“People of VSB…”
You’ll find these three words at the end of many of our entries; a somewhat awkward segue linking whatever Panama or I happened to write about that day to a question or series of questions asking for your thoughts about it. But, while it may just seem like an easy way to encourage discussion, the main purpose of “People of VSB…” is to remind us all that this VSB thing is a collective effort. Sure, the bylines may read “The Champ” or “Panama Jackson” or “Liz Burr,” but VerySmartBrothas.com is each and every one of us who finds their way to VSB each day.
It’s the dozens of night owls who somehow manage to log on to VSB at exactly 12:01 am EST every day of the week. It’s the grad student who half-jokingly says, “you know, I really should be studying. VSB needs to pay back my loans when I flunk out of school,” at the end of his 19th post-midnight comment. It’s the teacher who lists “yoga, VSB, and Starbucks” as her morning routine staples. It’s the accountant who minimizes his window whenever his boss walks past, and it’s the boss who goes back into her office after doing her “cubicle lap” and gets back on VSB. It’s the hundreds of thousands of comments (231,785 to be exact) accumulated since our beginning, a real community where names like Cheekie and WuDaMan and Miss T-Lee and Keisha Brown have real histories and real meanings.
Your Degrees Wont Keep You Warm at Night: The Very Smart Brothas Guide to Dating, Mating, and Fighting Crime is available for purchase at Amazon.com today.
It’s the perfect culmination of this unique discussion, this dogmatic engagement, this beautiful community we’re all a part of. It’s our salvo, our 235 page response to the idea that we — The Very Smart Brothas and Sistas — aren’t large enough or mobilized enough or motivated enough or smart enough or whatever enough to matter and make a sizable difference.
In the coming months there will be myriad articles, reviews, and stories about VSB — pieces that’ll undoubtedly shed light on what we’ve been doing over here to those who weren’t aware of our existence — but our success and continued collective growth lies with each and every one of us, and I implore you all to spread the word about us.
Buy the book. (Please!) Buy the book for a friend. (Or two! Or three!) Share the link to the book on Twitter or Facebook. Write a review. (Good or bad. All feedback is welcome.) Start an email chain. Jog and tell a friend. (I’d say “run,” but I think I’m asking for a lot already.)
Do what you can to let the world know about us — the great, great “People of VSB.”
***A few more things I need to get off of my chest.***
1. Like I mentioned before, each of you all had a hand in the creation of this book. But, there are a few people who went above and beyond with their help. These people include veteran VSB-ers Ivy Street, Gem of The Ocean (twitter.com/GemoftheOcean) and Miss Patterson (twitter.com/misspatterson) and friends of VSB Deesha Philyaw (twitter.com/DeeshaPhilyaw), Nikki “Coco” Nokes (nikkinokes.com), Sarah Huny Young (phattygirl.com), and T. Hall (kineticculture.com), and I’m greatly, greatly, greatly thankful for each of their contributions.
2. When you buy the book, you’re going to be sent the “real” version, but the preview that shows up when clicking on the “Look Inside” prompt on the Amazon page is 3 months and 17 content, structure, and aesthetic edits old.
Again, when you buy the book, you’re going to be sent the “real” version, but please don’t click on that God-awful preview because it just shows a very, very rough draft version of the book. (Yes, I know that sucks and no, there’s nothing I can do about it right now. Apparently it’ll fix itself in the next few weeks.)
3. If you haven’t already, please join our mailing list so you can get info about National VSB Day (coming Feb. 10th), free book excerpts, and more.
—The Champ
yay! congrats!!!
thanks and sh*t
i been saying that for years. “yay! congrats!!!”
yeah…three exclamation points and all.
thanks.
lol @ the midnight readers. i logged on at 11:59pm and refreshed a few times and felt a little silly for doing so
but it’s cool now cause you basically gave me a personal shout out
i will DEFINITELY buy the book. love the blog and wanna support the cause … “and shi*t” …
“i will DEFINITELY buy the book. love the blog and wanna support the cause … “and shi*t” …”
you’re making me all verklempt and sh*t
Cosign the above… Best of luck.
if we dont support the cause…what can we support?!
lol thanks a million.
YAAAAAAAAY! I’m so proud of y’all! I’m a new VSSer an ish and dammit if it don’t feel like family doing something good.
I hope y’all get on the best sellers list and y’all are preparing for book 2 right? RIGHT??
And the accountant minimizing their window when their boss walks by? That’s me all day ALL DAY LMAO! (lemme see if my tax refund is in my account now rofl)
Good luck y’all
KMN
“I hope y’all get on the best sellers list and y’all are preparing for book 2 right? RIGHT??”
good question
we started working on “what if your degrees actually do keep your warm at night because you have so many?”
but the title was too long.
thanks.
btw, every time i see KMN i think of KLF and their song “KLF is gonna rock you”
@peej
i LOVE this entire comment.
*bops head to the tune now playing in my head..
You guys are awesome. Congratulations on you success, and everything you’ve accomplished. Looking forward to seeing what else you have in store.
thanks. that means alot coming from one of the VSB OG’s
Just read the intro and the background, and I already died twice. lol. We need a VSB book club and sh*t.
Ok, going to bed now. lol. good sh*t, guys and gal.
you know…i’ve had a VSB book club in the works for a very long time now. I just kept getting sidetracked…i’m a Gemini. Sue me.
Just ordered my book!
Wishing you all much success…even though you left Philly off the first event list LOL.
Keep up the good work guys (and gal)!
“Wishing you all much success…even though you left Philly off the first event list LOL.”
we thought about going to philly, until we remembered that “having a philly happy hour” isnt as important as “staying alive”
That ain’t nothing but a little western Pennsylvania hate LOL
Santa doesn’t even go to Philly. Or Camden.
Champ and Panama are snubbing our city because they’re afraid Obsidian might show up.
Oh he lives in Philly? you don’t say…
D.O.A. @ DanceHallKing
I guess i am comment 231,788. lol. But seriously, congrats on the book. Ya’ll need to take Teeth Harvey’s (why would ninjas take relationship advice from a man that is on his third marriage. With the woman he cheated on his second wife with. Is beyond me. #kanye shrug) place as “Relationship Experts”. lol.
we’re not experts and sh*t. we just play experts on twitter.
Neither is Teeth and it hasn’t stopped him or the silly women that actually listen to him.
man…i was listening to Mary Harvey on the Tom Joyner Morning Show. some of her claims seem WAY unfounded. she can’t talk to her son or see him? She hasn’t talked to him but three times since June nor seen him in the last 6 months? WTH???
i aint saying she lying but something isn’t adding up. TJ offered to try to get them together, off air to mend fences and sh*t. I’m sure Steve was like f*ck everybody’s couch up in here up in here.
Just ordered my copy! I am way too excited to read it. Co sign with KMN, I am a newbie VSS and mostly a lurker but reading the post and comments has given me encouragement to just live life. I will not be able to attend VSB day this year but will most def be in the house next year. Congrats and I can’t wait to spend many more, red eyed half sleep nights with the entire VSB fam
“I will not be able to attend VSB day this year but will most def be in the house next year”
why not?
Ironically I will be in Philly for a conference for my job, I also live in Denver and we did not make the cut this year. Next year I will quit my job for the day to be in attendance!
work is on overrated experience anyway. take that to the bank.
thanks.
My sister goes to school at American University and I am trying to get her to come to the book signing there so please keep me posted so I can have her rearrange her entire life just to be there!
Congrats! I just ordered my book.
just one? why not two?
I’M VERY HAPPY TO BE HERE!
oh and thanks.
“To be loved, to be loved…. WHOA what a feeling!”
I <3 PJ, I just watched that this weekend…Classic!
I've gone back to lurking mostly, but had to come out of lurkdom to give you all grand Congratulations! I will definitely be adding VSB to the bookshelf! I am so happy I stumbled upon this blog at the beginning of last year. You all have kept me thoroughly entertained from day 1! Keep up the great work!
Congrats y’all. This should keep Jim Jones and the Devil at bay for a few more decades.
good thing, because there are two footnotes devoted to jim jones in the book. (out of 80 total)
thanks gangsta. jim jones (nor King Kong) have anything on us.
Regular lurker who just purchased this book via Amazon. Going to try my darndest to save this jewel as a beach read for when I’m in Mo-Bay beginning 2/12 for a week. Congratulations and thank y’all for keeping a southern VSS “infotained.”
thank you, dawn gigi
hello regular lurker! regular writer here.
thanks for supporting peace.
Champ & Panama, I find it über cool that y’all (sorry–it’s the South in me) are responding to EVERY poster in this post. I know it’s “good business,” but I’m feeling a genuine family vibe, great manners and good old fashioned home training. Thanks for reply…it made a Sista feel special and ish. See, I *have* been lurking but just can’t bring myself to cuss publically–yet.