Many educators already know that hip-hop can be a powerful tool for engaging students. But can hip-hop save our schools-and our society? Hip Hop Genius introduces an iteration of hip-hop education that goes far beyond studying rap music as classroom content. Through stories about the professional rapper who founded the first hip-hop high school and the aspiring artists currently enrolled there, sam seidel lays out a vision for how hip-hop's genius-the resourceful creativity and swagger that took it from a local phenomenon to a global force-can lead to a fundamental remix of the way we think of teaching, school design, and leadership. This 10-year anniversary edition welcomes two new contributing authors, Tony Simmons and Michael Lipset, who bring direct experience running the High School for Recording Arts. The new edition includes new forewords from some of the most prominent names in education and hip-hop, reflections on ten more years of running a hip-hop high school, updates to every chapter from the first edition, details of how the school navigated the unprecedented complexities brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and uprising in response to the murder of George Floyd, and an inspiring new concluding chapter that is a call to action for the field.

Whatever the need is of a moment, the answer is in God. Whatever we are feeling or desiring, all hope lies in God. If there was ever a time in our lives to get closer to God, that time is NOW. Forty days of prayer will give you a hunger for God. Forty days of prayer will make you thirst for God. Forty days of prayer will empower you with the presence of God. God delights in those who worship Him in their prayer life. Allow Him to soak you with His presence during this "consecrated" time.

How do we make sense of the rise of political strongmen like Trump and Erdogan, or the increase in hate crimes and terrorism? How can we understand Brexit and xenophobic, anti-immigrant sentiments and policies? More importantly, what can we do to make it all stop? In Restless Ideas, Tony Simmons illustrates how social theory provides us with the skills for more informed observation, analysis and empathic understanding of social behaviour and social interaction. Social theory deepens our understanding of the world around us by empowering us to become practical theorists in our own lives. Simmons traces the roots of contemporary social theory back to the works of the early structural functionalists, systems theorists, conflict theorists, symbolic interactionists, ethnomethodologists and sociobiologists - and incorporates contemporary social thinkers theorizing from the margins who are redefining the canon. Later chapters focus on the current influence of structuration theory, third wave critical theory, sociobiology and evolutionary psychology, postmodernism and poststructuralism, postcolonialism, liquid and late modernity theories and globalization theories. The politics of sexual, racial, Indigenous and ethnic minorities are analyzed through the prism of theoretical perspectives such as queer theory, standpoint and intersectional theory, postcolonial and Indigenous theory and critical race theory, while the ongoing struggles for gender equality and justice are examined through the generational perspectives of feminist theories.

When the rim world Elysia is invaded by a merciless army bearing the insignia of a Dragon, young farmboy Kit Tanner is thrust into a desperate rescue mission, piloting the antique Corsair fighter 'Persephone' into space to find help from the legendary Shadow Warriors. Crash-landing on the unexplored world of Lyrehs-2, Kit discovers a secret civilization with ancient ties to the Dragon army, and begins to uncover the buried history of his grandfather, who stayed behind on Elysia so Kit could escape. With time running out and the Dragon forces threatening to advance into Federal space, Kit and his new allies must overcome the entrenched traditions of a forgotten race of clones, convince the authorities to ready for war, and protect a planet that can't protect itself. But there are secrets in the shadows, and the great war is just beginning.

The dead are always hungry when they awaken, but there the stories diverge. This collection of eight frightening tales explores zombie survival in all its gory forms. From the boy waiting for a school bus after the holocaust, to the office worker haunted by the question on every dead man's lips. There's the physics student experimenting on his girlfriend, a neglected girl baiting the hungry man to be her weapon of vengeance, and one surreal night at a drive-in theater. What follows when the literary father of the Beat Generation faces the end of the world, or a stranger puts the bite on a high school field trip? The collection also includes a sneak preview of the author's upcoming novel of the Awakening Dead, a story of a dead man who becomes self-aware but still craves "This Mortal Flesh."

The author's son is lead vocalist and lyricist for The Offer, a rock band based in Panama City, Florida. They're signed to Eulogy Recordings, and their debut album, "33 Days," was released on October 23, 2012. Inspired by their words and melodies, their cutting edges and darkened levels of meaning, the author began to make stories. Not really about their songs, not retelling their tunes in prose, but rather taking inspiration from a mood or an image or a line of lyrics transformed into a piece of dialogue and going where his imagination might take it, stumbling headlong into something new. Tales of ghostly mutiny, of mad artists, of Zen in the face of death. Tales of revenge, confession, forgiveness. Explorations of future legends and the loneliness of former time travelers. Ten stories, one for each song on the album. Written in 33 days. That was his challenge. This is his offer.

"The Book of Gabriel: An Endtimes Fable" opens as a man named Gabriel is sitting on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, waiting to die. The most beautiful woman he's ever seen rises up out of the sea and drafts him into a mission that will pit him against angels and demons alike in a desperate attempt to reunite the shattered aspects of God and stop the coming apocalypse. Meanwhile, Satan has his own plan to subvert the power of Shekinah, the female aspect of God - and Gabriel is key to his success. It's a dangerous road trip through parallel realities, dream worlds, time/space paradoxes, myth and legend, chapters from 'The Book of Cain,' the meaning of forgiveness, and the power of Joy.

This eclectic collection of stories, poems, flash fictions, character studies, experiments - and stranger things - resulted from the author's personal challenge to write every day for a year, a challenge born of the pain of loss, a struggle to drag himself out of the darkness after the deaths of loved ones. Here are ghost stories; the tales of weird items found in the Museum of Alternate Histories; "what if?" stories and "why not?" stories; gothic poetry and humorous haiku. Here walk aliens, devils, bank robbers, widows, dreamers, vampires, and Beat-generation zombie fighters. Here are ruminations upon the human spirit and extrapolations of where technology may propel human desires.

At the dawn of the 21st century, the residents of Century, Fla., prepare for their centennial celebration. There's a parade to plan, a murder to plot, a marriage to save and one to let go. Here, universes revolve around a smalltown Lolita, a high school teacher sees possible futures, a Piggly Wiggly meat cutter tries to please his Vegan wife. Secrets will out, and nothing will be the same. "Tony has his fingers all over the pulse of Florida funk - probably a blessing and a curse for him - but always a delight to readers of this state's fiction." - Tim Dorsey (Florida Roadkill)

"Dazed and Raving in the Undercurrents" is more than a collection of award-winning work by columnist and news editor Tony Simmons. It is also the story of a life -- the journey of a writer, a husband, a father, a human being -- filled with the quiet moments, slapstick comedy, and devastating catastrophes that make up such a journey.

For the better part of ten years, Simmons has commented upon life in the unique environs of the Florida Panhandle while delving into universal themes of love, loss, discovery, and hope. This selection of his columns from "The News Herald" is a career-spanning retrospective that runs the gamut from the absurd to the sublime.

"News Herald" readers have described the work as "lovely" and "poignant," "powerful and heartfelt." Simmons has "a unique way of writing that makes me stop and think," they have said, and "a rare talent and a heart that will help and inspire many." (Perhaps the author's all-time favorite comment from a reader: "Sometimes you take my breath away.")

Join those who have joined Tony Simmons on his journey. And go in peace.

Revitalizing the Classics is a lively introductory text that relates classical social theories to contemporary social events. This updated definition of "the classics" avoids the Eurocentrism and androcentrism of many textbooks of social theory by including both non-European and women social thinkers. Besides highlighting the work of Ibn Khaldun and first wave feminist scholars, this book utilizes interactive figures, original source sidebars and current illustrative examples to provide a critical alternative to the standard texts in the field. In the process, Tony Simmons shows just how relevant classical social theories are in our present world, offering us analysis and clarification of a range of issues, from war, poverty and environmental destruction, to the sensory overload experienced in the digital age and even our personal relationships and interactions. Social theories are helpful - even necessary - to help us understand and, most importantly, be critical of the issues, systems and institutions in our world today. Revitalizing the Classics introduces students to a wide range of classical theorists and applies their theories to present-day examples: thus Durkheim's ideas are invoked to explore "anomie" in the digital world as well as the "altruistic" elements of suicide bombings in contemporary combat zones. Similarly, Ibn Khaldun's concept of "asabiyya" is used to explain the tribal code of the Taliban; Marx is summoned to explain the ever-widening gap between the rich and poor in Canada and around the world; and Pareto is enlisted to describe the "circulation of elites" in post-communist and post-colonial societies. Other sections explore and analyze the global war on terrorism and the Arab Spring. The book also includes a glossary of key concepts, giving readers an instant explanation of major terms and ideas used in each chapter. The combination of accessible writing and contemporary analysis provides a text that will empower readers to theorize and analyze many current events for themselves.