It's been a little while since my last post. The pictures here are from the display from the Pre-Holiday Shopping Extravaganza in Emeryville on December 6th.. I had an opportunity to join other vendors who sold everything from health care products, jewelery, art and clothing. Our space was unique whereas we sold a variety of gift baskets, bookmarkers and of course I was on hand to sign copies of Verbal Abstractions.
Overall it was a great event. The gift basket went over well and we are working on ways to better incorporate them in future events and on this website. If you would like more information about our products please email me at nubian.sage@yahoo.com

DRAMA

In my book I discuss in the three chapter headings my intrepretation of "Love," "Power" and "Drama." This is Drama! This past week I was exposed to Drama that affected me very personally. I was involved in a automobile accident. Despite the unfortunate situation I was in of being the middle car of a three car crash or the meat in the sandwich, by the grace of God I am fine and the two other drivers involved appeared to be fine as well. It happened on the highway and I was only one exit away from home. The photo's attached are of my car...not good.

After the impact, the driver in front of me got out and came to my car as I was seated. He could of said anything such as "What the $%^& were you doing!" or "You just #$%^*& up my car!" His first question to me was "Are you ok?...Good let's pull over." He then went to the car behind me that started the chain reaction and I believe said the same thing.

His demeanor really helped me to relax. To be honest during and after the impact I went from being scared to being upset. Instead of thinking how fortunate to survive and remain uninjured, I was thinking about my car and what was I going to do. However after the driver asked me if I was ok, I calmed down enough to realize how thankful I should be. I can always get another car, however I only have one body. The driver who approached me was calm under some serious drama and it turned out to be a great learning experience for me. This man had the ability to be calm under pressure and had the forthright to be concerned about others. So to him I say..."Yes, I am fine."

Next Book Signing

My next book signing is at the Four Points by Sheraton located at 1603 Powell St. in Emeryville, CA on December 6, 2008. I will be a part of a Pre-Holiday Shopping Extravaganza taking place at the Sheraton between 11am-6pm. There will be vendors and patrons from all over the San Francisco Bay Area who will participate in this venue and start their shopping during the holiday season.

So if you are in the area, stop by and say hi. Mention you saw the ad on this website and receive 10% off of your order of my book "Verbal Abstractions." I will also have our book markers, that display a beautiful backdrop to my poems in addition to keeping your place with your favorite read. Also for sale are the attractive gift baskets similar to the ones at my last book signing. The baskets we are providing will have a holiday theme and will include a copy of my book. Remember 10% of all purchases if you mention this website. See you there!

I can't adequately describe tonight!

Book Signing - National Council of Negro Women

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of attending as a vendor the San Francisco Bay Area's National Council of Negro Women annual fashion show in Oakland. It was a great event and I had an opportunity to meet other vendors as well as enjoy the event and fashion show. As a vendor I had a table set up to display Verbal Abstractions and introduce items such as book markers and gift baskets. Contact me at nubian.sage@yahoo.com for more information about the book markers and gift baskets. They will be available soon online. Getting there was a trip. We had a small rain storm and as typical California's who notoriously can't drive well in bad weather, there were plenty of traffic jams due to accidents. We were even stuck in a tunnel and due to a car that caught on fire. It's not good smelling smoke inside a tunnel, people were trying to back up. But by the grace of God we made it unscathed. I had the fortunate opportunity to autograph the books.

Obama Wins (unofficial poll)

Based on the unofficial nubiansage.com tally for your selection for President of the United States, Obama was the pick by a whopping vote of 6-1 for President of the United States. Hopefully the turnout on election day will be bigger than this. As for me, I am very cautious despite the fact that he has a lead in the polls. Based on what happened in 2000 and even 2004 I am waiting until election night. Trust me I will be wide awake that night.

Over the last few months I have asked my older relatives did they ever think they will see the day an Black/African American (or half-white as a White associate jokingly reminds me) would have the opportunity to run for President. Everyone I asked said "No." All of them have been glued to the news over the past year. Though in my life I have seen some challenges when it came to my ethnicity, however those experiences paled in comparison to my elders. I also think about my younger cousins, for as they grow the possibility of a Black President will not be too big of a deal. As we move forward to closing the gap on race in this country I consider this a good thing. Stay tuned!

The Commerical

Amazingly enough I sat back and watch Obama's 30 minute commercial. As I was watching I couldn't help but think how surreal it seemed. To view the commercial click here. First of all a candidate for president taking up 30 minutes of prime time is unheard of. Nevermind there was a World Series Winner tonight. Congrats to any Philly fans out there, I am sure Philly is partying tonight! As I was watching family members were calling to make sure we knew it was on and calling afterwards for our comments. This is an amazing time and I am glad to be a part of it.

However none of this will matter if you don't do your part next week and VOTE! After everything going on in the economy, the war and our standing in the world, if there was ever a time to vote this is it. If you don't vote, don't complain.

History In The Making

With so much as stake during this Presidential election, I find myself glued to the TV or Internet at times to find out the latest. More than any other election I can recall, because of the candidates, this has become very interesting. The symbol on the right side of the blog shows it is obvious I am an Obama supporter. I have to admit it is amazing to see someone of color to lead the Party's nomination in an attempt to become President of the United States. Even through it is happening at times it is still hard to believe. This is a special time in history and I am glad to be a part of it. However the election is not over (as of this writing) and anything can happen. We must embrace those who we see as trendsetters and breaking glass ceilings and realize we can achieve our own goals and ideas. Even in an poor economy such as this we must not give up. Remember no matter how bad things seem all you have to do is travel outside of the US of A and you will find out quickly how fortunate we still are. We just need the right leadership to guide this Country in the right direction. So I say pray for our leaders and don't forget to vote. Also don't forget to vote in the "unofficial" Verbal Abstractions Presidential Poll on this page.

Expanding the Blog

I realized those of you who have clicked on this page may want more information regarding the book. I believe the best way to do it is have an additional link to this webpage that describes the book in detail which is difficult to do on this page. As per my last entry, I feel a little better since the Raiders redeemed themselves yesterday. However with the Owner/Coach issues, there is never a dull moment in Raiderland.

I also want the book to be critiqued by book reviewers. I have sent out copies to perspective book reviewers who will do just that. I will post their responses is whenever I receive it.

A List

Today I had to cheer myself up after the Raiders humiliating loss to the Broncos on Monday Night Football. By halftime I wondered why I finished my workout at the gym early just to come home and watch this game. I was watching an episode of the Michael Baisden show I recorded earlier. The topic was "Are Women too picky when it comes to choosing a Man." The subject of "lists" came up and it related to the things Women want (and Men too) to find in their companion.

For those people who have a detailed list of their ideal mate and are unwavering with anything on the list, I believe it will lead them to disappointment in their dating lives. I say this because it is very rare to find someone to meet all of your requirements. Even if you do find your Prince Charming, that particular person may have greater expectations in a partner that you can provide. Even in long lasting Marriages, a spouse may have qualities that the other spouse doesn't like however their good qualities far outweigh the negative. That's love.

Don't get me wrong, it's OK to have standards, you need them to weed out the bad ones. However lighten up on that list a little and allow that person an opportunity to be themselves. You never know, that new person may bring out qualities that help improve an overall you. If you are ready to dump a person who may have only 70% of your qualities, someone else may take him/her if they came from a relationship with only 40%.

Gustav

At this time my heart and prayers go out to those who are in the way of Hurricane Gustav. Also to those family members around the United States who have relatives/friends in the region. Thankfully the City/State and Feds were more prepared than Katrina three years ago. However it is already speculated that property damage could be among the worst in US history.

Thank You

Thank you to those who have viewed this blog and purchased the books. I am honored of the interest the book has taken so far. I already know what I want to do for my next book however I have to slow down and market Verbal Abstractions. As an independent publisher I am involved in all the legwork of the marketing however I am having a great time doing so. I figured instead of waiting to find a publisher who would take on this book why not market it yourself. This way I wont have to wade through the rejection notices until someone decided to move forward.

Stay tuned for times and locations for book signings. Feel free to email me at nubian.sage@yahoo.com for any questions you may have or to just give a shout out!

Purchase a copy today!

Verbal Abstractions is now available to purchase in two formats. Through this site using Paypal, a trusted name in the business and a very popular way to accept payments online. Or through my online site at Lulu.com which is a POD (print on demand) publisher that I use to order copies of the book.

IT'S OFFICIAL - VERBAL ABSTRACTIONS IS AVAILABLE!!

Finally after years of writing and formatting poems, by the grace of God my first book is complete! Well if my thesis in College counts then this would be my second. Overall this book is 17 years in the making. I have been asked throughout the years when I would complete this book and now it's finally here. For years I knew the title would include the words "Verbal Abstractions" and for the last few years I converted the poems from my journals to Microsoft word. Over the last two years I developed the chapters, selected the poems for the book and had someone unfamiliar with the project edit the book - Thanks Rochelle for your suggestions and critiques!

The cover design came from a former co-worker and friend who nailed the design from my vision on the first try. Thanks to the talented Kevin Neireiter whose work you can see on www.jazzlandscapes.com. I also have to thank my "Love" as it's described in the book, my wife, family and friends who helped to keep me focused to not forget about my poetry and support my efforts of Verbal Abstractions.