The Blessings & Burdens of Being the First

An excerpt from The Washington Post -

Being first is never easy. Living with the label can be just as hard.

By William Wan April 22, 2016

When the United States elected its first black president in 2008, it felt like a turning point — a cultural milestone for our country, a moment of grace in its fraught history of race relations, the fulfillment of an equality long promised by our founding fathers.

Seven years later, a new turning point awaits: What next?

No one knows. By their very nature, such “firsts” thrust us into uncharted territory.

But ask other black pioneers about their experiences, and they agree on this: Being first is never easy, but life afterward can be just as hard — both for the person who broke the barrier and the country at large.

Like Obama, they endured the challenge and scrutiny of breaking barriers, and they emerged with victories of their own: the first black governor. The first black billionaire. The first black Ivy League president.

If becoming a first requires determination and sacrifice, they say, then life after that first takes an equal amount of patience and perspective.

The label, they say, is something you contend with for the rest of your life — questioning it, probing for what it means, striving to preserve an identity outside of it and, if you’re lucky, learning to harness its power in a way that helps others.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/obama-legacy/first-black-heroes.html?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories_olp-afterthefirst-906pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

Passing the Test, or Not

An excerpt from Salon -

Failing the “DuVernay Test”: 6 signs your on-screen black character is a tired stereotype 

Exhibit A: Eddie Murphy's new film "Mr. Church," which has been dubbed a "spiritual sequel" to "Driving Miss Daisy"

2. Does your character exist to serve white people or aid them in a quest for fulfillment?

In a 2001 speech, director Spike Lee coined the phrase “Magical Negro” to describe the phenomenon of black characters whose only job in life is to the servants, mentors, and spiritual guides for white people. The most famous example is the jolly, apple-cheeked “Uncle Remus” from Disney’s “Song of the South,” who reads the stories of Brer Rabbit to a group of white children. The TV Tropes website sums up the awfulness of Disney’s Remus in its entry on this trope: “Even the horrors of Jim Crow can’t dampen his determination to be a cheerful mentor for the children.” 

Lee, however, called attention to movies like “The Legend of Bagger Vance,” “What Dreams May Come,” and “The Green Mile,” which respectively cast Will Smith, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Michael Clarke Duncan as Christ figures that come to earth to teach white people about forgiveness and redemption. If they are not literally God, like Morgan Freeman in “Bruce Almighty,” they act as his messengers or stand-ins. In “Dreams,” Gooding Jr. plays Albert, a guide tasked with helping the film’s Dante character, Chris Nielsen (Robin Williams), find his Beatrice in the afterlife. Albert doesn’t have depth, flaws, or conflicts because he’s a ghost; ghosts don’t need character development.

http://www.salon.com/2016/04/29/failing_the_duvernay_test_6_signs_your_on_screen_black_character_is_a_tired_trope/?source=newsletter

Not Making Out Like Bandits

An excerpt from The Atlantic -

The Divorce Gap

There’s a common perception that women siphon off the wealth of their exes and go on to live in comfort. It’s wrong.

Despite the common perception that women make out better than men in divorce proceedings, women who worked before, during, or after their marriages see a 20 percent decline in income when their marriages end, according to Stephen Jenkins, a professor at the London School of Economics. His research found that men, meanwhile, tend to see their incomes rise more than 30 percent post-divorce. Meanwhile, the poverty rate for separated women is 27 percent, nearly triple the figure for separated men.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/04/the-divorce-gap/480333/?utm_source=nl-atlantic-daily-042916

Honoring His Mom

This video clip was sent to me by a dear friend.  It is in English with Arabic subtitles.  I hope that this won't be a distraction of the powerful message being presented.

Fire Stick on Sale

Amazon Fire Stick is on sale for $34.99.

It's the best thing since sliced bread.

Shining Bright

From The Huffington Post - 

100 Percent Of Seniors At Chicago School Admitted To College For 7th Year In A Row

These young men at Urban Prep Charter Academy are what black excellence looks like.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/100-percent-of-seniors-at-chicago-school-admitted-to-college-for-7th-year-in-a-row_us_5722273ee4b0b49df6aa5aaa?utm_hp_ref=black-voices

Quote 2

"Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."


~John Wooden

SNOWDEN - Official Trailer

Quote

From The New York Times -

John Boehner on Ted Cruz:

“I have Democrat friends and Republican friends,” Mr. Boehner told David Kennedy, an emeritus history professor, at the event. “I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life.”

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/04/28/john-boehner-ted-cruz/

Undercover Lyft with Richard Sherman

Southside with You Official Trailer #1 (2016) - Parker Sawyers, Tika Sum...

A Helping Hand

An excerpt from Upworthy - 

We did this sweet lady's lawn today. She is 93, the neighbors told us that she been out their trying to cut her own lawn 😳. Have no fear, raising men lawn care is going to make sure her lawn is done every two weeks ! Making a difference in our community ! Terrence Stroy

Smith is the founder of Raising Men Lawn Care Service, a group that's lending a hugely helpful hand to neighbors in need.

Smith, a student at Alabama A&M University in Huntsville, launched his organization so elderly folks, single parents, and people with disabilities — those who may not "have the time, resources and/or money to manicure their yards" — could still have well-kept lawns free of charge. 

"The typical response is tears of joy," he told Upworthy of his group's impact.

http://www.upworthy.com/why-a-photo-of-this-93-year-old-and-her-lawn-mowers-is-going-viral?c=upw1

Brothas on Blast

An excerpt from Very Smart Brothas -

WHERE “BECKY” COMES FROM, AND WHY IT’S NOT RACIST, EXPLAINED

What is Lemonade?

Remember when you were a kid, and your grandma left you alone in the kitchen, and said “don’t take any cookies from the cookie jar,” but there were like 17 cookies in the jar, so you took one thinking she wouldn’t notice, but when she came back in the kitchen you started acting all guilty like you know she knows you took a cookie? Well, if you’re a man in a relationship with a woman, both Lemonade the album and the short film are that cookie jar. The only other thing that’s ever made this many men this self-conscious is Lexington Steele.

It’s that bad, huh?

Let’s just say that 60% of the men in America are spending this week vacillating between feeling bad for Jay Z and being mad at Jay Z for doing whatever he did with Becky With The Good Hair and putting the spotlight on all of us. It’s one thing to do some fuckshit when you have 600 million to fall back on. You might be forgiven. You’ll be memed. But forgiven. It’s another thing if your girl is paying your wifi bill. And your Netflix bill. And your electric bill. You have much less of a rope. You’re practically ropeless. And there are A LOT of ropeless niggas out there, and I’d imagine they’re all very mad at Jay Z.

http://verysmartbrothas.com/where-becky-comes-from-and-why-its-not-racist-explained/

Nature vs. Nuture

An excerpt from The New Yorker -

Same but Different

How epigenetics can blur the line between nature and nurture.

BY SIDDHARTHA MUKHERJEE

Why are identical twins alike? In the late nineteen-seventies, a team of scientists in Minnesota set out to determine how much these similarities arose from genes, rather than environments—from “nature,” rather than “nurture.” Scouring thousands of adoption records and news clips, the researchers gleaned a rare cohort of fifty-six identical twins who had been separated at birth. Reared in different families and different cities, often in vastly dissimilar circumstances, these twins shared only their genomes. Yet on tests designed to measure personality, attitudes, temperaments, and anxieties, they converged astonishingly. Social and political attitudes were powerfully correlated: liberals clustered with liberals, and orthodoxy was twinned with orthodoxy. The same went for religiosity (or its absence), even for the ability to be transported by an aesthetic experience. Two brothers, separated by geographic and economic continents, might be brought to tears by the same Chopin nocturne, as if responding to some subtle, common chord struck by their genomes.

One pair of twins both suffered crippling migraines, owned dogs that they had named Toy, married women named Linda, and had sons named James Allan (although one spelled the middle name with a single “l”). Another pair—one brought up Jewish, in Trinidad, and the other Catholic, in Nazi Germany, where he joined the Hitler Youth—wore blue shirts with epaulets and four pockets, and shared peculiar obsessive behaviors, such as flushing the toilet before using it. Both had invented fake sneezes to diffuse tense moments. Two sisters—separated long before the development of language—had invented the same word to describe the way they scrunched up their noses: “squidging.” Another pair confessed that they had been haunted by nightmares of being suffocated by various metallic objects—doorknobs, fishhooks, and the like.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/05/02/breakthroughs-in-epigenetics?mbid=nl_TNY%20Template%20-%20With%20Photo%20(33)&CNDID=27124505&spMailingID=8841059&spUserID=MTE0MzE0NDEyNDUyS0&spJobID=902696804&spReportId=OTAyNjk2ODA0S0

He Lost His Way

This is the story of how Tiger Woods lost his father, and in turn, lost his way.

It's a sad story.

I often wonder why some people blossom and flourish in the face of adversity like divorce or death, and others flounder, never to recover.

Why is that?

From ESPN -

http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/15278522/how-tiger-woods-life-unraveled-years-father-earl-woods-death

Sh*t Still Hitting the Fan

Excerpts from The New York Times - H/T Ben

VW Presentation in ’06 Showed How to Foil Emissions Tests

A PowerPoint presentation was prepared by a top technology executive at Volkswagen in 2006, laying out in detail how the automaker could cheat on emissions tests in the United States.

The presentation has been discovered as part of the continuing investigations into Volkswagen, according to two people who have seen the document and who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the legal action against the company. It provides the most direct link yet to the genesis of the deception at Volkswagen, which admitted late last year that 11 million vehicles worldwide were equipped with software to cheat on tests that measured pollution in emissions.

~~~~~~~~~~

What is now clear is that the current crisis at Volkswagen traces back to the PowerPoint presentation a decade ago.

Volkswagen engineers at the company’s research and development complex in Wolfsburg realized that the emissions equipment in their newest diesel engine would wear out too quickly if it were calibrated to meet American pollution standards. The emissions rules in the United States are more stringent than those in Europe.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/27/business/international/vw-presentation-in-06-showed-how-to-foil-emissions-tests.html?smid=nytcore-iphone-share&smprod=nytcore-iphone&_r=0

GlowBowl - Motion Activated Night Light For Your Toilet

It's available now at Amazon.

Two Guys Met on a Road . . .

An Escape Route

From The Daily Good -

UK Bar Has Exit Strategy for Patrons Suffering Through Bad Tinder Dates

“Your safety and happiness is our highest priority,” reads a sign hanging in the women’s bathroom. “If anyone is bothering you or making you feel uncomfortable please tell us. We will discreetly move them away, and if necessary, ask them to leave.”

https://www.good.is/articles/bar-tinder-bad-date?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailygood

Traffic News

An excerpt from Wired -

Widening Highways Never Fixes Traffic. But Darnit, It Did in Texas

The Texas Department of Transportation repaved the shoulders along both sides of a 6.3-mile stretch of State Highway 161 between Dallas and Fort Worth in September. Then it opened them up to traffic during the daily rush hour, keeping tow trucks on standby in case someone breaks down. Based on figures released this month, with the extra lanes in place, traffic “started sailing,” The Dallas Morning News reported this week.

It isn’t supposed to work that way. The rule of induced demand says widening highways does not ease congestion, and often makes it worse. Transportation officials could see this anomaly as a Texas-sized reason to build more highways—but shouldn’t.

http://www.wired.com/2016/04/widening-highways-never-fixes-traffic-darnit-texas/?mbid=nl_42516

Two Steps Forward, Three Steps Back

Quote

From Very Smart Brothas - 

HOW AND WHY I FORGAVE THE FATHER I NEVER HAD

Patti Swayne, 4/21/16

When I became an adult, no matter how begrudgingly, I started to see everything differently. My father, no matter how flawed, is just a man. He is as imperfect as I am. He has made mistakes, and so have I. He has disappointed people, and so have I. He hasn’t lived up to my expectations, and neither have I. But in order to be happy, whole, and open to life’s goodness, we have to accept and love our situations and ourselves exactly as they are before we set out to change them. In understanding that my father is who he is because of his experiences, I was able to forge a relationship from a different perspective. Talking to him about his interests and the happenings of his life became more natural, because I was no longer trying to force the father out of him. I was simply talking to a man about his day, his favorite song of the moment, and what he was going to eat for dinner. And acceptance does not mean that you won’t still be saddened or disappointed by this person, it just means that by engaging with them, you are accepting the risks that come with it. I accepted that this is the father I have; if this is who God gave me, what am I to learn from him?

http://verysmartbrothas.com/how-and-why-i-forgave-the-father-i-never-had/

Omar for President

This will only make sense if you know the fabulous show from HBO, The Wire.

An excerpt from Very Smart Brothas -

FIVE GREAT ALTERNATIVES BLACK AMERICA SHOULD SERIOUSLY CONSIDER FOR PRESIDENT

Michael Harriot, 4/15/16

5. Omar from The Wire

Not the actor Michael K. Williamson, I’m talking about the character Omar Little from HBO’s hit television series. I’m sure some people will say “but he’s a fictional character”—but so is Donald Trump. I’m convinced I’m going to wake up one day and all White America will be laughing at how they convinced us that the orange-haired Hitler could actually become head of State. I’m holding out hope that his candidacy is all an elaborate prank from the producers of Punk’d.

Omar, however, would make a great President, especially if he selected Brother Mouzone as VP. America needs a chief executive who garners global respect. Omar is that man. You think Putin would act like an asshole if O was sitting in the United Nations General Assembly in his trench coat with a do-rag tied tightly over his cornrows? You think Kim Jong Un would continue testing nuclear missiles off the coast of North Korea after President Little called him up on the red phone and whispered “You come at the king, you best not miss”?

Campaign Slogan: Omar Coming!

http://verysmartbrothas.com/five-great-alternatives-black-america-should-seriously-consider-for-president/

You'll Never Look at Laundry the Same Again

Check out this riveting (YES riveting!) look at laundry drying on clotheslines around the world.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-sight/wp/2016/04/22/if-you-live-in-romania-your-laundry-may-be-airing-on-instagram/?hpid=hp_no-name_photo-story-b%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

Quote

From The New York Times -

Beyoncé Unearths Pain and Lets It Flow in ‘Lemonade’

But she’s daring to think beyond herself. The heavy hangover of the piece involves what lots of men have done to lots of women, black women in particular. Between songs, we hear Malcolm X intone that no one has had it rougher than they have. Think about what it takes to make lemonade. You have to split open a lot of citrus, remove the seeds, strain for pulp and add a lot of sugar. It’s a process. Black women are good at lemonade.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/25/arts/music/beyonce-unearths-pain-and-lets-it-flow-in-lemonade.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

An Unlikely Voice

An excerpt from the AP - 

'I am here' - Silenced by autism, young man finds his voice

By MARTHA IRVINE

 

Apr. 24, 2016 12:18 AM EDT

Benjamin Alexander cannot speak, but he is determined to be heard. He cannot type without a hand to support his, and yet he writes and writes, his inner voice shouting out his thoughts. He returns repeatedly to the "fiend" that tried to silence him, the autism he sarcastically calls his "gift."

"Who in the hell gave me this gift?" he once wrote. "Please, take it back."

Ben is a junior at Tulane University, an English major with a 3.7 GPA and a computer full of essays, one of them published in a local journal and another on the university's news site. He wants to help educate people about autism and challenge stereotypes. That's not easy because he still needs some assistance when he types, leading some to doubt him over the years.

On a recent evening, Ben's father settles him at the keyboard and rests his hand under his son's arm. He lightly squeezes Ben's forearm, a subtle move that sets him into action. Ben begins to punch the keys with one finger.

http://bigstory.ap.org/urn:publicid:ap.org:34993946f50443cfbc98e7e2b9f0675b

A Hologram for the King Official Trailer #1 (2016)

OK.

Here's the deal.

He wouldn't have a female doctor.

He wouldn't be allowed to see her hair, at all.

He wouldn't be allowed to be in the car with her.  Women are only allowed to be in cars with males that are relatives.

He wouldn't be allowed to be touched by her.

He definitely wouldn't be allowed to be in a relationship with her, at all.

However, if you don't mind putting on your "pretend" cap, only then does this make sense.  If you can do that, then you have a chance of enjoying the story.

Empowerment in Houston

An excerpt from The Huffington Post -

How Artists Are Using Row Houses To Empower Citizens In Houston

How Rick Lowe’s “Project Row Houses” brings art and change to ordinary places and ordinary lives.

In 1993, Lowe was part of a group of artists that bought 22 run-down row houses in Houston’s historically black Third Ward. In the years since, the string of houses has blossomed into an arts community, offering everything from artist residencies to after-school programs to temporary shelter for single mothers. 

“At its core, it’s really just about thinking [of] the social environment as a sculptural form so that we understand some of the everyday, mundane things that happen,” Lowe explained to Art Practical, “from transitional housing for single mothers or education programs or real-estate development — not only from the standpoint of the practical outcomes from these services but also the poetic elements that can be layered into them.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/project-row-houses-houston_us_5717a1f6e4b0060ccda5090a?ir=Black+Voices&section=us_black-voices&utm_hp_ref=black-voices

Bedtime Stories

That speak to the millions of kids who have parents, especially fathers, who are incarcerated.

https://newrepublic.com/article/132808/bedtime-stories-jail?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=New%20Campaign&utm_term=TNR%20Daily%20Newsletter

Vindicated

Frankie, this one's for you.

As most of you know, I have two sons, Ben (34) and Frankie (32).

Although they were born in the same week (September 16 and 10 respectively), under the same astrological sign (if you believe in that stuff), they're as different as night and day.

Growing up, Ben was focused and driven; Frankie was carefree and fun loving.

Ben always did his homework, with projects turned in early.

Frankie's used to say, "Mom, you know I know how to do this.  My teacher knows I know how to do this, so why do I have to do it?"

Yeah, getting Frankie to do his homework was always a struggle.

There was no doubt in my mind that Frankie was innately smarter than Ben, but Ben worked harder, so his grades were better.

In sports, Ben was a fierce competitor, disappointed with every loss, no matter how strong his performance was.  Frankie was equally competitive, but he kept it in perspective.  He'd say, "Mom, the coach is taking this way too seriously."

They played soccer, football, basketball, baseball, and in high school, Frankie wrestled and played rugby.

Ben was neat and Frankie, not so much.

Back then, OK maybe even now, I was the queen of nagging.

I used to ride Ben and Frankie all the time about everything it seems, but I especially got on Frankie about his hair ( that's another message for another day) and his messy room.

His room was in a constant state of disarray, until finally, after hearing me complain enough, he'd clean it.

And I mean he'd really clean it from top to bottom.

In fact, no one cleans and organizes better than Frankie; he just doesn't do it often.

And now, as I sit in my apartment, surrounded by empty boxes (under the pretense of saving them to ship things back to the US), cabinets and drawers pulled out and not returned to their rightful places when I was searching for something, where dust bunnies have found a home and keep adding to their spread, where piles of wind-blown sand are making mini pyramids near the doors and windows, where clothes are hanging on every door instead of returned to the closet, where the floors haven't been swept or mopped in forever, I realize even more that Frankie is just like me.

I, too, am that messy person who is content to live in the mess, until I'm not, who then goes in like a storm, scrubbing, purging, and making it clean again.

The apple truly doesn't fall far from the tree.

So Frankie, for all the times I was on your case, I'm sorry.

Maybe even then, I realized you were just like me, and as I worked overtime in trying to correct your bad habits, I should have used some of that time to fix my own.

Know this.

I love you.

I love your thoughtfulness, your kindness, and your unique way of seeing the world.  I love how you wear your intelligence, not as a badge of honor, but as a tool to better understand those around you.

And most of all, I love the man you have become, mess and all.  I could not be prouder of the husband, father, and man you've grown up to be.

Quote

From The New York Times - 

Prince’s Holy Lust
By TOURÉ

It’s as if Prince introduced himself to us by talking about his dirty mind and how he was all about controversy, and once we got intrigued by him, because he’d told us how much hot sex he was having, then he said, well, now that I’ve got your attention, let me tell you about my lord and savior, Jesus Christ.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/24/opinion/sunday/princes-holy-lust.html?ribbon-ad-idx=15&rref=opinion&module=Ribbon&version=context&region=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Opinion&pgtype=article

A Moving Tribute

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/goodbye-prince-you-were-the-best-of-us-20160422

Not Quite All

Amazon's same day delivery excludes many predominantly black areas where its needed the most.

~~~~~~~~~~

An excerpt from Bloomberg via Vox -

Amazon Doesn’t Consider the Race of Its Customers. Should It?
By David Ingold and Spencer Soper
April 21, 2016

In six major same-day delivery cities, however, the service area excludes predominantly black ZIP codes to varying degrees, according to a Bloomberg analysis that compared Amazon same-day delivery areas with U.S. Census Bureau data.

In Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, and Washington, cities still struggling to overcome generations of racial segregation and economic inequality, black citizens are about half as likely to live in neighborhoods with access to Amazon same-day delivery as white residents.

The disparity in two other big cities is significant, too. In New York City, same-day delivery is available throughout Manhattan, Staten Island, and Brooklyn, but not in the Bronx and some majority-black neighborhoods in Queens. In some cities, Amazon same-day delivery extends many miles into the surrounding suburbs but isn’t available in some ZIP codes within the city limits.

http://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2016-amazon-same-day/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=4/22/16&utm_term=Vox%20Newsletter%20All

http://www.vox.com

Eligible to Vote

From The Washington Post -

Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) will make all ex-felons in Virginia eligible to vote in the upcoming presidential election, part of a years-long effort to restore full voting rights to former convicts.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/04/22/about-200000-convicted-felons-in-virginia-will-now-have-the-right-to-vote-in-november/?hpid=hp_no-name_no-name%3Apage%2Fbreaking-news-bar

Formatting Issues

Sincere apologies for some formatting issues I'm experiencing.

There is USA graphic map that was included in a post a while ago, that is obnoxious and oversized and continues to appear in spite of sincere efforts to delete it.

So, until I figure this out, please excuse the mess.

Prince RIP

Quote

“When Eric Clapton was asked how it felt to be the world’s best guitarist he replied: ‘I don’t know. Ask Prince.’ #RIP”

Put Your Dancing Shoes on Sac!

http://www.californiamusicaltheatre.com/events/motown/

"Keanu" Red Band Trailer - From the Minds of Key & Peele - Uncensored

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/24/movies/with-keanu-key-peele-break-into-feature-films-with-kittens-in-tow.html?hpw&rref=movies&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well

Clever T-Shirt

From CNN - 

The T-shirt that can speak in any language

(CNN) Call it the ultimate fashion statement -- a shirt that can do the talking when no one understands a word you're saying.

This genius item of clothing is printed with nearly 40 icons that travelers can use to try to get their message across if they don't know the language.

Inspired by a communications breakdown on the road, the shirt is part of a range of items created by a team of Swiss guys who've formed a company, Iconspeak.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/19/travel/iconspeak-t-shirt-speaks-any-language/index.html

~~~~~~~~~~

It's available at Amazon.  Search "icon t-shirt."

We called random Swedes. They told us about … foraging?

Quote

"In an historic first, U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts used sign language from the Supreme Court bench on Tuesday as he welcomed a dozen deaf and hard-of-hearing lawyers who took part in a ceremony authorizing them to argue cases before the court." [Reuters / Lawrence Hurley]

Amazon Echo

On sale today only.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2016/04/19/amazon-offers-one-day-sale-echo/83224644/

Newton's Laws

From The New Yorker -

Newton’s Laws of Marriage

BY JOHN QUAINTANCE

I wish we could derive the rest of the phænomena of nature by the same kind of reasoning from mechanical principles.
—Sir Isaac Newton, “The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy”

LAW I: A body in motion will be kept in motion. A body at rest will be asked what its plans for the day are.

The First Law deals primarily with inertia—which is often mistakenly identified as “relaxing”—and the different ways one body can affect another inert (and perfectly content) body. Conversely, it states that a body in motion will be kept in motion with a list of errands, written on the back of an envelope, before that body “becomes one with the couch for the rest of the day,” which seems like an unnecessary characterization. Also known as “The Saturday Principle.”

An object at rest will not start moving unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. But definitely don’t use the word “unbalanced.” That will not work out well for the object. Also, any force that causes another body to transition from a state of inertia to “trying to maybe accomplish something today” technically can be measured by describing its magnitude and its direction, but never describe the force’s magnitude.

When an object in motion finally comes to rest (so many hours later than it wanted) and it becomes clear that the object has forgotten one item (I) that was written on the other side of the envelope (E), it will get zero (0) credit for the things it did remember, and for which it waited in traffic (T), thanks to a screw-up with Waze (W), we can say that (E – I)(T + W) = 0.

LAW II: The heavier the object, the greater the force needed to move it, especially if it refuses to move, in a misguided effort to make some kind of point.

The Second Law states that the heavier an object is physically, mentally, and emotionally, the more it is affected by inertia, and the more the object can expect to have that thrown in its face if, God forbid, the object refuses to get out of bed for three days after losing the only job the object ever loved.

The oppositional force provided by the inert object is affected not only by its literal mass—which increases due to forces of gravity, time, too much takeout, and low-grade depression—but also by its tendency to actively resist change. This tendency is either due to the constant and unreasonable nature of the forces acting on it, or a psychological aversion to being told what to do because of some weird thing with its dad, depending on who you ask.

The more opposition that is provided, the stronger the force required to overcome it, which often leads to mutual structural damage, also known as “saying things you can’t take back” and “slamming the silverware drawer so hard you break the soft-close feature.”

The inevitability of this law and its consequences may be expressed as the mathematical equation F = ML, where F = Fuck and ML = My Life.

LAW III: For every action there is an opposite and bewildering reaction.

The Third Law states that one object will always appear to have a completely disproportionate negative reaction to the action of the other. This is called the Out of Nowhere Fallacy, and is based on the illusion that reactions are responses only to the action at hand, rather than to every similar action that has occurred in all previous interactions between the two objects. This is often referred to as the Cumulative Fatigue with Your Bullshit Index.

Take, for example, an object in motion that tries to rest, just for a moment, to keep from crying in front of the kids, like that one time, and happens to audibly lock the bathroom door. While it seems mathematically impossible that this would cause a two-and-a-half-hour blowout fight, the reaction is appropriate when corrected for the fact that this brings up trust issues from the time the secret checking account was discovered, even though that was a million years ago, or 106 (y).

While far less common, an action can also cause an unexpected positive reaction. Consider an automobile travelling from a restaurant to a house: while the acceleration is affected by mass and external friction, it is also affected by forces inside the vehicle.

If two bodies are at rest inside—alone by a scheduling anomaly; held together by time, a mutual expansion of mass, and the indefinable constant of love—one body may notice something about the other body, like the way it pretends to know the words to the song on the radio, and it may take the other by the hand and smile and suggest a change of direction, because the sitter isn’t expecting them for an hour, and tonight, for once, neither body is pushing or pulling at all.

http://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/newtons-laws-of-marriage?mbid=nl_160419_Daily&CNDID=27124505&spMailingID=8810442&spUserID=MTE0MzE0NDEyNDUyS0&spJobID=902058505&spReportId=OTAyMDU4NTA1S0

OUCH!

An excerpt from The Wrap -

‘Nina’ Review: Zoe Saldana, What Happened to Your Miss Simone Biopic?

Miscast and misbegotten, this catastrophic biopic plays like a sketch-comedy version of a bad movie about a legendary performer

“Nina,” an infuriatingly amateurish picture about the great singer and pianist Nina Simone, is a new low for the musical biopic genre. First time writer-director Cynthia Mort, whose main experience is as a writer on the sitcoms “Roseanne” and “Will & Grace,” unforgivably exploits Simone’s memory and name with a movie that plays like a sketch comedy parody of the worst possible Nina Simone biopic. No one involved seems to have a clue who Simone was or what she stood for.

http://www.thewrap.com/nina-review-zoe-saldana-nina-simone/

HANDS OF STONE

Will This Work at Keeping Kitty Off the Counter?

http://ovens.reviewed.com/news/this-kitty-friendly-kitchen-is-purr-fect-for-cat-owners?utm_source=Reviewed+Newsletter&utm_campaign=ea30dd300d-Newsletter_10_1_1410_1_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6f226ffe23-ea30dd300d-96781213

Tainted Success

From 2Paragraphs -

‘Ebony and Ivy’ — The Book That Exposed University Ties To Slavery

by 2Paragraphs in Culture | April 18, 2016

Georgetown University (photo by Flapane via Wikimedia Commons)

After Brown University went public with its deep historical roots to slavery in 2007, a wellspring of revelations began to emerge that rained on far more than Brown's ugly past. In a country that holds as national icons men who, like George Washington, were slaveholders, a complex and brutal legacy means that any longstanding institution is liable to harbor connections to America's slavery history. That includes many of its most respected institutions. Further investigation predictably revealed that many of the US's proudest and most accomplished universities -- from Harvard to Princeton to Georgetown -- aren't one or two degrees removed from slavery connections, but directly implicated. These prestigious universities have been roiled by controversy since -- not merely by their slavery connections but also by post-slavery racism like that practiced by Woodrow Wilson, a former president at Princeton.

The wellspring of outrage and historical revision that has stained the history of these schools is delineated in Craig Steven Wilder's 2013 book Ebony and Ivy: Race, Slavery, and the Troubled History of America's Universities. Wilder, a professor of history at MIT,  exposes the recondite underbelly of this nefarious slavery-university history in America. His book has had a major impact and seems destined to continue to have far-reaching consequences.

http://2paragraphs.com/2016/04/ebony-and-ivy-the-book-that-exposed-university-ties-to-slavery/

Schools + Money

From NPR -

Why America's Schools Have A Money Problem

http://www.npr.org/2016/04/18/474256366/why-americas-schools-have-a-money-problem?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Vox%20Sentences%204/18/16&utm_term=Vox%20Newsletter%20All

We All Lie 2

How To You Know You're in Love?

From The Atlantic -

http://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/478098/how-do-you-know-when-youre-in-love/

Tokyo Subway

An excerpt from The Washington Post -

Nine things about the Tokyo subway that will drive Washington commuters crazy

TOKYO — Hey Washington commuters, we know you’ve got it tough there. We heard about the delays and the outages and the safety problems and all that, and we don’t mean to rub it in. We just thought you might be interested in seeing how a subway system can work well.

So take a look at how it’s done in Tokyo, where the population in the greater metropolis is 38 million and accommodates more than 8 million passengers a day. One station alone — Shinjuku — sees an average of 3.64 million passengers going through it each day, making it the world’s busiest station, as certified by the Guinness Book of Records. Shinjuku has more than 200 exits and even has its own app just to help people get around the station.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/04/18/nine-things-about-the-tokyo-subway-that-will-drive-washington-commuters-crazy/?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories-2_tokyo-557am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

Get Your Eyes Examined Online

Excerpts from USA Today -

You can get eyeglass and contact prescriptions online now

But just as surely as Uber upended the taxi industry and Amazon changed book-buying habits, there’s now a company hoping to turn vision testing into an online routine requiring nothing but a computer and a smartphone. Opternative, based in Chicago, has been offering free exams through its website since July 2015. About 40,000 people in 32 states have taken the tests, says CEO and co-founder Aaron Dallek.

~~~~~~~~~~

Opternative promises the prescriptions within 24 hours and says they can be used to buy eyeglasses or contacts anywhere, online or in stores.The site does not sell glasses and contacts directly. Right now, it offers prescriptions only to consumers ages 18 to 40. Charges are not covered by insurers but are close to the average $52 that the Vision Council says consumers pay out of pocket for traditional exams.

~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2016/04/17/online-eye-exams-prescriptions/82892026/

https://www.opternative.com/online-eye-exams

We All Lie

Excerpts from the AP - 

We all lie, scientists say, but politicians even more so

Deception starts early.

Children learn to lie at an average of about 3 years old, often when they realize that other people don't know what they are thinking, said Kang Lee, a professor at the University of Toronto.

He has done extensive research on children and lying. Lee set up an experiment in a video-monitored room and would tell children there's a toy they can have that's behind them, but they can only get it if they don't peek. Then the adult is called out of the room, returns a minute later and asks if they peeked.

At age 2, only 30 percent lie, Lee said. At age 3, half do. By 5 or 6, 90 percent of the kids lie and Lee said he worries about the 10 percent who don't. This is universal, Lee said.

A little later, "we explicitly teach our kids to tell white lies," with parental coaching about things like saying how much they love gifts from grandma, and it's a lesson most of them only get around age 6 or older, Lee said.

~~~~~~~~~~

The problem is there are many shades of truth-bending. Experts split on whether to count white lies — what psychologist and political scientist Stanley Renshon calls "social lubrication" that makes civilized operate. When your spouse tells you that you don't look fat in that outfit when you do, does it really do any harm?

"There's a difference between white lies and real lies," Renshon said.

Some lies, said Schweitzer, "fall under politeness norms and are not very harmful. There are other lies that are self-interested and those are the ones that are really harmful. Those are the ones that harm relationships, harm trust."

But others, like DePaolo, see no distinction: "It doesn't matter if the attempt was motivated by good intentions and it doesn't matter if the lie is about something little."

Regardless, society rewards people for white lies, Feldman said.

"We're really trained to be deceptive," Feldman said. "If we're not, if we're totally truthful all the time that's not a good thing, there's a price to be paid for that. We don't like people who tell us the truth all the time.

http://bigstory.ap.org/urn:publicid:ap.org:c8efe2bb8bfc4e6eabcae0ed259a99b0

An Inspiration

Watch This 2

I just watched HBO's Confirmation, the reenactment of the 1991 Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill Senate Judiciary Hearings on sexual harassment that came up in the process of confirming Thomas as the next Supreme Court judge.

Watch this.

It was amazing!

It revealed the "win at any cost" mentality that is still very much alive and well in our political world today.

If the actual hearing was anything close to what was portrayed, what a sham it was.

The courage it took for Anita Hill to do what she did was extraordinary, and considering the beating she took as a result of coming forth; it's no wonder she didn't say anything for ten years.  She knew what she would be up against, and sure enough, the "he said / she said" accusations were probably far greater, far nastier, and far more contentious than she could have ever conjured up.

Side note - I wonder if Joe Biden has seen this.  His behavior as chairman of the hearing was appalling.  He was weak and ineffective at reigning in the crazies, if he even tried.  I'm guessing he wishes he had a do-over.

I don't know how anyone could doubt that Thomas did what he was accused of.

This man was guilty then, and he's guilty now.

The timing of this movie couldn't be more apropos with the looming confirmation of President Obama's nominee that the Senate is refusing to even consider.

The puppets of the gerry-rigging that happened in 1991, are still at work in 2016.

What a scam.

What a shame.

~~~~~~~~~~

You might also be interested in "The Washington That Failed Anita Hill" at the link below.

https://newrepublic.com/article/132761/washington-failed-anita-hill

The Hotline For Hollywood's Science Nerds

Grandmaster

From the AP - 

Chess' 1st African-American grandmaster enters Hall of Fame

NEW YORK (AP) — Maurice Ashley was 14 when he saw a high school friend playing chess and challenged him to a match. He lost badly, but it sparked a love affair that started him playing nearly non-stop ever since.

There were the countless hours competing against the hustlers in city parks, and the serious players at chess clubs in Manhattan. There were the years spent against increasingly tougher competition in college, and ultimately against the best of the best at tournaments around the country and abroad.

All that playing has led the 50-year-old Ashley to some trailblazing accomplishments — the first African-American to be designated as a chess grandmaster, and last Wednesday, the first African-American to be inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame in St. Louis. He received his honor as the U.S. Chess Championship got underway, with Ashley taking on commentating duties.

http://bigstory.ap.org/urn:publicid:ap.org:afa475649a7443c2a2fcb49a36a1cb83

"The Mentorship" feat. POTUS and Steph

Quote

If Trump wins the election it'll be the first
time in history that a billionaire moved into
public housing vacated by a black family! 
- Anonymous

H/T Forrest

Shocking: Hospital Refunds!

An excerpt from The Wahington Post -

The most unexpected hospital billing development ever: Refunds

DANVILLE, Pa. — At Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania, hospital officials want to keep their customers happy. So when patients are upset about a long wait in the emergency department, or a doctor’s brusque manner, or a meal that never arrived in a room, Geisinger is doing more than apologizing.

It’s offering money back on their care, no questions asked.

The hospital system is the first in the country to adopt what has long been a basic tenet of retail business: customer refunds. This focus on customer satisfaction is a relatively new concept for health care, in which doctors have typically called the shots. And it’s one that Geisinger’s staff questioned when president and chief executive David Feinberg came up with the refund idea last fall.

But the novel approach is in keeping with health care’s shift to improve the experience of patients. Under the Affordable Care Act, government payments are increasingly tied to the quality of care and patient satisfaction as opposed to the quantity of services provided.

“We want to make sure we not only have the right care that is high quality and safe, but we also want to make sure our care is compassionate, dignified and delivered with a lot of kindness,” said Feinberg, who took over Geisinger last May after running the UCLA health system.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/2016/04/14/207cb934-fd95-11e5-886f-a037dba38301_story.html?wpisrc=nl_rainbow