AnythingUrban - by R Eldridge

Black Men Blog Too... Here are a few good ones

The folllowing urban parable shares a conversation that I had with my Grandpops circa 1993, and is sponsored by a few cool Black men bloggers. The names of these noble men are located on the scroll down.

Ahem.

I just walked out of my graduation ceremony feeling kind of like a big deal. I just completed barber school - which was an important pre-requisite for any aspiring barber in Queens at the time.  Initially, I wanted to be the Best Black barber on Linden Blvd. The competition in the area was stiff so you always had to be on your 'A' game - after all, bad news spreads fast in the hood.  We worked hard to petition the city to release a small storefront that once operated as a drug house, and we were successful in our ambition. A few days before our grand opening, I decided to have a talk with Grandpops about my new venture. In sharing my ambition, I would be given a piece of advice that would shape the way that I look at life:

10 Reasons Why Anyone Can Make Money Blogging

I get a lot of questions about blogging such as "How do I get started?" or "Do you really make money?"  So....

Let me be one of the few to share that ANYONE can make money blogging, and it is simple to get started.  I've done both with very minimal effort - and there are several reasons why you can too.  So, consider this your official 2011 guide  - for those that seriously want to put forth some effort in making money while blogging.  I LOVE blogging, but I am also all about sharing, so I encourage you to sit back and enjoy as I share several resources and tips that have made me money.  And I promise to keep this funny as well as informative.

Get To Know: Crystal Washington-Martin

Never underestimate the power of associating with positive and inspiring people. 

Today, let's get to know someone who completely embodies this.

Crystal Washington-Martin is a virtual Queen - she fuses beauty and style with knowledge to bring a unique  style of quality to her craft. Crystal is a marketing consultant, speaker and owner of crystalwashington.com, a Houston-based marketing firm. Crystal’s passion is empowering small business owners through sharing effective marketing strategies.

TV Presenter Gets Death Sentence for 'Sorcery'??

Do you remember the movie 'The Flying Guillotine'? This movie scared the -ish out of me when I was a kid.  And as deep as the ancient Egyptians that invented algebra, decapitation by guillotine was the usual means of execution in Germany until the abolition of the death penalty in West Germany in 1949. Now 'vas ist los' with that?

I heard that in England it was considered a privilege of noblemen to be beheaded. I don't necessarily connect with that at all either [pardon the pun]. Truly bad math. But seriously though...

  The Saudi government says that beheading is still sanctioned by Islamic tradition. State-ordered beheadings are performed in courtyards outside crowded mosques in major cities after weekly Friday prayer services for crimes including murder, homosexuality, armed robbery and drug trafficking... and sorcery. Yeah. But there's more...

Amnesty International has expressed concerns over executions of foreign nationals in Saudi Arabia, and they continue to bring awareness to the high rate of foreign nationals that are beheaded each year.  In 2009, the Saudi Arabian government executed, on average, more than two people a week. Almost half of them were foreign nationals from developing countries, including Nigeria. Some migrant workers are reported to have even been unaware that they had been sentenced to death until the very morning of their execution.

January.... "Our journey and our destination..."

In Roman mythology, Janus (or Ianus; "archway") was the god of gates, doors, doorways, beginnings and endings. His most prominent remnant in modern culture is his namesake, the month of January, which begins the new year. He is most often depicted as having two faces or heads, facing in opposite directions.

Ok, so why am I referring to this?  Well, every January I am reminded of Janus - as a symbol of a new month in a new year, but also as a reminder that....

"my journey is not my destination."