Activist Alert

8.8.2012 Every time a tragedy like the shooting of the Sikh Gurudwara in Oak Park, Wisconsin happens, we’re told these crimes are “senseless” acts, anomalies in an otherwise good system, and that we should take time to mourn the loss of the lives of those who were killed. But when the shooter has a history of involvement with neo-nazis and was in a white supremacist band, it becomes more difficult to think of this as a freak occurrence, unrelated to other factors in our societies. In this, we almost entirely gloss over the fact that we live in a world where neo-nazi and similar white-supremacist groups are multiplying. We’re living in a country where a Presidential nominee can criticize our non-white president for not respecting the US’s “anglo-saxon heritage” and still maintain credibility as a possible leader for this country. If you’re appalled over this shooting, it’s important to realize that the extreme right-wing white-supremacists are enabled by comments like Romney’s.  People like Mitt Romney can get away with more subtle racism, because they’re not as overt as neo-nazis. And on the flip side, neo-nazis and similar white supremacists are tolerated because they make mainstream racism seem less severe and/or dangerous.  Both must be engaged with and fought against in order to prevent more tragedies like this shooting because they are both key elements of an intricate puzzle of racism that’s been created over the past 600 years. Of course, war and US imperialism are a key part in that puzzle, and we want to point out that tomorrow marks the 68th anniversary of the US’s second nuclear bombing of Japan, in Nagasaki. There will be a vigil tonight recognizing the world’s only military atomic bombings at the White House at 9:30pm, and will immediately follow a 6pm vigil for those in the Sikh community in Oak Park, Wisconsin who lost their lives Sunday morning Hope to see you there, Sonia, Dany, & Ricky! Want to stay in the loop? Click here for our full list of progressive events in the DC Metro Area.	IN THIS ISSUE: Featured Resource: Anti-Oppression Resources Featured Article: Not Senseless, Not Random: The Deadly Mix of Race, Guns & Madness EVENTS: United Against Hate Columbia Heights Community Wireless Network Meeting Nagasaki Commemoration & Candlelight Vigil Chalkupy MoCo Peace House Iftar Dinner: A Gathering for Peace Solidarty Concert for Pussy Riot Movie Fundaiser: "Igual Que Tu" Black August Film Screening: Angola 3 Black Panthers and the Last Slave Plantation Film Screening Open Media: Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices Film: Will the Real Terrorist Please Stand Up CONNECT TO US:  Find us on Facebook  Follow us on Twitter  Find more local events  Email us  Donate today
***Featured Resource*** Anti-Oppression Resources We featured this one last week, but given Monday's events, we'd like to encourage you to revisit our anti-oppression resources. As an anti-racist organization, the Washington Peace Center strives to be a constructive force for peace and justice by eliminating forms of oppression such as racism, sexism, classism and heterosexism, as well as the violence inherent in these, and in their place establishing alternative structures and relations that are nonhierarchical, nonviolent, humane and just. We see part of peace work as seeking to dismantle the structures and beliefs that perpetuate racism and all other types of oppression, both within the Peace Center and society in general. Our Anti-Oppression Resources include articles and tips, exercises, and organizations who do anti-oppression trainings. For more information, click here Back to Top
United Against Hate Wednesday August 8th, 6pm-8pm Northside of Lafayette Park at the Whitehouse 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW This Candlelight vigil is for the victims of the Wisconsin Sikh Gurdwara shooting and other victims of hate.  Come join for a night of remembrance and reflection where participants will stand against religious intolerance and insanity of mass shootings. Performances Start at 7 pm sharp.  For more information, click here Back to Top
Columbia Heights Community Wireless Network Meeting Wednesday, August 8th, 7pm Wonderland Ballroom 1101 Kenyon St. NW A wireless network can help you communicate with your neighbors and share the cost of an Internet connection. The potential benefits for our community include: faster internet access, lower phone bills, health information, neighborhood safety, environmental justice, local news and education, many applications we cannot yet imagine...You'll learn more about the technology behind community wireless networks, hear ideas and goals for organizing the community and building the network, and plan next steps. For more information, click here Back to Top
Nagasaki Commemoration & Candlelight Vigil Wednesday, August 8th, 9:30pm White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Organized by the Hiroshimi-Nagasaki Peace Commitee, there will be a commemoration and candlelight vigil held in remembrance of the atomic bombings which took place in 1945. A moment of silence will be observed at 10:02pm. For more information, click here Back to Top
Chalkupy MoCo Thursday August 9th, 6pm-8pm Veteran's Plaza 1 Veterans' Plaza, Silver Spring, MD In response to a call put out by Occupy LA we'll protest police brutality and support the OWS movement on the city sidewalks at Vets Plaza and around Downtown Silver Spring. Meet up at Vets Plaza and bring your own chalk or share some of ours. Show Solidarity with Occupy LA! Come out to join us and express yourself --- chalking is NOT vandalism - it is Free Speech! For more information, click here Back to Top
Peace House Iftar Dinner: A Gathering for Peace Thursday August 9, 7:30pm Peace House 1233 12th St NW For the Holy month of Ramadan, the Peace House would like to host their own Ramadan Iftar on the 9th of August 2012 in the Peace House. In this Iftar they are calling people of all faiths to come join them in a communal peace and tolerance celebration of Ramadan. The evening will engage people in topics and conversations of peace, reconciliation and the power of the people united. For more information, click here Back to Top
Solidarty Concert for Pussy Riot Friday August 10th, 5:15pm-8pm Outside of the Russian Embassy Corner of Wisconsin Ave & Edmunds St NW Detained members of the Punk Rock Group Pussy Riot are currently on trial, facing a possible seven year sentence. Their crime? An impromptu punk performance in Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow. The three young women, who have been charged with “hooliganism,” now face up to seven years’ imprisonment simply because their punk rock band gave a politically charged and impromptu performance poking fun at President Putin at a cathedral. Join Amnesty International for this solidarity concert featuring Brenda, Mobius Strip, and Sad Bones. For more information, click here Back to Top
Movie Fundaiser: "Igual Que Tu" Friday August 10th, 7pm-9pm Potter's House 1658 Columbia Rd, NW This is a fundraiser benefit for DC Jobs with Justice."Igual Que Tu" (The Same As You) is a film by Ellie Walton. The film puts a human face on the polarizing issues of gentrification and immigration in the nation’s capital. The film features members of the La Unión de Trabajadores of Washington, DC. There is a $15 dollar donation at the door, but no one will be turned away. For more information, click here Back to Top
Black August Film Screening: "Angola 3 Black Panthers and the Last Slave Plantation" Saturday August 11th, 7:30pm-12am Outdoor Theater 8th & Taylor Streets, NW As a part of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement's Annual Black August events, there will be an outdoor film screening of "Angola 3". This feature length movie explores the extraordinary struggle for justice of three Black Panthers who have endured solidarty confinement longer than any known prisoners in the US. The analysis of the Angola 3’s political work, and the criminal cases used to isolate and silence them, occurs within the context of the widespread COINTELPRO being carried out in the 1960’s and 70’s by the FBI and state law enforcement against militant voices for change. For more information, click here Back to Top
Open Media: Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices Monday August 13th, 7pm-10pm Peace House 1233 12th St NW Join the DC Learning Collective, Open Media, and the Peace House for a screening of "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices," Wal-Mart's business practices come under scrutiny as former employees share their stories and community members fight the corporate giant's expansion plans. This event will feature speakers from the Respect DC Campaign, a project of DC Jobs with Justice that seeks to hold Wal-Mart accountable to the residents of DC. For more information, click here Back to Top
Film: Will the Real Terrorist Please Stand Up Tuesday August 14th, 7pm-9pm Avalon Theater 5612 Connecticut Avenue, NW Coming to the Avalon Theater for one night only is the latest and cutting edge film by IPS fellow Saul Landau, exploring in-depth US-Cuba politics through the story of the Cuban 5. Landau is an Emmy-winning, internationally-known scholar, author, commentator, filmmaker, and fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies. This film, Will The Real Terrorist Please Stand Up documents the history involving the CIA, violence, and the five Cubans serving long sentences in U.S. prisons. The film features an interview with Gerardo Hernandez, one of the Cuban Five who is currently serving life imprisonment in Victorville Maximum Security Prison for "conspiracy to commit espionage." After the film, there will be a talkback with Fulton Armstrong, a former CIA official in Cuba. Rabbi David will moderate a conversation about the impacts of this case on the Jewish community, and the fight to free Alan Gross.  For more information, click here Back to Top
Not Senseless, Not Random: The Deadly Mix of Race, Guns & Madness By Rinky Sen Originally Published at Colorlines.com It could be terrorism, but we don’t yet know. It could be someone who has a beef with Sikhs. It’s too early to talk about gun control. These statements ran in a continuous loop through my head yesterday, even when I wasn’t watching coverage of the mass shooting at an active gurdwara in a suburb of Milwaukee. Throughout the day, the hollowness in my solar plexus signaled grief and the tightness in my throat signaled panic, and I felt deep, deep resistance to the notion of saying anything about it. What is there to say that isn’t a cliché? To continue reading, click here Back to Top

Baseball Addiction in August

Circle the dates, August 20-22, 2012.
The Braves will be in town to play the Nationals.
These games will be played with playoff fever under August heat.
Time to talk about the "Amazin Nets" after the Shark's catch last night to end the game in Houston.

SUGGESTED READING

Israel's Fading Democracy

New York Times‎

Israel's Fading Democracy. By AVRAHAM BURG

THE GAFFE CATCHER'S MITT

GAFFE CENTRAL: It's going to be a long campaign for this guy. But soon the Media will think his gaffes are cute. Folks will laugh and Americans will vote for the joke. What is he going to confuse next the N-word?  There must be many concerned Republicans shaking their heads right now. Who will this man select to be his VP?  Will that be a joke too?

Romney confuses ‘Sikh’ with ‘sheik’

Philip Rucker AUG 7

Aide says Republican candidate mispronounced word and meant no offense.

YES TO ART

http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Larger-movement-is-for-art-not-anarchy-3767333.php

DID SUN RA GET THERE FIRST?

A Joyful Noise

Ichiro Watch:

Hard to believe Ichiro had a 12-game hitting streak going until Monday.
He had one hit in each of his first 12 games as a Yankee.
How will he perform in the playoffs?  Will he do something heroic?
Sad to see a great hitter struggling at the plate.
Gone are the multiple hit games.
Will he retire after this year?
So many questions only the ball, bat and player can answer.

MAYBE WE SHOULD LISTEN TO DUKE ELLINGTON'S SACRED MUSIC

Does music make you crazy?  In the media today there is an article about how the killer in Wisconsin was fueled by hate driven music.Do we blame everything on the white keys or the black ones?

I didn't have to go too far to find the "typical" narrative being created around Wade M. Page. After every tragic incident the media goes in search of the answer to the question - why?

Any suspect apprehended or killed always seems to be a loner. We only want to entertain conspiracy theories if it's a national leader like Kennedy or King is shot. I can always find an answer to -who shot Malcolm?  But I can't find "an answer" to why someone enters a movie theater or temple and begins shooting.

So, I just had to read one article about Wade Page until I found this "predictable" statement:

Peter Hoyt, 53, a neighbor of Mr. Page's in Cudahy who often stopped to chat with him during morning walks, said he was "stunned" that the man he had known could have done something so violent. Mr. Page, he said, told him that he had broken up with a girlfriend in early June.
"He didn't seem like he was visibly upset," Mr. Hoyt said about the breakup. "He didn't seem angry. He seemed more emotionally upset. He wasn't mad. He was hurt."

  - The New York Times, August 7, 2012

So when do we see the girl-friend on television?  How many people do you "chat" with in the morning that know nothing about your personal life? 

This could have happened this morning:

So a neighbor speaks to me when I put my trash out in the alley - I smile and go back inside the house and kick my dog. The dog is stunned. He didn't know I could become so violent - so sudden. The next time my dog is out in the backyard he barks (across the fence)  at my neighbor. My dog wants an answer. During the dog/man chat, my dog talks about how I've just broken up with my girl-friend and wonders if that's the reason for the kick up his tail. The neighbor says it could be the reason. In fact he is certain it is by the way the trash was discarded this morning. Hmmm.

Does this make sense?  No. And I don't have a dog. I'm just hurt.

NEWS FROM MY BUDDY M.L.

http://metrotimes.com/culture/beat-angel-1.1322064

M.L. LIEBLER

E-NOTE SPECIAL: SAUL LANDAU ON GORE VIDAL

GORE VIDAL

By Saul Landau

In 2005 I interviewed Gore Vidal for my weekly TV-radio show Hot Talk. We had first met years before at a dinner party at Marc Raskin’s house in Washington DC where I had watched him monopolize the conversation by verbally destroying the head of a major museum. “He’s a phony, you can smell it,” explained Vidal later as the reason for his ferocity.

“And he does so little for the public’s benefit. He thinks only of each exhibit in his museum as another notch on his career gun – a typical Washington bureaucrat. I despise them.”

In the TV interview he showed his loathing again, this time for the people who ran the country, not a museum.  “The Founding Fathers feared Kings and tyrants, so they made it clear in the Constitution that no one man can declare war; only Congress. We’ve had many wars after World War II: Congress has not declared one of them.”

The man who wrote Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace and “Dreaming War: The Bush-Cheney Junta” excelled at essay writing, but became better known as America’s historical novelist and play and screen writer. Hs script for The Best Man, a fine movie is currently re-running on Broadway.

In 2006 I escorted Gore through Cuba. He was 80 and could not walk well, but used a wheel chair. The Cubans interviewed him on TV, arranged for him to give a literary address at their aula magna at the University of Havana and answer questions. The audience was replete with scholars and literary mavens who had read his books and asked him interesting questions. “The Cubans have treated me more kindly and reverently than my own countrymen,” he remarked. At an informal dinner at the US Interest Section mansion (there is no formal embassy because we have no formal relations with Cuba), a US diplomat began boring his guests, all members of Gore Vidal’s expedition. Not tolerating the diplomat’s tedious small talk, former California Senate President John Burton interrupted the diplomat: “So, what did Cuba do to us again to merit so much punishment?”

The diplomat began a litany about human rights abuse. Burton interrupted. “The Chinese killed thousands of Americans in Korea, the Vietnamese killed tens of thousands in the Vietnam War. Both countries are run by single party Communist governments and neither has a good human rights record. So what did Cuba do to us?”

The diplomat began again on Cuba’s human rights record. Burton cursed and stormed out of the mansion. Vidal clapped. “My kind of politician,” he exclaimed, “unfortunately termed out of office.”

Later, Vidal opined about the curse of “national security.” Those two magic words make the Bill of Rights disappear at the President’s will. Lincoln used them to suspend habeas corpus, shut down newspapers and to preside over the bloodiest war in history because he took an oath registered in Heaven to wage war to preserve the union. Look what Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon et al have done in the name of those two magical words. Reagan took them to new depths in Iran-Contra. He turned the preamble of the Constitution into Swiss cheese, put lots of holes in it.”

“Oh well,” he finished his discourse, “here I am in the springtime of my senility.”

The Cubans showed him Old Havana, its architectural wonders and its ancient streets and brought him to the Latin American Medical School to meet the students, including a group from the United States who received a free medical school education.

His entourage included two government ministers, the President of Cuba’s Parliament and various regular Cubans he had met and liked.

On the ride to the airport going home, Vidal talked about his pessimism for America’s future. The stupidity of our Cuba policy is matched elsewhere as in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We’re at war with the people and the earth and we’re losing control of the economy. The tide has turned against us.”

Back in the United States, at a restaurant, a waiter told Gore “Have a nice day,” to which the great writer replied. “Sorry, but I have other plans.”

In his life he wrote twenty three novels, countless essays, screen and theater plays. He ran for office, acted in films and served as the witty TV commentator for politics and culture. He lived for decades with his partner Howard who died in 2003. When asked how he sustained such a long relationship, he quipped: “no sex.”

 

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	All the delightful things of the world--sweet sounds, lovely forms, all the pleasant tastes and touches and thoughts--these are all agreed to bring happiness if they are not grasped and possessed. But if you regard them merely as pleasures for your own use and satisfaction and do not see them as passing wonders, they will bring suffering. - Sutta Nipata

THE RED CHRONICLES

Mars Rover Landing: Curiosity Lands Early Monday Morning (RECAP)

 

THE QUESTION ALL POOR PEOPLE ARE ASKING THIS MORNING

Should I consider going to Mars?

NEWS ALERT

Reports: Syrian prime minister defects

Syria's prime minister defected to Jordan on Monday, according to news reports, becoming the most senior official yet to quit the embattled government of President Bashar al-Assad.

Quote of the Day

I'm not a human being. I'm a myth.

   - Karl Rove
     Time, August 13, 2012

THE E-BOX

Photo by Ethelbert

The E-Box filled with book goodies for the writer James Cherry is moving closer to shipment date.

SENDING PRAYERS

Now Wisconsin Weeps...

REETIKA VAZIRANI

This week (August 9th) will mark the 50th year anniversary of Reetika Vaziriani's birth.
Reetika died in 2003. Her papers can be found at William and Mary:

Reetika Vazirani Papers, 1967-2008 - Special Collections Database ...

scdb.swem.wm.edu/?p=collections/findingaid&id...q...

Title: Reetika Vazirani Papers, 1967-2008 Add to your cart. ... have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.

REETIKA VAZIRIANI

TOTAL RECALL

Nothing but running in this film. Catch your breath after you see it. The cool thing is the cell phone that is part of the human body. Where can I get one of those? So many movies look like today. The present is now science-fiction. The future is what we can no longer imagine.

SPACE IS STILL THE PLACE

NASA spacecraft speeding toward a landing on Mars | Business & Technology | The Seattle Times

 

THE E-BOX

I completed work on the second E-Box today. This one will be shipped out to James Cherry in two weeks. A care package for a good brother living in one of those border states between North and South. I think this gift will be better than a letter from Lincoln. I want someone to look to Washington and know help is coming. Books for James. As a brother told me a few days ago - "Time to get your DuBois on!"


The first E-Box was given to the writer Karolina  Gajdeczka  back in April.  The E-Box consists of books taken from my personal collection and given to a writer who loves reading.

KAROLINA GAJDECZKA photo by Ethelbert

LOVE ON A TWO-WAY STREET

Listening to the Moments. Some of their songs take me back to that silly romantic period in my life.
Maybe that was yesterday...
Yes- "I So Lost" and "Not On The Outside."

WOMAN AND RUGS

WOMAN AND RUGS. Photo by Ethelbert

TAKE MY PICTURE

TAKE MY PICTURE. Photo by Ethelbert

THIS IS WHY OBAMA HAS A BASEBALL BAT

Walking Tall (1973) Trailer - YouTube
► 2:11► 2:11	www.youtube.com/watch?v... Feb 3, 2012 - 2 min - Uploaded by pu239hicks This film has a huge cult following in the south, and, for those who enjoy idealistic , one-man army, exploitation ...

WALKING TALL

 

 http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/01/obama-speaks-with-world-leader-on-phone-while-holding-baseball-bat/comment-page-2/

 

You've seen the movie...

Yes- this has nothing to do with baseball.

It's all about knocking heads.

If Obama has a bat - what is Romney bringing to the debates?

 

 

My friend Joanna sent me a few links:http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/03/us-turkey-obama-baseballbat-idUSBRE8721Q920120803

 

 http://ottomansandzionists.wordpress.com/2012/08/03/obama-erdogan-and-the-infamous-baseball-bat/

 

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

The camera of Thomas Sayers Ellis

THE TSE CAMERA. Photo by Ethelbert

THOMAS SAYERS ELLIS ON P STREET

THOMAS SAYERS ELLIS photo by Ethelbert

Quote of the Day

A woman should always have fair skin, otherwise people will think you're a peasant

 - Woman in Qingdao, China.

Suppressing the Vote This week, Bill talks to Keesha Gaskins and Michael Waldman of the Brennan Center for Justice about new voter ID and other election laws that keep the young, elderly, minorities and the poor from exercising one of the most fundamental American rights. Also on the program, Bill talks with independent filmmaker Anthony Baxter, director of You’ve Been Trumped, a new documentary about the perils of rampant capitalism and gluttonous conspicuous consumption, epitomized by Donald Trump’s aggressive efforts to build “the greatest golf course in the world” across ancient sand dunes in Scotland. To end the broadcast, Bill shares his thoughts on the 47th anniversary of Medicare -- the apex of Lyndon Johnson’s ambitious vision for America. Bill was a key Johnson aide as they developed Medicare and pressed Congress to pass it. How to save Medicare today? The answer, says Bill, is obvious: make it available to every American. WATCH NOW       When the Law Says You Can't Vote Meet two women whose rights to vote are jeopardized by Pennsylvania's strict new voter ID requirements.   Gore Vidal and His Reading List for America Michael Winship recalls a tense moment with the iconoclastic writer who died on Tuesday.   Bill Moyers Essay: Everyone Should Be Entitled to Medicare Bill recalls his days with Lyndon Johnson as they prepared to sell Medicare to Congress, and makes the case for why everyone should be entitled to it today.   SPOTLIGHT The Fight to Vote Learn how Americans are being denied the most fundamental of democratic rights, and what you can do about it. MORE     Image Credit: Peter Krogh © 2012 Moyers Media. All rights reserved.

1 DAY FAST

I
will not
think about
issues
of race
today.

- E. Ethelbert Miller

THE SLOGAN

Believe, don't fear, believe.

    - Gabby Douglas

I've not been watching the Olympics but I know a slogan when I see one. What company is going to package the image of Douglas with her hand raised? The New York Times photographer Josh Haner captured the moment. Now what about the script...

I can see the Gabby Douglas story being written from the perspective of the white family in Iowa who took her in. This is how Hollywood as well as the media blindsides us. So it's important to hear the narrative straight from Douglas. I like her quote that's in the newspaper today:

I have an advantage because I'm the underdog and I'm black and no one thinks I'd ever win. 
Well, I'm going to inspire so many people. Everybody will be talking about, how did she come up so fast? But I'm ready to shine.

Gabby Douglas is how old?

PRIMUS ST. JOHN

It's been years since I've joked and laughed with the poet Primus St. John. We had a wonderful chat last night. Primus lives in that state known as Oregon. He will be in DC next month for the National Book Festival on the Mall. Don't miss him.

NYERE NEWS

http://www.nj.com/gloucester-sports/index.ssf/2012/08/salem_community_college_hires.html

CODE?

I keep hearing the expression "take this country back."  Ted Cruz down in Texas drops this from his lips. What does it mean?

Who has our country now?  How do we take it back?
Who did the taking?
Are we going to kick, scratch and kill--to get our country back?  By any means necessary?

You and I know what the expression "take this country back" means. It's the code that confronts people of color, gays, and any folks who might want to Occupy something. "Take the country back" means a return to Christian whiteness and no other religions..It means building walls and fences at our borders. The goal is to take the country back from - the other. The people who look different. But don't we all?

"Take this country back" sounds a tad like get the posse together - let's ride. You got the rope?

FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

 

Will Publishers Perish?

Arends: As self-publishing gets easier, the book business faces a major shake-out.

By BRETT ARENDS

 

Book publishing is a storied industry. According to industry legends, Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer founded Random House in the 1920s to publish "a few books... at random." Sir Allen Lane set up England's Penguin Books in the 1930s after he couldn't find a good paperback to read while waiting for a train. When I covered the London stock market in the late 1990s, I occasionally wrote about a small-cap publishing company called Bloomsbury: No one had heard of them -- until they discovered a new children's author and some books she'd written about a boy wizard.

Today there are 70,000 Americans working for book publishers, about 15% less than a decade ago. Many thousands more work as agents, editors, designers and printers. I wish them all well. But I suspect they all need to start typing their resumes. I can't see how this industry survives. Indeed, I fear the end is nigh.

The good news is that it's never been easier to become an author. That novel -- or novel idea -- you've been nursing all these years? You can get it out there, in a matter of days.
I've just written a biography of Mitt Romney, based (in part) on my notes from my days as a columnist on the Boston Herald when Romney was governor of Massachusetts. I'm self-publishing it, through Amazon. The process is so fast and easy it makes me wonder why anyone would go to a traditional publisher ever again.

(The main downside is that you do not get an advance. In this instance, my biggest risk is that Romney will blow the election with his gaffes before I can reach the shelves.)
Yes, there's been a learning process. I've had to pick up a bit about formats and templates. But I'm a technological Luddite -- and even I've mastered it. In simple terms, you copy your text into a Microsoft Word template and upload it. You can then design your own cover in Photoshop and upload that too, or use one of their templates. That's about it. It takes about two days to get your proof back, and a few more days to launch the book. Then it's available, like any other, at Amazon.com.

I'm also publishing the book on the Kindle, and that's even easier -- about twelve hours from uploading your document to publication.

This is an amazing contrast to my last experience publishing a book. Then I went through a traditional publisher. The less said about the experience the better, but the bottom line is that it took eighteen months from idea to print. Just after Lehman Brothers collapsed I went to an agent and said, "This crisis is going to be much deeper, longer and worse than people realize. I want to write a personal finance survival guide." But it took months to get a publisher to sign up, and then the turnaround time was nearly a year. By then the public mood had then changed. (It has since changed again, of course.)

A few days ago Penguin, which is now owned by Pearson, announced that its first half operating profits had fallen by nearly 50 percent. It looks worse than it is: The profits are merely back to where they were a few years ago. But what I suspect is happening to the industry is a two-stage process. First, the arrival of ebooks benefited publishers. They've been able to publish their books in electronic format and collect a bigger net margin. But then there's a second stage: Authors cut out the publisher completely and publish themselves. That's what's happening now.

Under the old system, the author was lucky to get 15% of the cover price. Today they can keep much more -- as much as 70% for electronic books.
Once upon a time we bought books in stores. The publishers had privileged relationships with the store owners. So you couldn't reach the market without them. Today, that whole structure has gone. This doesn't mean the end of all those jobs in publishing. If you are writing a serious book, you still need a development editor, a copy editor, a proof reader, maybe a cover designer, and a marketer. But in future such people will be freelancers. You'll hire them on a project basis. The best agents will restructure their roles to be managers, or "producers". They'll bring the various people together for the project.
Even under the current system, you have to do your own marketing anyway. Naturally, I'm having to deal much more with Facebook and Twitter than I have done in the past. It's a new world, brave or not.

Forrester Research predicts that ebook sales will rise from $2.2 billion last year to $10.5 billion by 2016. But even if they do, where will the money go?

In the old days, publishers could use the massive profits from the likes of John Grisham or Patricia Cornwell, and use them to help subsidize other, less profitable books. The format of the bookstore encouraged browsing: I'd go into to buy one book and pick up five others that caught my eye.

In the future there won't be the same browsing, and there won't be any subsidies. At some point, people like John Grisham or Patricia Cornwell will be able to self-publish and keep close to 100% of their output: The only constraint will be Amazon, which controls access to the Kindle.

Self-publishing will produce a tsunami of books. Very few will be financial successes. Very few will be any good. Sifting your way through the chaff for the wheat will be much harder than browsing through a bookstore. I suspect the best-selling few, like Fifty Shades of Rubbish, will "crowd out" the rest. Once upon a time Internet cheerleaders talked about the so-called "fat tail," the idea that the Internet would make marginal products profitable. The reality seems to be the reverse: The overwhelming dominance of the few.

What does this mean for the economics of writing? We'll see. Last week I had lunch in Miami with the writer Gerald Posner. He's working on a big history of the Vatican and its wealth over the centuries. It's a fascinating and important topic. The book will probably take five years, from start to finish, to research, write and publish. Will these kinds of "big books" even be economic in the new electronic age? No advances, and no cross-subsidies. The writer takes a massive risk, with pretty minimal upside too. I have my doubts.

 

Tricycle Daily Dharma August 2, 2012

Deep Listening, Deep Loving Our training begins with learning first to listen to ourselves until we know our deepest aspirations, shortcomings, sufferings, and joys. Next, we must learn to listen deeply to our partner and family. Right speech prompts us to ask our loved ones: 'What could I do to make you happier?' and then to listen to the reply without judging or reacting. Right speech prompts us to say, 'Thank you for being here for me. Your presence enriches my life. Please tell me how I can love you better.' - Sister True Virtue, "The Fourth Precept: Right Speech"

Michelle Alexander on the Irrational Race Bias of the Criminal Justice and Prison Systems

Mark Karlin, Truthout: "Michelle Alexander: The mass incarceration of poor people of color, particularly black men, has emerged as a new caste system, one specifically designed to address the social, economic, and political challenges of our time. It is, in my view, the moral equivalent of Jim Crow."

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IS LESTER YOUNG STILL THE PRESIDENT?

SAVE THE DATES

The First Presidential Debate:  October 3rd. University of Denver. Focus on Domestic Issues.

Second Presidential Debate: October 16th. Hofstra University. Town-hall meeting format.

Third Presidential Debate: October 22nd.  Lynn University, Boca Raton, Fla.  Foreign Policy

 

 

YOUNG, GREEN AND BEAUTIFUL. Photo by Ethelbert

Tricycle Daily Dharma August 1, 2012

Letting Go It is hard to let go of things, harder to let go of ideas, and even harder to let go of spiritual pretensions. Over time, as we familiarize ourselves with the many subtle twists and turns of letting go, we begin to be more savvy about how ego steps in to appropriate the entire process. In the millions of mini-decisions we make day by day and moment by moment, we are challenged each time either to let go or to re-solidify. - Judy Lief, "Letting Go"

BUSBOYS AND POETS AT 5TH AND K. Photo by Ethelbert

NEWS ALERT

Gore Vidal, celebrated author and playwright, dies in L.A.

Gore Vidal's nephew says the author, playwright and commentator has died in Los Angeles at 86, AP reports.

Vidal's literary career spanned more than 60 years, and he once said that he hoped to be remembered as “the person who wrote the best sentences of his time.”