It's the most wonderful time of the year! Merry Christmas, y'all!

 Here are some lovely Christmas images to peruse. I know I've been MIA but I'll be going full steam ahead come 2022. Enjoy the pics. I've included secular and religious images to satisfy all tastes.

                                                        MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I hope you received all you asked for.!

R&B legend MAXWELL was honored this past Sunday by the BET SOUL TRAIN AWARDS with its Living Legend Award. God knows he's earned it

Yes. I've ben away. I've been busy entering writing contest and polishing up old manuscripts but I am back!

                                                    Then - 1996

MAXWELL. Or as I like to call him CHOCOLATE DADDY.

GERALD MAXWELL RIVERA, one of my absolute favorite singers was honored on Sunday night at the BET SOUL TRAIN AWARDS. I have loved every one of his albums since his debut back in 1996 with URBAN HANG SUITE. 

He brought the house to its knees with his voice, his class, his style and with his showmanship.

I am glad for him also because just like Anita baker he hung in there and noe owns ALL his MASTERS and publishing. That is where the real money is. Yeah. You can sing and tour and get paid a percentage of a penny for your streaming songs BUT now since he is free of his 30 year contractual obligation, he now gets ALL the money every timr any one of his songs is streamed.

WONDERFUL!

Many singers don't last long enough to reach the point to be able to get all their rights back. (I kinda doubt msny of these mumble rappers will last long enough to reach this goal)

Congratulations, Maxwell!  (Plus, he has  new music out!) Click the limk below to see his performance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5DWe7EWh1Y

                                            Now - 2021

I moved SHADE to another platform - My serialized suspense/horror thriller is now on RADISH!

Well, after several months without any reads on Amazon's new KINDLE VELLA platform, my thriller SHADE is now on the RADISH platform. Amazon made ZERO EFFORT to promote KINDLE VELLA and, hence its stories. The experience was a complete and total bust. I guess monies for promotion of its latest venture went into sending Jeffy Bezos into space. I mean the stratosphere. A side note here: Jeffy, dear, you and any of that "crew" you had on that rudely shaped Blue Origin ship were PASSENGERS at best. Not astronauts. But I digress. Feels good though.

As for RADISH,  I was lucky I was picked. Admittance to RADISH as a writer is by invitation only. Wow! I made the cut. 

RADISH is a platform for serialized fiction. It offers fiction designed to be read on one's phone, in episodes. The 1st 3 episodes of any story are free. Then if one wants to continue reading a story, one uses coins (RADISH CURRENCY) that can be purchased through the site. I ACTUALLY GOT SOME READS!

So, if you are interested, download the RADISH app from the Google play store and start reading the free episodes of SHADE and decide for yourself if it's something you'd cough up coins to follow. See ya over there.

Bruce's Beach is being returned! Bruce's Beach is being returned! And if any interlopers start complaining, I say tell 'em to ""get the hell off the lawn and keep it pushin'!"

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/01/bruces-beach-returned-100-years-california

I do hope Willa and Charles are laughing and dancing!

The family of the original couple who owned Bruce's Beach is getting it back! And me, being me would tell the city toGET OFF MY LAWN! 

Sorry, vacationers, but if I let you stay...You gots to pay. You can thank the city for that. Send them the bill. it might be a while before the city replies though. Ask the descendants of the Bruces.

the descendants of the Bruces

Bruce's Beach today

Willa and Charles Brube

IT'S THAT DAY, BOYS AND GIRLS...THE 21ST OF SEPTEMBER...EARTH, WIND AND FIRE DAY!

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs069dndIYk

No, I did not forget.

Do you remember the 21st night of September? I do.

DANCE!

Minnie Brown - mysterious Vaudeville actress and singer

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Hobson

Minnie Brown, taken at White Studios, NY, 1907 She was an actress and singer. And also a member of the Williams & Walker Vaudevillian troupe. In 1920 she served as vice president for the National Association of Negro Musicians. 

I've read several items about this vaudeville performer and don't know which of them is accurate. One item stated that she was African-American; another said she had mixed ancestry (Black and Caucasian). One was rather crappily reported that her mother Susan, a Black woman, made a hobby out of having mixed kids. Minnie Brown (born Pearl Lillian Hobson was one of 5 children of Susan Hobson. To get a glimpse of this woman's exciting life, (I call her an early Josephine Baker) I say read her bio entry on Wikipedia though that is not my favorite source for info. Link above.

What is known is that Minnie turned out to be an extremely gifted actress and singer. She was known worldwide during her time on the boards when vaudeville was in its heyday during the early 20th century..

p.s. In the 1st photo, she resembles Taraji P. Henson

HURRICANE IDA, A CATEGORY 4 DISASTER, HITS NEW ORLEANS ON THE 16TH ANNIVERSARY OF HURRICANE KATRINA

Well, today marks the 16th anniversary of when Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi. Sadly, those states are looking to get an encore performance today. New Orleans still hasn't recovered fully and is a smaller city than it used to be. Many Black residents (who lived in the lower wards that got hit the hardest) never came back to the city. They rebuilt their lives wherever they were shipped out to. If Ida hits the lower wards again, will the there Black folks survive? We witnessed how unconcerned (as my grandma would have said) the U. S. gov't and the state gov'ts were about certain people's safety. I'd say "Take care, people" but really what good would that do? I am truly heartsick over this.

https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/hurricane-ida-updates-08-29-21/index.html

https://www.foxnews.com/us/hurricane-ida-category-4-katrina-anniversary

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/29/weather/hurricane-ida-sunday/index.html