others for what was about to occur. The speed of the drumming carried over the water faster, with more urgency. I felt fear. I asked my chieftain if the drums were wrong. In his heavy raspy words he informed me that the drums were never wrong. We all moved from the shore in accordance with the call from Atsimewu and prepared for battle. Atsimewu sounded They are here, they are here.

In our past, in every African society there were people known as Dagomba. Dagomba was a griot and a master drummer who knew, completely, the past and the present history of his people. This tradition of historic storytelling presented by elders such as a Dagomba, has been an integral part of African-American music and history. In particular this form of storytelling influenced an artform which ‘began’ in the 1970’s, Hip-Hop.

Hip-Hop, a form of music from the inner city, began as party music. A DJ would play songs and rap, or talk, over the instrumental parts of records, in order to keep the crowd moving during the fade in and fade out of a record. As people began to listen more and more to what the DJ would say, the DJ’s rap became more sophisticated and the lyrics, storytelling, became more focused. The lyrics reported on the events taking place in neighborhoods and in society.

Similar to the Dagomba, and the playing of the Atumpan, Hip-Hop consisted of spoken words in conjunction with a heavy drumbeat. The words of the deejay/ emcee began to give references and warnings of societal problems affecting African-Americans. For instance, Grandmaster Flash wrote a song titled, White Lines: Don’t Do It. This was a reference to the cocaine addiction problem that exploded in New York and other parts of the country. The line, “Don’t Do It,” is an obvious precursor to the very flawed, “Just Say No,” campaign pushed forth by Nancy Reagan and the government years later.

Hip Hop, as documented by Nelson George, began in New York with a DJ whose stage name was Kool Herc. However, just as the lineage of jazz and blues is rooted in the rhythms of African music, so is Hip-Hop. But, as the following information will detail, there was a more immediate precursor, a founder, and a prophet for the culture of Hip-Hop, not unlike the griot. This creator and torchbearer of social-consciousness storytelling began by shouting to the world that, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” (Heron 1), and he never looked back. His messages of hope, desperation, and family focused on the concept of ‘Us’ instead of ‘I’. Heron was quoted as saying, “Black Americans do a lot of singing about ‘I’…We were singing ‘us’ songs…because we didn’t love ourselves at the time” (Saunders pg. 2).

In the turn of a phrase he had the biting wit of a confident satirist who condemned the government for pushing human rights from the public spectrum. While others declined to comment on society in their art, his views can be found in all of his music and writings.

Gil Scott-Heron arrived on the music scene in 1970 with music that was thought provoking and representative of the times. In the following pages, a picture will be painted that will cover the landscape of Gil Scott Heron’s influences, his passion for the written word, his admiration of the beauty of music created from the African culture and how he has influenced the Hip-Hop movement.

Throughout African-American history our music symbolized the struggles of our past, the happiness in our lives and the situations that created the happiness or sadness. Sorrow songs, the field songs, cries, hollers and hymns named by W.E.B. DuBois were sung during the time when African-Americans were enslaved. The songs were often coded messages that gave slaves directions of escape and a means of communication with others in the field. This ability to use music as a tool for the dissemination of information continued through the works of Gil Scott-Heron.

Gil Scott-Heron was born in Chicago, April 1, 1949 (Contemporary pg. 189), at a time when civil rights struggles were reaching a new level of importance in African-American politics. This racial and confrontational backdrop would become fodder for the music of Gil Scott. The fifties and sixties introduced leaders and groups who had the experience, motivation and ability to organize Blacks and fight segregation, unlike any other time. It was this racially charged era that bore poets such as Nikki Giovanni, Stanley Crouch and Angela Davis (SonicNet pg. 2). These poets came along at a time when the non-violent ideas of Dr. King had been obliterated by the bullet fired in Memphis, TN. These poets along with the heavy influence of The Last Poets set the tone for Gil Scott’s arrival.

Like all Blacks, as a child, Heron had no choice in understanding, accepting and overcoming racism. He learned at an early age how vicious the sting of prejudice comments could be. As a child he lived with his grandmother in Jackson, Tennessee where he, “[H]ad the nerve to be one of three Black kids who integrated a Jackson elementary school” (Maycock pg. 1). As traumatizing a situation as this was, it is reasonable to understand why in this southern state he was, “[U]nable to tolerate the abuse ladled out by his White schoolmates” (Bourgoin pg. 189). Many African- Americans believed that salvation could be found in cities of the north. Heron’s grandmother, who continued to fight for Civil Rights, believed this. She sent him to live with his mother in the Bronx, New York, after she realized his inability to cope with the constant abuse by his White peers (pg. 189).

However, the melting pot of diversity that awaited Gil Scott, was not a haven that kept him from segregation and racism. New York was exemplary of the broad spectrum of cultural frustration that existed in America. New York also made available to Heron the different and numerous forms of African-American culture. Although he was not immediately attracted to music, his attraction to writing became stronger.

Heron began writing at an early age, “[H]e was writing detective stories by the time he was in fifth grade” (Clark pg. 307). Heron’s early writings were a precursor to the diverse outspoken topics that became a standard for him.

His ability to capture his thoughts and place them onto paper was a definite sign of the inherent talent of a young Black man who would carry the torch of storytelling. His storytelling would be in correlation with the way Black society was represented, or misrepresented. Just as the Jali, or griot, was educated from birth to know his history, Scott was nurtured and continued to write into his formative high school years. In one of New York’s more prestigious schools, “Fieldston School in the Bronx, he began to absorb modern black poetry by men like Langston Hughes” (Clark Jr. pg. 307). Absorbing the aura of one of African-America’s cultural and spiritual meccas, Harlem, Gil Scott found himself so attracted to the work of Langston Hughes that he decided to continue his education at Langston Hughes’ alma mater, Lincoln University in rural Pennsylvania (Clark Jr. pg. 308). As a student at Lincoln he was awarded the, “Langston Hughes Creative Writing Award in 1968” (pg. 308).

The time he spent at Lincoln was the springboard for his journey into music, but his writing was the vehicle he would use to maneuver into the musical realm. Heron’s poetry, although heavily influenced by the Harlem renaissance poets, was similar to the spoken word work of the Last Poets, in it’s brash, in your face presentation. One of his influences occurred through contact with Gylan Kain, a member of the Last Poets, who was on the faculty at Lincoln University for a short time (pg. 308).

Heron, during his time at Lincoln accomplished things that are amazing considering he worked, attended school full time and at times was a member of the university basketball team. He completed two novels. The first book was The Vulture, which he completed at the age of nineteen. The Vulture was a novel that presented the problem of drugs and gangs in American society. The plot of Heron’s book continues to be addressed in movies of the Hip-Hop era such as, Boyz in The Hood and New Jack City. His second novel, The Nigger Factory, was a story partially based on a student strike Heron led as a student at Lincoln University. The book dealt with, “[P]olitical unrest and....the history of campus discord” (Bourgoin pg. 189), this book could have likely been the foundation for another movie of the Hip-Hop era, Higher Learning.

Both of his novels have the feel of hopelessness and desperation. It wasn’t until his second book; that his personal growth would give hints of a slight change in his ideas about the oppressive state of America. That book was a collection of poetry, which was to become the basis for his first recording, Small Talk at 125th & Lenox.

“The poems in Small Talk fall into two types: the free verse street rap, and the shorter rhymed poems…close to the blues in… folksy tones” (Clark Jr. pg. 309). Heron’s constant desire to become a better writer led him to use colloquial tones, which gave a familiarity to his writing. The rhythm his words and speech carried were similar, of course, to his muse Langston Hughes. For example, this is a section of a poem by Hughes named I, Too:

…. I am the darker brother.

They send me to eat in the kitchen

But I laugh/ And eat well/ And grow strong.

Tomorrow…Nobody’ll dare

Say to me, “Eat in the kitchen.” (Sherman pg. 74)

Although Heron’s earlier writings all dealt with topics that lacked the usual ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ he did become more optimistic about the possible changes in American society. The words in Small Talk were still harsh and straight to the point, but his inspiration becomes evident in his poem, Enough:

There is

no promised land! There is only

the promise! …..

look over your shoulder motherfucker

I AM COMING! (pg. 309)

These volatile words, as angry as they seem, stated that we could make a change once we realized that the ‘Promised Land’ was what we made it to be. Similar to Hughes’ I, Too the message of Enough is the same, if you continue to ignore me I will surpass you and find my own way in this world. Unlike the desperate nature and outcome of Heron’s two books, in Small Talk he began to tackle the problems of African-American neighborhoods with maturity. The hopeless ideas had been replaced with his notion that we had to make our Promised Land by working and challenging the norms of the greater society. The words in the poem, Enough resounds throughout positive messages found in Hip-Hop recordings such as Public Enemy’s, “It takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back." Conscious songs like Arrested Developments', "Raining Revolution," almost every thing that Tupac attempted to accomplish and the passion of every record by Common also reflects Heron’s transmission.

As was mentioned earlier, Heron’s book of poetry was the catalyst for his mix into the music business, “[A]ged 21 in 1970, Record producer Bob Thiele recorded a first album…the same…as the poetry book…to conga beats and percussion” (Maycock pg. 2).

Being reborn and baptized into another artform at such an early age is in itself a fantastic accomplishment, but this recording was only the beginning. His articulation of what he was doing, singing poetry over jazz and blues music was given the name ‘Bluesology’. This term he described in terms similar to what people stated about the rhythms of African music, the sound is a structured feeling,

What bluesology is supposed to say is how it feels. [It’s] not melodic, exotic or erotic; it ain’t none of those things. It’s that they all come together and relate what it feels like. I play what it feels like (Bourgoin pg.191).

Soon his music overtook his writing and decreased the attention that was given to his books. But this was not of any concern to him, his sole intent as he stated was to, “[R]ecognize the “spirits” of [B]lack ancestors and the history of the struggle…to share ‘gifts” (Bourgoin pg.191). With this first album of poetry the ground had been set to take his outspoken expression to a new level. His outlet would allow him the opportunity to reach millions, and the songs would lay the groundwork for, “[C]onscious rap and poetry slams [and] acid jazz” (Harrington pg. 1).

Small Talk was recorded on the Flying Dutchman record label. This label had set a number of poets’ and ‘political agitators’ works to music, such as the aforementioned Angela Davis. Heron recorded for Dutchman records from 1970- 1974 (Bourgoin pg. 190). The recordings are a collaboration with a fellow Lincoln University friend, and co-founder of their “Midnight Band,” Brian Jackson. Others in the band included, “[B]assist Ron Carter and flutist Hubert Laws” (Saunders pg. 2). While Jackson was the musical talent of the two, Heron wrote the lyrics and also composed a number of songs. During his stint on Dutchman he recorded three albums with songs titled, Whitey on the Moon, “[A] satirical look at American socio-economic values” (Bourgoin pg. 190), Lady Day and Coltrane, and A Sign of the Ages (Heron). Each song complemented his growth. They either recognized African-American heritage, or dealt with society issues. He also created a piece which many consider the first Hip-Hop recording, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised. Just as he did early in his college career, Heron was burning the candle at both ends. He completed his degree in English, creative writing, and went on to finish his master's degree, all while he continued to perform and make new music (Bordowitz pg. 2).

He began teaching creative writing at Federal City College in Washington D.C. while pursuing his artistic expression, but he stopped, “I didn’t think I was doing a good enough job as a teacher and that’s what I was there for” (pg. 2). Heron walked away from teaching and from the Flying Dutchman to become the first artist signed to Arista Records in 1975 (Saunders pg. 2). But before he was signed to Arista, he recorded an album that would bring him to the attention of Arista’s label owner Clive Davis. The name of the album was Winter in America. The song which gained the attention of Davis was titled, The Bottle, “[A] powerful single lamenting the mind-numbing influence of alcohol in the [B]lack community” (Saunders pg. 2). Winter in America, was a return to the roots. The album featured Heron, Jackson, Danny Bowens and Bob Adams, who both drove up on the last day of recording to participate in the record’s completion (Heron 2). In Heron’s liner notes, he states what the metaphor of Winter is, “Mrs. Peggy Harris…contributed the collage…[she] continued to urge me to write a song called Winter in America… Winter is a metaphor for the period in our lives through which we are traveling” (Heron 2). The collage to which Heron is referring is a part of the cover on this album. It is a multifaceted picture of Vietnam veterans, slaves toiling as an overseer watches, children playing, and hustler’s hanging and rapping on a street corner. The collage also has a Black couple hugging each other in a park, a statue of Abraham Lincoln, a silhouette of an African-American man in prison and continuous images that can be described in detail. As an understatement this album is a visual and musical work of art.

One of the songs on this record, contains another reference that has been considered a precursor to Hip-Hop, “H2Ogate Blues”, “H20gate Blues is a freestyle ‘70s-style, a partially extemporaneous blues-rap featuring caustic sociopolitical commentary that still stings 25 years later” (Harrington pg. 1). The song title is an obvious reference to Watergate. But it’s the style in which the song was made that ties it more so into Hip-Hop. In the Hip-Hop culture an emcee is respected when he is able to ‘kick a lyric from the top of his dome’, or create a rhyme from inspiration. This ability to freestyle obviously comes from the gospel era, or even the slave songs, where a singer was expected to use heterophony, which is usually performed when one is inspired (Southern pg. 198). H2Ogate was recorded, “[O]ff the top of his head” (Heron 2).

Upon closer inspection of Heron’s music we find that nearly all of his songs, books and styles, have been sampled and reproduced by people of the Hip-Hop/spoken word era. For example, the use of percussion, to set the tone of the record, was one of Heron’s trademarks. In Hip-Hop the emcee raps over break beats created by a deejay on a turntable, or in the case of live Hip-Hop bands such as Stetsosonic (mid eighties) and The Roots (current), the bands use classically trained percussionists. Hip-Hop has transferred urban poetry into music, placing political and social commentary into songs, like the KRS-ONE project record, Self-Destruction, which was inspired by the early eighties anti-apartheid album Sun City. Heron was a part of the Sun City record; he recorded a song with Miles Davis and rapper, Melle Mel (Bourgoin pg.190).

The last album Heron created was titled Spirits. Spirits arrived after Heron’s turbulent eighties, he had parted ways with the Midnight Band and created his new band the Amnesia Express in 1980. He continued to attack politics with songs about the, “Ray-Gun era…[where he] ferociously spoke about the Reagan era’s demolition of the social policies that had been in place for twenty years, and what that did to the black working class” (Maycock pg. 2). Heron had not recorded for over twelve years when he made Spirits. People wondered where he had been. The answer could be found on one of the tracks he recorded for Spirits, “I need to go home. Mama could change it, Daddy could help me…Mama don’t need to see me this way…I can’t go on” (Maycock pg. 2-3). Heron had been fighting a drug addiction problem and this song he had written earlier, Home Is Where The Hatred Is, came to be his, ‘personal testimony’.

With a career that has spanned three decades, Heron’s dedication, to writing and his influence on the Hip-Hop culture has covered miles. From South Africa to South Carolina, the title of his 1975 release, Gil Scott-Heron has maintained the link from the history lessons of Dagomba, to Sorrow songs, to gospel, to the creation of Hip-Hop. Although he won’t say that he is the founder of the Hip-Hop/Spoken Word culture, “I ain’t saying I didn’t invent rapping, I just cannot recall the circumstances” (Bourgoin pg. 191). The evidence is overwhelming in stating that he is truly the grandfather of the Hip-Hop and spoken word artform.

Gil Scott’s Message

Baritone words of revolution, hidden messages of dreams,

Us Black folk done fell asleep. Wake yo ass up and realize,

the fields is still callin, invitin you back.

Yet you gloat and brag

lookin like retired pimps from SuperFly,

thinkin that’s cool, fool, find yo spirit.

Speak of heritage, there is much more to this world

than you believe. Open yo eyes and realize

things ain’t changed that much, brother. (Burns)

Gil Scott did not officially accept the badge that this culture placed upon him. But in his own words on a song from Spirits, he told the messengers of Hip Hop to beware because their words hold power, like the Jali, the misuse of one word can reshape history forever.

End Note: I spoke to Reg E Gaines, who has performed with Heron and is a co-writer of Bring in Da Noize, Bring in Da Funk on Friday, March 10, 2000 at an Open Mic in San Diego. He signed an autograph for me and informed me that Gil Scott is still dealing with his drug problem.

Why We Homeschool: A Response to Wendy Thomas and the Commercial Appeal

2011-05-27T10:26:00.001-05:00

Okay, I have hesitated to comment on this homeschool athletics situation on the CA(Commercial Appeal) that has led to a lot of misconceptions/perceptions based on the opinion of people who haven't homeschooled their children and have probably never been involved in the educational system. I think my voice is a good measuring stick for the reality of homeschool. I won't hide behind screen names to write this.

My name is Christopher D. Burns. Look it up, google, bing, whatever. I have been an educator since 1995. First in San Diego, in Tennessee and in Mississippi. I have taught at both the high school level and collegiate level (as a tenure track professor and an adjunct). My wife and I decided to home school our son not because of religious reasons. I am not of any religion; I am spiritual, but my point is our decision was based on a few factors outside of religion. Anyone interested in knowing in detail what they are e-mail me (CA this is your chance to interview someone). Our son, at 3 years old could read and memorize poetry. He has memorized the I Have A Dream Speech and countless other poems and speeches in his homeschool curriculum. I bring this up to say at 7 years old, when he was in the second grade we encountered the worst teacher a kid could have. In the second grade he was reading at an 6th grade level, but the teacher was teaching other students at the 1st grade level.

In other words my son was bored to death in his classes, so he played with his pencil. There was PE once a week and he had no way to get out all of the energy that young boys have. The teacher began contacting us on a daily basis. My wife would go to the school and stand in the hallway to observe. She even had the principal observe him. His behavior was not distracting, the teacher simply found it easier to call us and complain because we responded. We were the parents who cared and we were involved in the PTA and any program the school was having. I began to see a change in my son. He was becoming more withdrawn and didn't seem as excited about going to school, this is a kid who was the Salutatorian of his pre K program and performed all of the speeches because the other kids were afraid and didn't memorize theirs. This is a kid who wrote, and we published, his first book in kindergarten. My son loved school and in the second grade he was being made into an automaton who had to sit still for 8 hours a day. I don't know adults who can sit still for 1 hour.

We took him out of school and enrolled him in Homelife Academy. They keep the records of his transcripts for when he will enroll in school again, if he does.

Now, so you understand what homeschool is for non-religious people:

The majority of his school takes place in the house using course outlines we purchase from various educational outlets. These otulines are very detailed and comporable and actually better than any lesson plans a "certified" teacher uses in schools. We pay anywhere from 250 to 800 dollars for his course outlines per year. He has further science instruction at the Pink Palace Homeschool program where he interacts with Asian, Black, White, Latino homeschooled students. His homeschool, where he should attend, is 99% Black. He has his art classes at home reinforced by the Brooks Museum Homeschool program. His physical science skills are reinforced with homeschool lessons from the Botanical Gardens. Oh, the Pink Palace program is actually taught by Austin Onek the news weatherman on CBS.

He is learning to play the guitar. Competes in soccer and basketball at the Y and the Olive Branch rec association and his math is based on a Japanese instruction method that allows him to utilize math patterns to simplify and remove the fear of math. He has begun writing utilizing the 3 - 5 essay method that high school students use to write in the various organizational structures. He has learned to be an independent thinker and what is really kind of cool is that he can't tell you what the freshest Jordan shoes are and he can't tell you what the latest dance is, but he can tell you what will happen to the Earth because of the climate changes and then he can recite Langston Hughes. He also knows that he wants to go to MIT. My son is 9 years old.

The CA is looking to increase traffic to their site by allowing Wendy a platform to talk about something she obviously hasn't researched and doesn't have the first drop of intelligence about. I think what everyone should do is actually ask a homeschool child how they feel about it. First though, realize that whatever you think you know about homeschool, you don't really know at all. I'll bet none of you who are discussing this knew that these programs (that we pay for) were in place in Memphis. I'll bet you didn't know that home schoolers get more real world socialization than public school children. I'll bet you didn't know that homeschoolers get admitted into Ivy league schools at a higher rate than public school students. While I have worked in public education, I think it has its benefits, but it has the most unrealistic model for a student's success in the future. The world is no longer an assembly line. Students today are going to have to work in a world where individual thought and creativity will create jobs and income.

The public school does not promote individuality, it diminishes it. The public school forces the creative energy of a child to be removed for the sake of control and discipline. When a homeschooler in the Pink Palace program, being taught by Austin Onek has a question he has to sit quietly and answer as a college student would. He has to use logic and critical thinking skills to answer questions about real world science and then he has to go home and work on assignments from books that force him to analyze and write using cross discipline methods. The public school child is taught not to talk or be loud and is often afraid to ask questions because that can be seen as being a nerd, uncool.

I think many people have a real misunderstanding of what homeschool is. I have taught several Comp1 courses and other writing courses at Southwest TN. College. In those courses, the students that I remember the most were the homeschool students who were taking college courses in lieu of homeschool English. These students spoke without fear and without caring what their counterparts thought about them. They had confidence that wasn't based on their clothes or coolness. They understood the value of creativity and in this world, the new digital/global economy, creativity and the abilty to learn and adapt, not assimilate will generate their success.

Because I'm PREGNANT

2011-05-25T13:36:00.008-05:00

Congratulations! It's a....dream?

One of my guilty pleasures is watching MTV's 16 & Pregnant. You've seen it right? It always start with the girl giving background details of her life. She talks about where she's from, her family, and then she talks about how things have changed with the panning of the camera to a huge stomach with her saying the ending tagline..."because, I'm pregnant."

I notice on 16 & Pregnant that up until the birth of their child, the mothers are generally living a carefree and easy life. They are preparing for their child to be born. They buy the crib, take breathing classes, beg their parents to understand, try to get their finances in order, and they genuinely believe that on or around that due date, a baby is popping out of their vagina.

The same approach should be taken when we pursue our dreams. If it takes nine months for a baby to be nursed and planned, what makes us think we can birth a dream overnight. Also, it is important that we set a time limit as to when our plan should be attained and achieved. If we can predict when a baby, a precious life, a human being, will enter the world, who are we to say our dreams can come and go whenever they want. We have to give them a due date.

Another thing I notice on the show, is that once that baby is born, it's a wrap! The mother is entirely consumed with every single detail concerning that baby. She rises with the baby, the goes to sleep with the baby, stays up long nights with the baby, feeds the baby, smiles at the baby, spoil the baby, bathe the baby, and so on. I have yet to see an episode where a mother gives birth to the baby and either leaves it at the hospital or takes it home only to collect dust on the shelf. That's simply negligent. For the ones that do ignore the needs of their baby, are generally the ones that live a life of regret, confusion, conflict, and emotional distress. They simply weren't ready for the baby. Then there are the mothers that decide to give their baby away because there is always someone else who will take a neglected dream, I mean baby, and care for it and nurture it as though it were their own because they failed to produce a baby of their own.

A lot of us are unfit mothers when it comes to the dreams and ideas placed in us. Some of us are 86 weeks pregnant, overdue, or we have neglected a baby we gave birth to four years ago. We can't find our baby.

And just like that Cosby episode, men can get pregnant too.

For you nosey people, I AM pregnant but there is no human being growing inside of me. Instead there are a myriad of ideas, poems, songs, events, websites, businesses, and dreams that I am preparing to birth and when they are born I will give them my full attention and parent them with the responsibility that God has entrusted to me.

How do you know if you're pregnant?

Unfortunately, a traditional pregnancy test won't help detect this kind of pregnancy. But here's a test: Answer yes or no to the following questions.

1. Do you see something and immediately think of ways that it can be done better?

2. Do you get ideas of a business or service that you or someone you know can provide?

3. Have you caught yourself daydreaming of being in the spotlight doing a hobby you love?

4. Do you ever say, "If I had ______, I would do______."?

5. Do you think of unconventional ideas that could benefit others around you?

6. Ever get frustrated with an issue effecting a large group of people to the point where you want to do something about it?

If you answered yes to most of these questions, well, congratulations, you're pregnant!

Just with a actual pregnancy there are side effects and risks involved with sharing your body with another human being.

1. You must watch what you eat and maintain a healthy lifestyle if you are going to produce a dream. You must have enough energy to complete the task.

2. Just as your outer appearance will change and be obvious to those around you, your inner man will change too if you get pregnant with a dream. If your outer man got pregnant, your stomach and body will change. If your inner man got pregnant, your attitude will change.

3. Those same friends you had before you got pregnant, may not be around as much after you give birth. They will not understand why you give so much attention to the bundle of joy that you are now responsible for.

4. The only people who truly understand what you are going through, are those who have pushed out dreams. They will know what is like and the pain they had to endure throughout and during the birthing process. They will understand the sacrifice. Surround yourself with people who have successfully carried and birthed a dream.

So, you're pregnant and the first question the baby daddy asks, though he is partially responsible, is, "Soooo, what are YOU gonna do?"

Imagine, God is your baby daddy and he allows the seed of a dream to be carried in you. Believe or not, he still gives you the option as to how you want to handle the responsibility. You can either:

1. Get an abortion. Kill the dream and forever wonder what life would have been like had the dream had been born. Who will the dream have affected, touched, saved, healed. What contribution could that dream had of made to the world.

2. Adoption. Give the dream to someone else and allow them to nurture and provide for that dream even though you created it.

3. Keep It. You may not know how in the world are you going provide and take care of this life altering dream, but the decision to keep the dream, care for it, and watch it grow before your eyes, will be the biggest joy and rewarding experience ever.

I'm keeping my babies! If anybody wants to ever babysit or buy my babies pampers and food, I am also looking for volunteers and investors. :-)

"Most ideas are stillborn and need the breath of life injected into them through definite plans of immediate action. The time to nurse an idea is at the time of its birth. Every minute it lives gives it a better chance of surviving." -Napoleon Hill, Author or Think and Grow rich

Lisa B.