Tag: pbs

When Did You Fall in Love with Writing?

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No. Not when you started writing, but when you fell in love with it. I’ll go first.

Freshman year, High School, Survey Literature. Mr. Clark didn’t know it, but his vocabulary list had me open. He thought I’d look up definitions. He was wrong. I devoured them. I tried using every new word in a sentence and like most people in love for the first time, I sounded like an idiot.

I became obsessed with their meanings, their pronunciations, how they looked on the page and, most importantly, how they made me feel.  Seduced by the euphoria of getting words off my chest, letting the emotions ooze from my heart and out of my flesh; stitching my soul into the page one heartbeat at a time, and riding the wave of stillness while traveling through books. I fantasized about how words would pair; how they would rhyme, mix and match. The smells of metaphor, and the taste of simile calling out to me from the words of healing written in a language I didn’t quite understand and yet, knew it was a necessary part of my sanity. For if I could not depend on writing to be my stepping stone to mental clarity, then I was truly lost. Forgotten in a world without meaning. No explanation for the question mark of our existence. No saving grace. No salvation to play just the right scripture to guide us back to the music sheet. Writing. It was my music sheet and goodness, how I loved him.

What about you? Are you in love with writing? When did you fall for it?

Not in love yet? Here’s a post about how to get there! 6 Ways to Fall in Love with Writing

4 Reasons Why I Won’t Change The Name of My Blog

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Branding logic says that my blog should be called after my name. Had I thought of this before starting this blog, perhaps I would have (maybe) gone with logic. However, because I’m a tad bit crazy, even being aware of this hasn’t moved me to change the name of this blog (even after much suggestion).

#1: Connected To My Name

My blog is already connected to my name. What this mean is that many people are already aware that The PBS Blog is the blog of Yecheilyah Ysrayl. Branding in one sentence, as defined by Kristen Lamb is:

“A brand is when your name alone has the power to drive sales.”

I think this is the most clear and simplest definition of branding. Taking this into consideration, Author Branding is just the same “when an author’s name is strong enough to drive sales”, or in this case, drive views. I believe The PBS Blog is strong enough to hold its own as the blog home of Yecheilyah without me having to make that my blog title.

#2: Introversion

I’m shy! I’m not sure I’m comfortable naming my blog after me! “Welcome to the wonderful world of Author and Blogger Yecheilyah Ysrayl!” Just writing that made my skin crawl. I’ve always hated bringing attention to myself. Remember those days in High School where everyone wanted to show off their name brands but you were too poor to afford the Jordan’s? Good, now go back to that one time in forever you actually got a pair, and that one person who annoys everyone called you out and you knew it was just to mock you? Yea, that. The worst. Anyway, I digress. Long story short, I’m really shy even though I’ve come to notice people don’t believe I’m as shy as I am. I always get the side look when I say I’m an introvert, but it’s true. I am very laid back. I have the potential to sit in a room all day and not say anything and be completely fine with it.

#3: Not Just an Author Blog

I’m passionate about sooo much more than writing! For this reason, this is not just an author blog, even if I do talk about writing 85% of the time. OK 90%, whatever.

#4: Mission, Purpose, Goal

I named my blog Pearls Before Swine with the subtitle Truth is Stranger Than Fiction because it embodies my mission for this blog. That is, I will always prefer the truth (pearls) over the lie (swine) no matter the color, shade, or persona it’s packaged in and I will never force the truth down anyone’s throat. You see the truth is very precious, delicate and fragile like a pair of your mother’s most elegant pearls. She’s not going to give these over to anyone, let alone a pig who will rip them open and tear them apart.  A reference to Matthew Chapter 7, Verse 6 of the bible, Pearls Before Swine keeps me focused, and reminds me that truth is to be given only to those who want it. To those who will take it into their hands and protect it, use it, and wear it like sacred garments. Looking up at my blog name ALWAYS keeps me focused on my primary objective. I am to use my writing and skill set as a way to bring truth in the most creative and effective way possible. I am not to force, debate, or argue the truth because truth speaks for itself, and I am to never compromise my personal integrity because someone says so. Pearls Before Swine, because I’d rather die on my feet, than live on my knees.

Mistakes

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If you got it all together, there is no room for growth. If you know it all, there is nothing else to learn. If there is nothing else to learn, there is nothing to strive for. If there is nothing to strive for, there is no hope. If there is no hope, then it is all in vain. Vain. It means nothingness. producing no result. Useless. Are you useless? Let it not be that your existence here is pure poverty; a wasting away of flesh. A joining of bone and marrow, flesh and blood yet dull of emotion, of mistakes, or faults, of trial and error. When you started writing; when you started a blog; when you started school; a new relationship; a job; when you started whatever it is that you started, no one expected you to turn into a robot. Mistakes exist to be learned from and they make up our experience but, when you’re pinched, no one expects you not to feel. Having faith does not mean that you have to pretend as if it doesn’t hurt. If you want to be the best, then there is one thing you must be willing to do: Mess Up. That’s right, you must fall, trip, stumble. If you are to be the best, then you have to make all of the mistakes that are necessary in order to know the difference between what works and what doesn’t. So, fall. Break. Burst forth. This is not your destruction. This is your birth.

Do Black Lives Really Matter

Abortion is the number one killer of black lives in America. It has killed more Black lives than AIDS, Cancer, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, and even the entire Vietnam War, but no one speaks out about this. Alcoholism, drug addiction, child abuse, and molestation plague the Black community, but no one speaks out about this. 70% of African American women are single, and 42% have never married. This means 70% of African American women are left alone and unprotected, and 70% of Black children grow up without fathers. Contrary to popular belief, fathers provide more to the household than just money. They provide financial stability, yes, but also protection, leadership, and guidance for our children.

In fact, the state of the black man and woman relationship is worse today than it was over 50 years ago (and even during slavery. We were more communal as a people during slavery than we are today). In the 1960s, 40% of Blacks had their own businesses and 87% of black families were two-parent. Today, less than 7% of blacks own their own business and only 25% of black families are two-parent. But, no one talks about this. However, African Americans have been told over and over again what the problems are so this post is really not about that. This is not just about Slavery, Jim Crow, and Discrimination. This is about the revolution of self.

The African American community is in a state of spiritual crisis. As a community of people, we continue to fight for change that never comes. We continue to vote in an attempt to change our political clout. We continue to march, speak, and debate about the many changes necessary in this world, from education to discrimination and from discrimination to gender equality. But while we seek to change everything around us, we have yet to seek to change ourselves. We know what our problems are, but what we need at this point are solutions. Solutions that are deeper than government-funded organizations, protest marches, and ballot boxes. People cannot change anything around them if they cannot first change what is inside them, no matter their color.

In the words of the African Proverb, “When there is no enemy within, the enemy outside cannot hurt you.” Freedom is deeper than social economics. Freedom is spiritual and spiritual freedom begins inside the individual. To change the way that we live, we must first change the way that we think. Otherwise, if we continue to depend on outside sources to change our current conditions, we will be marching for the next 50 years while our sons’ blood cries out to us from the ground.

20 Questions With Yecheilyah Ysrayl — Don Massenzio’s Blog

My 20 questions with Don.

Today, I am very pleased to sit down with prolific author and blogger Yecheilyah Ysrayl. Her blog is one that I look forward to reading every day because of its positive and inspirational message. She is going to tell us about her work, her inspiration and a bit about herself in this special edition of […]

via 20 Questions With Yecheilyah Ysrayl — Don Massenzio’s Blog

Break

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I’ll be breaking from the blogosphere a moment. Need some air and much needed focus.

In the meantime, I’d love for you to take this time to explore the blog!

On the sidebar you’ll see “Navigate This Blog”. Feel free to start there. You can also take a look at the pages.

I’d love to return with more poetry, black history, and biblical insight. We’ll see.

Yes, I’ll still be here to respond to commentary. Until then, y’all be great.

Peace

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Effective Re-blogging – Getting The Most Out of Them

It’s so easy to like and re-blog a post, but is there a way to do so effectively? Is there a way to get the most out of your re-blog?

First, why do you re-blog? I’ll go first. I re-blog because:

  • I really enjoyed the article / post. This means I found value in the post in some way
  • Not only did I enjoy the article / post but I think its worthy of being seen
  • Not only do I think it’s worthy of being seen, I think the original blog deserves the attention

My purpose of the re-blog is first to share valuable information with my readers. This is especially true if the post has something to do with something I’m passionate about: Scripture and Identity, History, Poetry, Self-Publishing, Blogging, or Writing in general. My secondary purpose of re-blogging is to give esteem to the person who took the time to produce content that is not only worth reading, but also worth sharing. For this reason, I believe it is important to make the most of the re-blog. If I am trying to help the writer to get attention, I have to make sure that they will actually get the attention. To do this, I make sure my re-blog include a couple things.

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  • Commentary

I think this is a very important thing in the world of Scams, Hackers, and Plagiarizers. When I prepare to re-blog a post, I think it’s important to add my own commentary to it. If I don’t have much to say, I quote something said in the article using quotations marks and ended with the author’s name. Why is this important? It gives others a sneak peek into what the article is  about. It’s also much more genuine, in my opinion, to the person who you’re re-blogging from. It shows you actually read the article and got something from it. When I re-blog, I want the person to know why I’m doing it. This also, as stated, helps others to ascertain what’s so special about the post. I think everyone should always add a little commentary to their re-blogs. Chances are the post is so good its been re-blogged dozens of times already. That said, I add commentary to let you know why it was so special to me personally knowing it will show up in your comments). People are also very sensitive. We have to keep in mind that not everyone wants their posts re-blogged (in which case they should have a disclaimer somewhere on their blog outlining this fact) or may be very suspicious as to why someone is doing so. It’s even more suspicious if your blog is only made up of re-blogs. I mean nothing against blogs made of re-blogs st all, but it is difficult to get to know you though as a person. What are your thoughts? Experiences? Insights? Every once in awhile, it may be a good idea (especially if you’re an author) to post something from scratch that represents your personal self. A list, a poem, a book excerpt. Something that is not re-shared or re-hashed so that we get to know you. No, quotes don’t count.

  • Tags

I also tag my re-blogs. This means that after I re-blog the post, I go into my WordPress dashboard and I add tags that are relevant to the article. I am also sure to tag it “re-blogs”. Even though it is obvious it’s a re-post, I think its important to my integrity that my readers know this is not my article but a re-blog from another blogger. This also sets my tags for re-blogs apart from my traditional tags. Re-blog tags will always have re-blog in there somewhere. Since tags help people to find your blog, this will also help people to find their way to the post. They’ll click on view more of this post and be led to the other person’s blog. Mission accomplished.

  • Re-blog no no’s

One thing I absolutely do not do is change the headline of a re-blogged post. Again, that transgresses my integrity and is crossing the thin line between sharing and plagiarizing. If the person headlines a post a certain way and I am sharing it, it is my duty to share it as is. I feel the same way about editing comments. I’m not sure why the ability to do so is even relevant. Why do we need to edit comments?? You can’t do that in real life! Imagine, “You suck. Wait, no, I take that back.” Lol.

The only reason I’ve edited a comment was when my main website changed from a time where I gave the person the other one. I edited it to the updated site just in case someone else came along later, I wouldn’t want them to have the wrong website. However, editing other peoples comments? That’s just wrong (and weird).

  • I Wish I Could

It was only recently that I understood that not everyone wants their posts re-blogged (Yes, it’s OK if you re-blog my posts! Credit me of course though). So, I wish I could disable comments for some of my re-blogs! Unless of course its my guest post from another blog. In that case, comment on! Does anyone know how to do that? Disable comments so that people will comment on the original page instead of your post? I think that helps the blogger gain more attention for their work and, most importantly, the credit they deserve.