Monday, March 27, 2017
Moving Forward
From Slate -
A Way Forward
What Democrats should do to capitalize on the defeat of Trumpcare.
By Jamelle Bouie
It almost goes without saying that Democrats have an unprecedented gift. By simply describing the AHCA and the GOP effort to pass it, they can tie their opponents to dysfunction and cruelty. They can show, in vivid terms, what the Republican Party would do to the public if it had the chance—if it could get itself together. Democrats have no excuse; they should blast the Republican Party with its failure and use the opportunity to tout a comprehensive plan for improving the Affordable Care Act. This could take several forms. They could embrace Sen. Bernie Sanders’ call for universal Medicare; they could introduce a public option to the exchanges, coupled with more generous subsidies; they could announce a plan to federalize and expand Medicaid even further; or they could do a little of each, writing a simple proposal that opens Medicare up to older Americans not yet on there, provides greater subsidies in the health care exchanges, and closes any coverage gaps with Medicaid. And in the short term, they can pressure individual states to adopt the Medicaid expansion as it exists. Whatever the path they choose, Trump’s health care quagmire gives Democrats a chance to move the ball forward and show Americans a real path toward affordable insurance and universal coverage.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/03/what_democrats_should_do_to_capitalize_on_the_defeat_of_trumpcare.html
A Way Forward
What Democrats should do to capitalize on the defeat of Trumpcare.
By Jamelle Bouie
It almost goes without saying that Democrats have an unprecedented gift. By simply describing the AHCA and the GOP effort to pass it, they can tie their opponents to dysfunction and cruelty. They can show, in vivid terms, what the Republican Party would do to the public if it had the chance—if it could get itself together. Democrats have no excuse; they should blast the Republican Party with its failure and use the opportunity to tout a comprehensive plan for improving the Affordable Care Act. This could take several forms. They could embrace Sen. Bernie Sanders’ call for universal Medicare; they could introduce a public option to the exchanges, coupled with more generous subsidies; they could announce a plan to federalize and expand Medicaid even further; or they could do a little of each, writing a simple proposal that opens Medicare up to older Americans not yet on there, provides greater subsidies in the health care exchanges, and closes any coverage gaps with Medicaid. And in the short term, they can pressure individual states to adopt the Medicaid expansion as it exists. Whatever the path they choose, Trump’s health care quagmire gives Democrats a chance to move the ball forward and show Americans a real path toward affordable insurance and universal coverage.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/03/what_democrats_should_do_to_capitalize_on_the_defeat_of_trumpcare.html
If You Need (or Want) a New iPhone
From USA Today & Reviewed -
Target will give you $300 if you buy a new iPhone this week
By Brendan Nystedt , Reviewed.com
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/reviewedcom/2017/03/27/target-will-give-you-300-if-you-buy-a-new-iphone-this-week/99687416/
Target will give you $300 if you buy a new iPhone this week
By Brendan Nystedt , Reviewed.com
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/reviewedcom/2017/03/27/target-will-give-you-300-if-you-buy-a-new-iphone-this-week/99687416/
Lesson Learned: Fight Back
From the Huffington Post -
School Tries To Censor BLM Article. These Students Had The Final Say.
The high schoolers recruited the help of their regional ACLU.
By Zahara Hill
Two California high schoolers fought back ― and won ― when their principal tried to censor a yearbook article on Black Lives Matter earlier this year.
Throughout the fall semester, Vanessa Mewborn, 16, and Ariana Coleman, 17, interviewed students and faculty at Buckingham Charter Magnet School in Vacaville, California, about their thoughts on the BLM movement for a yearbook article.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/these-students-fought-back-when-their-principal-tried-to-censor-blm-discussion_us_58d932a8e4b03692bea7faec?section=us_black-voices
School Tries To Censor BLM Article. These Students Had The Final Say.
The high schoolers recruited the help of their regional ACLU.
By Zahara Hill
Two California high schoolers fought back ― and won ― when their principal tried to censor a yearbook article on Black Lives Matter earlier this year.
Throughout the fall semester, Vanessa Mewborn, 16, and Ariana Coleman, 17, interviewed students and faculty at Buckingham Charter Magnet School in Vacaville, California, about their thoughts on the BLM movement for a yearbook article.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/these-students-fought-back-when-their-principal-tried-to-censor-blm-discussion_us_58d932a8e4b03692bea7faec?section=us_black-voices
I Love This Dad!
http://ftw.usatoday.com/2017/03/dad-called-out-son-bad-grades-sign-cavaliers-game-amazing-photo
Contesting the Truth
From Slate -
Trump’s Terrifying Comey Tweet
The president is using his office as a platform to contest the very nature of truth.
By Jamelle Bouie
But Trump sees no advantage in accountability, no reason to honor the truth or even gesture toward its existence. Both he and his White House have made a conscious decision to destabilize public discourse, to fracture and undermine common understanding. President Trump isn’t just lying to the American people; he’s saying, almost openly, that the truth just doesn’t matter either way.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/03/trump_s_comey_tweet_was_one_of_his_most_terrifying_lies_yet.html
Trump’s Terrifying Comey Tweet
The president is using his office as a platform to contest the very nature of truth.
By Jamelle Bouie
But Trump sees no advantage in accountability, no reason to honor the truth or even gesture toward its existence. Both he and his White House have made a conscious decision to destabilize public discourse, to fracture and undermine common understanding. President Trump isn’t just lying to the American people; he’s saying, almost openly, that the truth just doesn’t matter either way.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/03/trump_s_comey_tweet_was_one_of_his_most_terrifying_lies_yet.html
Sunday, March 26, 2017
All Alone
From the Guardian -
Into the woods: how one man survived alone in the wilderness for 27 years
At the age of 20, Christopher Knight parked his car on a remote trail in Maine and walked away with only the most basic supplies. He had no plan. His chief motivation was to avoid contact with people. This is his story
by Michael Finkel
Christopher Knight was only 20 years old when he walked away from society, not to be seen again for more than a quarter of a century. He had been working for less than a year installing home and vehicle alarm systems near Boston, Massachusetts, when abruptly, without giving notice to his boss, he quit his job. He never even returned his tools. He cashed his final pay cheque and left town.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/mar/15/stranger-in-the-woods-christopher-knight-hermit-maine?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-1
Into the woods: how one man survived alone in the wilderness for 27 years
At the age of 20, Christopher Knight parked his car on a remote trail in Maine and walked away with only the most basic supplies. He had no plan. His chief motivation was to avoid contact with people. This is his story
by Michael Finkel
Christopher Knight was only 20 years old when he walked away from society, not to be seen again for more than a quarter of a century. He had been working for less than a year installing home and vehicle alarm systems near Boston, Massachusetts, when abruptly, without giving notice to his boss, he quit his job. He never even returned his tools. He cashed his final pay cheque and left town.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/mar/15/stranger-in-the-woods-christopher-knight-hermit-maine?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-1
Living Large on Our Dime
From the Washington Post -
Brace yourself, taxpayers: Trump’s plutocracy doesn’t come cheap
By Dana Milbank
The average family of four in the United States pays about $4,000 a year in federal income taxes. That means the entire tax bill for 15,000 families for the year will go toward these additional protection measures for Trump. And the Secret Service is just a slice of the overall expense. Figure in costs incurred by authorities in Florida and New York, the Pentagon and others, and costs related to the Trump sons’ international business trips, and we’re well over $100 million a year.
That’s the annual federal income-tax bill for some 25,000 American families. Each trip Trump takes to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, where he has gone most weekends since his inauguration, is estimated to cost taxpayers in excess of $3 million.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trumps-plutocracy-doesnt-come-cheap/2017/03/24/9a1f79d8-10a5-11e7-ab07-07d9f521f6b5_story.html?utm_term=.9002bd954e04
Brace yourself, taxpayers: Trump’s plutocracy doesn’t come cheap
By Dana Milbank
The average family of four in the United States pays about $4,000 a year in federal income taxes. That means the entire tax bill for 15,000 families for the year will go toward these additional protection measures for Trump. And the Secret Service is just a slice of the overall expense. Figure in costs incurred by authorities in Florida and New York, the Pentagon and others, and costs related to the Trump sons’ international business trips, and we’re well over $100 million a year.
That’s the annual federal income-tax bill for some 25,000 American families. Each trip Trump takes to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, where he has gone most weekends since his inauguration, is estimated to cost taxpayers in excess of $3 million.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trumps-plutocracy-doesnt-come-cheap/2017/03/24/9a1f79d8-10a5-11e7-ab07-07d9f521f6b5_story.html?utm_term=.9002bd954e04
Haunted by the Truth
From the Huffington Post -
Haunted By ‘Get Out’ — But Not Because It’s A Horror Film
It highlighted for me how we can all make buffoons of ourselves in the face of diversity.
By Shira Hirschman Weiss
The film may also have another message for its audience about Caucasians adopting black culture, glorifying it and even including parts of it as its own without acknowledging origins. Because I love pop culture, I’ll look there for examples: While Eminem frequently credits his predecessors and professional influences, do other white rappers pay homage to those who paved the way? When Tom Hanks youngest son talks like an African American in a video - despite the fact that we know he’s Rita and Tom’s son - is it fine to just chalk it up to immaturity?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/haunted-by-get-out-but-not-because-its-a-horror_us_58d6e9e1e4b06c3d3d3e6e7e?
Haunted By ‘Get Out’ — But Not Because It’s A Horror Film
It highlighted for me how we can all make buffoons of ourselves in the face of diversity.
By Shira Hirschman Weiss
The film may also have another message for its audience about Caucasians adopting black culture, glorifying it and even including parts of it as its own without acknowledging origins. Because I love pop culture, I’ll look there for examples: While Eminem frequently credits his predecessors and professional influences, do other white rappers pay homage to those who paved the way? When Tom Hanks youngest son talks like an African American in a video - despite the fact that we know he’s Rita and Tom’s son - is it fine to just chalk it up to immaturity?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/haunted-by-get-out-but-not-because-its-a-horror_us_58d6e9e1e4b06c3d3d3e6e7e?
Saturday, March 25, 2017
The Sacrifices Paid Off
From the Undefeated -
STUNTIN’ LIKE HIS DADDY: HOW DEVIN BOOKER’S FATHER PAVED HIS PATH TO THE NBA
The preservation of a basketball legacy strengthened Melvin Booker’s relationship with his son
BY MARC J. SPEARS
It took a lot of persuading for former NBA player Melvin Booker to get his son to move to Mississippi away from his mom to best aid his hoop dream. It wasn’t an easy move for a teenager who only knew suburban life to switch to an “urban environment” at a high school where his dad was a star. While going back to Michigan did get strong consideration, Devin Booker’s perseverance not only led to an NBA career but also a close bond with father.
https://theundefeated.com/features/stuntin-like-his-daddy-devin-booker-father-paved-his-path-to-the-nba/
STUNTIN’ LIKE HIS DADDY: HOW DEVIN BOOKER’S FATHER PAVED HIS PATH TO THE NBA
The preservation of a basketball legacy strengthened Melvin Booker’s relationship with his son
BY MARC J. SPEARS
It took a lot of persuading for former NBA player Melvin Booker to get his son to move to Mississippi away from his mom to best aid his hoop dream. It wasn’t an easy move for a teenager who only knew suburban life to switch to an “urban environment” at a high school where his dad was a star. While going back to Michigan did get strong consideration, Devin Booker’s perseverance not only led to an NBA career but also a close bond with father.
https://theundefeated.com/features/stuntin-like-his-daddy-devin-booker-father-paved-his-path-to-the-nba/
Waving or Drowning?
From NY Magazine -
Is Political Gravity Finally Sinking Donald Trump?
By Andrew Sullivan
Is he waving or drowning? Swimming or sinking?
I ask this question because we’re more than two months in and the trauma has not subsided, but it has, perhaps, bifurcated. Sure, Trump still shows alarming potential as a would-be tyrant, contemptuous of constitutional proprieties, and prone to trashing every last norm of liberal democracy. But he is also beginning to appear simultaneously as a rather weak chief executive, uninterested in competent management or follow-through, bedeviled by divisions within his own party, transfixed by cable news, and swiftly discrediting himself by an endless stream of lies, delusions, and conspiracy theories. Even the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal challenged his credibility last Tuesday. They did this because, at this point, among sane people, he quite obviously has none.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/03/sullivan-is-political-gravity-finally-sinking-donald-trump.html
Is Political Gravity Finally Sinking Donald Trump?
By Andrew Sullivan
Is he waving or drowning? Swimming or sinking?
I ask this question because we’re more than two months in and the trauma has not subsided, but it has, perhaps, bifurcated. Sure, Trump still shows alarming potential as a would-be tyrant, contemptuous of constitutional proprieties, and prone to trashing every last norm of liberal democracy. But he is also beginning to appear simultaneously as a rather weak chief executive, uninterested in competent management or follow-through, bedeviled by divisions within his own party, transfixed by cable news, and swiftly discrediting himself by an endless stream of lies, delusions, and conspiracy theories. Even the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal challenged his credibility last Tuesday. They did this because, at this point, among sane people, he quite obviously has none.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/03/sullivan-is-political-gravity-finally-sinking-donald-trump.html
Latina & Muslim
From the LA Times -
Like an invisibility cloak, Latina Muslims find the hijab hides their ethnicity — from Latinos
By Cindy Carcamo
Like an invisibility cloak, Latina Muslims find the hijab hides their ethnicity — from Latinos
By Cindy Carcamo
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-muslim-latinas-20170324-story.html
When We Fail Kids
As an educator, I'm a mandated reporter of suspected abuse. In my personal dealings with CPS workers, I was alarmed and frustrated at the indifference on display the few times I made contact.
One incident that stands out is when a 6th-grade student came to me to share what was happening in her home that she shared with her father. It was alarming. She asked that I call CPS to request that she be moved. She understood what she was asking as she had been in and out of foster care most of her life. I made the request and the CPS worker I spoke with flipped it off as "typical kid stuff" and dismissed it as she felt the complaint was without merit. I was livid. I told her that if anything happened to this child, it was on her. Further intervention on the school's part lead to the student moving out to live with relatives.
I'm sure there are wonderful, hard working CPS workers who care about the children they are responsible for monitoring, but this does not describe the ones I dealt with, at all.
~~~~~~~~~~
From the LA Times -
4 L.A. County social workers to face trial in horrific death of 8-year-old boy
Melissa Etehad and Richard Winton
Los Angeles County judge ruled Monday that four social workers should stand trial on child abuse and other charges in the death of an 8-year-old Palmdale boy they were assigned to protect, allowing prosecutors to push ahead with a case that has sent a chill through the ranks of child protection workers nationwide.
Superior Court Judge Mary Lou Villar said that “red flags were everywhere” during the months before Gabriel Fernandez died and that the social workers mishandled evidence of escalating abuse and failed to file timely reports on what was happening in the boy’s home before he was allegedly killed by his mother and her boyfriend in 2013. The judge said the workers’ conduct amounted to criminal negligence.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-social-worker-charges-20170320-story.html
One incident that stands out is when a 6th-grade student came to me to share what was happening in her home that she shared with her father. It was alarming. She asked that I call CPS to request that she be moved. She understood what she was asking as she had been in and out of foster care most of her life. I made the request and the CPS worker I spoke with flipped it off as "typical kid stuff" and dismissed it as she felt the complaint was without merit. I was livid. I told her that if anything happened to this child, it was on her. Further intervention on the school's part lead to the student moving out to live with relatives.
I'm sure there are wonderful, hard working CPS workers who care about the children they are responsible for monitoring, but this does not describe the ones I dealt with, at all.
~~~~~~~~~~
From the LA Times -
4 L.A. County social workers to face trial in horrific death of 8-year-old boy
Melissa Etehad and Richard Winton
Los Angeles County judge ruled Monday that four social workers should stand trial on child abuse and other charges in the death of an 8-year-old Palmdale boy they were assigned to protect, allowing prosecutors to push ahead with a case that has sent a chill through the ranks of child protection workers nationwide.
Superior Court Judge Mary Lou Villar said that “red flags were everywhere” during the months before Gabriel Fernandez died and that the social workers mishandled evidence of escalating abuse and failed to file timely reports on what was happening in the boy’s home before he was allegedly killed by his mother and her boyfriend in 2013. The judge said the workers’ conduct amounted to criminal negligence.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-social-worker-charges-20170320-story.html
Reaction to the Loss
From the Daily Mail -
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4347808/Democrats-mock-House-Republicans-healthcare-failure.html?ITO=applenews
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4347808/Democrats-mock-House-Republicans-healthcare-failure.html?ITO=applenews
Friday, March 24, 2017
We've Seen This Before
From the Huffington Post -
Colin Kaepernick Is To The NFL What Black People Are To America
Hatred of the quarterback among NFL owners feels all too familiar.
By Ja’han Jones
With this, the NFL and its exclusive cohort of wealthy, white male owners seem eager to quell any sort of social activism practiced by its players, a great many of whom are black. (It is noteworthy, also, that a black person has never majority-owned an NFL team in the league’s history.) In so doing, the league is acting in accordance with longstanding, oppressive, American tradition by silencing black voices seeking refuge from oppression. And the coordinated ostracism of Kaepernick betrays a familiar, frustrating plight to many black people in the United States.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/colin-kaepernick-is-to-the-nfl-what-black-people-are-to-america_us_58d59e25e4b03787d358ce3d?s2djbb0qyc766r&
Colin Kaepernick Is To The NFL What Black People Are To America
Hatred of the quarterback among NFL owners feels all too familiar.
By Ja’han Jones
With this, the NFL and its exclusive cohort of wealthy, white male owners seem eager to quell any sort of social activism practiced by its players, a great many of whom are black. (It is noteworthy, also, that a black person has never majority-owned an NFL team in the league’s history.) In so doing, the league is acting in accordance with longstanding, oppressive, American tradition by silencing black voices seeking refuge from oppression. And the coordinated ostracism of Kaepernick betrays a familiar, frustrating plight to many black people in the United States.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/colin-kaepernick-is-to-the-nfl-what-black-people-are-to-america_us_58d59e25e4b03787d358ce3d?s2djbb0qyc766r&
Loser
From the Daily Kos -
Quoting Dan Rather.
Loser. That's a word that Donald Trump fears being called more than any other. It is a word that he has wielded with relish against his enemies. But if the health care bill goes down in defeat, and at this point that is still a big if, Mr. Trump will be seen as a loser, and so will his new cheerleader Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.
A loser president. It's a moniker that every president dreads, but especially President Trump. It strikes at the very essence of his being. It is why he rails away at conspiracy theories about voter fraud. Once you are seen as a loser in Washington your enemies are emboldened and your allies become skittish. Power can evaporate faster than dew in Dalhart.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/03/24/1646681/--A-loser-president-Dan-Rather-hits-him-where-it-hurts
Quoting Dan Rather.
Loser. That's a word that Donald Trump fears being called more than any other. It is a word that he has wielded with relish against his enemies. But if the health care bill goes down in defeat, and at this point that is still a big if, Mr. Trump will be seen as a loser, and so will his new cheerleader Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.
A loser president. It's a moniker that every president dreads, but especially President Trump. It strikes at the very essence of his being. It is why he rails away at conspiracy theories about voter fraud. Once you are seen as a loser in Washington your enemies are emboldened and your allies become skittish. Power can evaporate faster than dew in Dalhart.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/03/24/1646681/--A-loser-president-Dan-Rather-hits-him-where-it-hurts
Hey Guys, Which Are You?
From the New Yorker -
MEN AS DOORS
By Olivia de Recat
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/men-as-doors
MEN AS DOORS
By Olivia de Recat
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/men-as-doors
Howard University West
From USA Today -
Google opens Howard University West to train black coders
Jessica Guynn
SAN FRANCISCO — Google is opening "Howard West" on its campus in Mountain View, Calif., a Silicon Valley outpost for the historically black university where computer science majors can immerse themselves in coding instruction and tech culture, not to mention the inner workings of one of the planet's most famous companies.
Between 25 and 30 juniors and seniors from Washington, D.C.-based Howard University will spend 12 weeks at Google this summer, receiving instruction from senior Google engineers and Howard faculty and getting course credit for their studies, the Internet giant announced Thursday.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2017/03/23/howard-university-google/99518020/?csp=tech
Google opens Howard University West to train black coders
Jessica Guynn
SAN FRANCISCO — Google is opening "Howard West" on its campus in Mountain View, Calif., a Silicon Valley outpost for the historically black university where computer science majors can immerse themselves in coding instruction and tech culture, not to mention the inner workings of one of the planet's most famous companies.
Between 25 and 30 juniors and seniors from Washington, D.C.-based Howard University will spend 12 weeks at Google this summer, receiving instruction from senior Google engineers and Howard faculty and getting course credit for their studies, the Internet giant announced Thursday.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2017/03/23/howard-university-google/99518020/?csp=tech
For Real?
From Upworthy -
5 bizarre features of American politics that shock people when they first hear about them.
...including one reason people are staying involved despite it all.
By ERIC MARCH
As breaking news and scandals continue to erupt at an Usain Bolt-ish pace, many Americans are experiencing the early days of the Trump administration as a crash course in what makes our government kind-of-but-honestly-not-exactly work, with emphasis on the "crash."
Granted, even for those of us who have been mainlining C-SPAN for years, the current political climate is more than a little strange. For those just wading into the pool, it's like the water is 150 degrees, there are knives in the water, and oh yeah, it's peanut butter instead of water.
I spoke to four political novices who are getting acquainted with our political system for the first time — a teacher in Boston, a corporate retail worker (also in Boston), a marketing executive in New York, and a former advertising project manager in Detroit. Here are just a few of the surprising things they were shocked to learn are real parts of American politics:
1. If one political party wins enough elections in a state, they can change the maps to make it harder for their opponents to beat them in the next election.
http://www.upworthy.com/5-bizarre-features-of-american-politics-that-shock-people-when-they-first-hear-about-them
5 bizarre features of American politics that shock people when they first hear about them.
...including one reason people are staying involved despite it all.
By ERIC MARCH
As breaking news and scandals continue to erupt at an Usain Bolt-ish pace, many Americans are experiencing the early days of the Trump administration as a crash course in what makes our government kind-of-but-honestly-not-exactly work, with emphasis on the "crash."
Granted, even for those of us who have been mainlining C-SPAN for years, the current political climate is more than a little strange. For those just wading into the pool, it's like the water is 150 degrees, there are knives in the water, and oh yeah, it's peanut butter instead of water.
I spoke to four political novices who are getting acquainted with our political system for the first time — a teacher in Boston, a corporate retail worker (also in Boston), a marketing executive in New York, and a former advertising project manager in Detroit. Here are just a few of the surprising things they were shocked to learn are real parts of American politics:
1. If one political party wins enough elections in a state, they can change the maps to make it harder for their opponents to beat them in the next election.
http://www.upworthy.com/5-bizarre-features-of-american-politics-that-shock-people-when-they-first-hear-about-them
Disproving the Myth
From the LA Times -
Disproving the 'black films don't travel' Hollywood myth
By Tre'vell Anderson
“Every time there’s a success, it gets swept under the rug,” says Jeff Clanagan, president of Lionsgate’s Codeblack Films, which primarily produces films with African American casts. “It’s almost like there’s an asterisk on it. They chalk it off as an anomaly.”
For 1988’s “Coming to America,” the anomaly was the comedic genius of Eddie Murphy, who “transcended race” when the film grossed $160.6 million internationally for a $288.8 million worldwide take. (Samuel L. Jackson, Morgan Freeman, Will Smith, Kevin Hart, Denzel Washington and Don Cheedle are other box office champs for whom the “transcended race” label has been applied.)
For 1995’s “Bad Boys” and its 2003 sequel — which together pulled in a combined $210.3 million internationally and $414.7 million worldwide — it was the fact that the film was an action flick, never mind leads Smith, Martin Lawrence and Gabrielle Union.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-black-movies-global-audience-myth-20170324-story.html
Disproving the 'black films don't travel' Hollywood myth
By Tre'vell Anderson
“Every time there’s a success, it gets swept under the rug,” says Jeff Clanagan, president of Lionsgate’s Codeblack Films, which primarily produces films with African American casts. “It’s almost like there’s an asterisk on it. They chalk it off as an anomaly.”
For 1988’s “Coming to America,” the anomaly was the comedic genius of Eddie Murphy, who “transcended race” when the film grossed $160.6 million internationally for a $288.8 million worldwide take. (Samuel L. Jackson, Morgan Freeman, Will Smith, Kevin Hart, Denzel Washington and Don Cheedle are other box office champs for whom the “transcended race” label has been applied.)
For 1995’s “Bad Boys” and its 2003 sequel — which together pulled in a combined $210.3 million internationally and $414.7 million worldwide — it was the fact that the film was an action flick, never mind leads Smith, Martin Lawrence and Gabrielle Union.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-black-movies-global-audience-myth-20170324-story.html
Green Thumbs Everywhere
From the LA Times -
Grow blueberries on your patio: They're perfect for small-space gardening.
By Jeanette Marantos
http://www.latimes.com/home/la-hm-how-to-grow-blueberries-on-your-patio-20170314-story.html
Grow blueberries on your patio: They're perfect for small-space gardening.
By Jeanette Marantos
http://www.latimes.com/home/la-hm-how-to-grow-blueberries-on-your-patio-20170314-story.html
Noticeably Absent
From the list is Trump.
From the Washington Post -
Cubs mastermind Theo Epstein is No. 1 on Fortune’s ‘greatest leaders’ list. The pope is No. 3.
By Marissa Payne
The Chicago Cubs winning the World Series was a big deal. Like, a really big deal, according to Fortune, which put the team’s president, Theo Epstein, on top of its “World’s Greatest Leaders” list on Thursday. The 43-year-old baseball mastermind beat out Chinese businessman Jack Ma, the executive chairman of the ever-growing Alibaba commerce empire, as well as No. 3 Pope Francis — you know, the head of the Catholic Church.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/03/23/cubs-mastermind-theo-epstein-is-no-1-on-fortunes-greatest-leaders-list-the-pope-is-no-3/?utm_term=.f24b2adf6504
From the Washington Post -
Cubs mastermind Theo Epstein is No. 1 on Fortune’s ‘greatest leaders’ list. The pope is No. 3.
By Marissa Payne
The Chicago Cubs winning the World Series was a big deal. Like, a really big deal, according to Fortune, which put the team’s president, Theo Epstein, on top of its “World’s Greatest Leaders” list on Thursday. The 43-year-old baseball mastermind beat out Chinese businessman Jack Ma, the executive chairman of the ever-growing Alibaba commerce empire, as well as No. 3 Pope Francis — you know, the head of the Catholic Church.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/03/23/cubs-mastermind-theo-epstein-is-no-1-on-fortunes-greatest-leaders-list-the-pope-is-no-3/?utm_term=.f24b2adf6504
PB&J to the Rescue!
From ESPN -
The NBA's Secret Addiction
ESPN exclusive! How one performance-enhancing sandwich has spread through the NBA.
by Baxter Holmes
The legend has been passed down by NBA generations, chronicled like a Homeric odyssey. The tale they tell is of Kevin Garnett and the 2007-08 Celtics, and the seminal moment of a revolution. Bryan Doo, Celtics strength and conditioning coach, recalls it as if it were yesterday, how before a game in December of that season, an unnamed Celtic -- his identity lost to history, like the other horsemen on Paul Revere's midnight ride -- complained to Doo of incipient hunger pangs.
"Man, I could go for a PB&J," the player said.
And then Garnett, in an act with historical reverberations, uttered the now-fabled words: "Yeah, let's get on that."
Garnett had not, to that point, made the PB&J a part of his pregame routine. But on that night in Boston, as Doo recalls, Garnett partook, then played ... and played well. Afterward, from his perch as the Celtics' fiery leader, Garnett issued the following commandment: "We're going to need PB&J in here every game now."
And so a sandwich revolution was born.
http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/page/presents18931717/the-nba-secret-addiction
The NBA's Secret Addiction
ESPN exclusive! How one performance-enhancing sandwich has spread through the NBA.
by Baxter Holmes
The legend has been passed down by NBA generations, chronicled like a Homeric odyssey. The tale they tell is of Kevin Garnett and the 2007-08 Celtics, and the seminal moment of a revolution. Bryan Doo, Celtics strength and conditioning coach, recalls it as if it were yesterday, how before a game in December of that season, an unnamed Celtic -- his identity lost to history, like the other horsemen on Paul Revere's midnight ride -- complained to Doo of incipient hunger pangs.
"Man, I could go for a PB&J," the player said.
And then Garnett, in an act with historical reverberations, uttered the now-fabled words: "Yeah, let's get on that."
Garnett had not, to that point, made the PB&J a part of his pregame routine. But on that night in Boston, as Doo recalls, Garnett partook, then played ... and played well. Afterward, from his perch as the Celtics' fiery leader, Garnett issued the following commandment: "We're going to need PB&J in here every game now."
And so a sandwich revolution was born.
http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/page/presents18931717/the-nba-secret-addiction
Thursday, March 23, 2017
Dance Theatre of Harlem 2017 New York Season
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dance-theatre-harlem-short-film_us_58d3fa4fe4b0b22b0d1ab3a1?fbmv326p7mzir7ldi&
Random Acts of Kindness
Here's a shout out to the blog "Inspiration Made Simple" for the "Random Acts of Kindness" ideas and cards. Thank you!
http://www.inspirationmadesimple.com/2014/08/random-acts-of-kindness-ideas-and-free-printable/
http://www.inspirationmadesimple.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/raok.pdf
http://www.inspirationmadesimple.com/2014/08/random-acts-of-kindness-ideas-and-free-printable/
http://www.inspirationmadesimple.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/raok.pdf
Why Design Matters
From OZY -
A DESIGN EXPERT ON MAXIMIZING CREATIVITY IN THE WORKPLACE
By Eugene S. Robinson
“My biggest insight was that you could look at a product as being the manifestation or outcome of a set of interpersonal and organizational ‘negotiations,’ or battles, over subjective decisions,” Owens says, looking much younger than his nearly 50 years. At Dell, “the operations people won most of the battles,” he says, leading to machines that were cheap, modular, efficiently produced and not much to look at. Contrast with Apple’s machines, “you could see that design and marketing had won quite a few more battles — their machines were expensive, hard to produce and beautiful.”
http://www.ozy.com/rising-stars/a-design-expert-on-maximizing-creativity-in-the-workplace/68436
A DESIGN EXPERT ON MAXIMIZING CREATIVITY IN THE WORKPLACE
By Eugene S. Robinson
“My biggest insight was that you could look at a product as being the manifestation or outcome of a set of interpersonal and organizational ‘negotiations,’ or battles, over subjective decisions,” Owens says, looking much younger than his nearly 50 years. At Dell, “the operations people won most of the battles,” he says, leading to machines that were cheap, modular, efficiently produced and not much to look at. Contrast with Apple’s machines, “you could see that design and marketing had won quite a few more battles — their machines were expensive, hard to produce and beautiful.”
http://www.ozy.com/rising-stars/a-design-expert-on-maximizing-creativity-in-the-workplace/68436
Profiting From Pain
From the Huffington Post -
When White People Profit Off Of Black Pain
The controversy surrounding a painting of Emmett Till by a white artist reveals the limits of white empathy.
By Zeba Blay
What exactly are the implications of white artists creating (and profiting) off of work that depicts black trauma and black pain?
~~~~~~~~~~
Schutz’s “Open Casket” is an oil on canvas recreation of those famous photos. “Open Casket” is a weak attempt at white solidarity with black folk.
The painting makes an attempt at forcing to viewer to meditate on loss and the “radical” visibility of the black body, but it fails. Why? Because there is nothing radical about a white artist misappropriating and profiting off of black trauma.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/when-white-people-profit-off-of-black-pain_us_58d2a435e4b0b22b0d18ee3d?9loywrk9
When White People Profit Off Of Black Pain
The controversy surrounding a painting of Emmett Till by a white artist reveals the limits of white empathy.
By Zeba Blay
What exactly are the implications of white artists creating (and profiting) off of work that depicts black trauma and black pain?
~~~~~~~~~~
Schutz’s “Open Casket” is an oil on canvas recreation of those famous photos. “Open Casket” is a weak attempt at white solidarity with black folk.
The painting makes an attempt at forcing to viewer to meditate on loss and the “radical” visibility of the black body, but it fails. Why? Because there is nothing radical about a white artist misappropriating and profiting off of black trauma.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/when-white-people-profit-off-of-black-pain_us_58d2a435e4b0b22b0d18ee3d?9loywrk9
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Costco Delivery Coming Soon
From Consumerist -
Some Costco Shoppers Can Now Get Groceries Delivered
By Mary Beth Quirk
Costco is partnering with a service called Shipt, one of many companies that caters to the online shopping set, to offer delivery to customers in the Tampa Bay area.
From there, the plan is to expand to 50 markets and more than 30 million households by the end of this year. Shipt already works with Whole Foods, Meijer, H-E-B, Harris Teeter, and other grocery chains to offer delivery service in some areas.
https://consumerist.com/2017/03/22/some-costco-shoppers-can-now-get-groceries-delivered/
Some Costco Shoppers Can Now Get Groceries Delivered
By Mary Beth Quirk
Costco is partnering with a service called Shipt, one of many companies that caters to the online shopping set, to offer delivery to customers in the Tampa Bay area.
From there, the plan is to expand to 50 markets and more than 30 million households by the end of this year. Shipt already works with Whole Foods, Meijer, H-E-B, Harris Teeter, and other grocery chains to offer delivery service in some areas.
https://consumerist.com/2017/03/22/some-costco-shoppers-can-now-get-groceries-delivered/
Brain Work
From OZY -
THE BIOENGINEER TRYING TO PREDICT AND PREVENT CONCUSSIONS
By Melissa Pandika
The good news: Advances in brain imaging and other technology have yielded a slew of metrics for measuring head impacts. The Holy Grail is to translate these data into biomarkers for diagnosing and preventing concussions, says Gerald Grant, a pediatric neurosurgeon at Stanford. To that end, researchers are racing to develop sensor systems that measure the forces the head sustains during an impact — with Camarillo among those in the lead. “He’s definitely a rising star,” Smith says. “Something like his mouth guard sensor will have really, really broad applications.”
http://www.ozy.com/rising-stars/the-bioengineer-trying-to-predict-and-prevent-concussions/76239
THE BIOENGINEER TRYING TO PREDICT AND PREVENT CONCUSSIONS
By Melissa Pandika
The good news: Advances in brain imaging and other technology have yielded a slew of metrics for measuring head impacts. The Holy Grail is to translate these data into biomarkers for diagnosing and preventing concussions, says Gerald Grant, a pediatric neurosurgeon at Stanford. To that end, researchers are racing to develop sensor systems that measure the forces the head sustains during an impact — with Camarillo among those in the lead. “He’s definitely a rising star,” Smith says. “Something like his mouth guard sensor will have really, really broad applications.”
http://www.ozy.com/rising-stars/the-bioengineer-trying-to-predict-and-prevent-concussions/76239
Athletes & Politics
From the New Yorker -
THE POLITICAL ATHLETE: THEN AND NOW
By Hua Hsu
In January, Haymarket Books published “Long Shot,” the autobiography of the former N.B.A. player and “freedom fighter” Craig Hodges. Hodges was one of the finest three-point shooters of his era, playing in the N.B.A. for ten years and winning two titles with the Chicago Bulls. He was also one of the most politically outspoken players the league’s ever seen, a locker-room agitator, proselytizing to teammates and staff on behalf of grassroots political movements. And, at a time when off-court grievances were rarely aired in public, Hodges was unrelenting in his criticisms of millionaire athletes who didn’t give back to their communities. “How much money did we make here last night?” he wondered aloud to a reporter during the 1992 N.B.A. Finals. “How many lives will it change?” He went on to accuse his teammate, Michael Jordan, of “bailing out” when the superstar was asked his thoughts on the recent Los Angeles riots.
~~~~~~~~~~
Athletes have always been political. But until recently they rarely possessed the means to explain themselves. Where Hodges’s generation worked hard to ingratiate themselves with the American mainstream, today’s athletes possess a relative freedom when it comes to speaking their minds, taking risky political stands, or acting with a kind of blunt directness. It’s what makes today’s players seem so different: their capacity to share more in a late-night Instagram post than a decade of carefully stage-managed, Nike-approved Jordan documentaries. Maybe the difference between then and now is just an instinctive awareness that everything is political. The game resists our desire for it to be an escape from the rest of life, where the rules can seem arbitrary and unpredictable, and there can be one winner to every ninety-nine who have lost.
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-political-athlete-then-and-now
THE POLITICAL ATHLETE: THEN AND NOW
By Hua Hsu
In January, Haymarket Books published “Long Shot,” the autobiography of the former N.B.A. player and “freedom fighter” Craig Hodges. Hodges was one of the finest three-point shooters of his era, playing in the N.B.A. for ten years and winning two titles with the Chicago Bulls. He was also one of the most politically outspoken players the league’s ever seen, a locker-room agitator, proselytizing to teammates and staff on behalf of grassroots political movements. And, at a time when off-court grievances were rarely aired in public, Hodges was unrelenting in his criticisms of millionaire athletes who didn’t give back to their communities. “How much money did we make here last night?” he wondered aloud to a reporter during the 1992 N.B.A. Finals. “How many lives will it change?” He went on to accuse his teammate, Michael Jordan, of “bailing out” when the superstar was asked his thoughts on the recent Los Angeles riots.
~~~~~~~~~~
Athletes have always been political. But until recently they rarely possessed the means to explain themselves. Where Hodges’s generation worked hard to ingratiate themselves with the American mainstream, today’s athletes possess a relative freedom when it comes to speaking their minds, taking risky political stands, or acting with a kind of blunt directness. It’s what makes today’s players seem so different: their capacity to share more in a late-night Instagram post than a decade of carefully stage-managed, Nike-approved Jordan documentaries. Maybe the difference between then and now is just an instinctive awareness that everything is political. The game resists our desire for it to be an escape from the rest of life, where the rules can seem arbitrary and unpredictable, and there can be one winner to every ninety-nine who have lost.
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-political-athlete-then-and-now
Football Player, Rhodes Scholar, Neurosurgeon
From the Washington Post -
Myron Rolle had two dreams: play football and become a doctor. He’s almost there.
By Rick Maese
Rolle, 30, was the only prospective neurosurgeon in Florida State’s graduating class — and also the only former NFL player and the only Rhodes Scholar.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/with-neurosurgery-every-day-feels-like-a-football-game-for-myron-rolle/2017/03/21/40c4e1cc-0da1-11e7-9b0d-d27c98455440_story.html?utm_term=.16066a317d35
Myron Rolle had two dreams: play football and become a doctor. He’s almost there.
By Rick Maese
 |
| Myron Rolle opens his "Match Day" letter that shows where he will continue his medical education and residency. (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post) |
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/with-neurosurgery-every-day-feels-like-a-football-game-for-myron-rolle/2017/03/21/40c4e1cc-0da1-11e7-9b0d-d27c98455440_story.html?utm_term=.16066a317d35
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Grounds to Sue
From the New Yorker -
HOW THE FIRST AMENDMENT APPLIES TO TRUMP’S PRESIDENCY
By Lincoln Caplan
While it is unlikely that former President Barack Obama would sue Trump for libel, he very likely has a strong case. The First Amendment scholar Geoffrey Stone wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times that “there seems no doubt that Trump’s statement was false, defamatory, and at the very least made with reckless disregard for the truth.” That is the test for damaging the reputation of a public figure or official: Trump either made his assertions with knowledge of their falsity or with disregard of a high degree of probability that they were false. Obama, Stone is confident, could prove that Trump made his false charge, as the Supreme Court defined the standard, with “actual malice.”
But his charge of McCarthyism against Obama points in a different direction. In 1954, Senator Joseph McCarthy was censured by the Senate, 67–22, for bringing it “into dishonor and disrepute” and obstructing the constitutional process. The scale of the damage that McCarthy did during his four-year witch hunt for communists in the federal government dwarfs what Trump has done so far, in less than two months in office. The nature of what Trump did, however, by accusing his predecessor of an illegal act without providing any support for the charge, amounts to the same offense that the Senate condemned McCarthy for: abuse of power.
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-the-first-amendment-applies-to-trumps-presidency
HOW THE FIRST AMENDMENT APPLIES TO TRUMP’S PRESIDENCY
By Lincoln Caplan
While it is unlikely that former President Barack Obama would sue Trump for libel, he very likely has a strong case. The First Amendment scholar Geoffrey Stone wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times that “there seems no doubt that Trump’s statement was false, defamatory, and at the very least made with reckless disregard for the truth.” That is the test for damaging the reputation of a public figure or official: Trump either made his assertions with knowledge of their falsity or with disregard of a high degree of probability that they were false. Obama, Stone is confident, could prove that Trump made his false charge, as the Supreme Court defined the standard, with “actual malice.”
But his charge of McCarthyism against Obama points in a different direction. In 1954, Senator Joseph McCarthy was censured by the Senate, 67–22, for bringing it “into dishonor and disrepute” and obstructing the constitutional process. The scale of the damage that McCarthy did during his four-year witch hunt for communists in the federal government dwarfs what Trump has done so far, in less than two months in office. The nature of what Trump did, however, by accusing his predecessor of an illegal act without providing any support for the charge, amounts to the same offense that the Senate condemned McCarthy for: abuse of power.
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-the-first-amendment-applies-to-trumps-presidency
Electronic Devices Ban
From the National.ae -
ABU DHABI // Businessmen, parents and frequent travellers from the UAE to the US spoke of their frustration about travelling on long-haul flights without their electronic devices.
~~~~~~~~~~
A Jordanian businessman said he cancelled his US travel plans after the ban was announced.
"This issue is very annoying for me because I am a businessman and when I travel the trip could last for about 16 hours. I use my laptop on board the flight to finish my work or contact my clients through Skype," said Amjad Mohammed, 28.
"It is pointless. I do not know what is the significance of this ban. On the contrary, it stimulates stealing the luggage of passengers.
"If they will feel that I am a danger to them, I do not want to go there and do not need it because I will be humiliated by this approach."
Parents will also have to look at alternative ways to keep young children occupied throughout the flight, travellers said.
Canadian Samarra Abu Samra, 30, a ballet studio director, is flying to the US with her children on Sunday, a day after the ban is due to come into force. She has four-month-old twins, a four-year-old and an eight-year-old.
"I need to start prepping my children for 16 hours of colouring book sessions," she said.
"My kids are allowed to use their iPads on vacation only and on the flights. I have no other option to keep them occupied for the entire flight next week and, unfortunately, it is a day flight so they will not sleep either."
http://www.thenational.ae/uae/frequent-flyers-to-us-frustrated-by-electronics-ban
ABU DHABI // Businessmen, parents and frequent travellers from the UAE to the US spoke of their frustration about travelling on long-haul flights without their electronic devices.
~~~~~~~~~~
A Jordanian businessman said he cancelled his US travel plans after the ban was announced.
"This issue is very annoying for me because I am a businessman and when I travel the trip could last for about 16 hours. I use my laptop on board the flight to finish my work or contact my clients through Skype," said Amjad Mohammed, 28.
"It is pointless. I do not know what is the significance of this ban. On the contrary, it stimulates stealing the luggage of passengers.
"If they will feel that I am a danger to them, I do not want to go there and do not need it because I will be humiliated by this approach."
Parents will also have to look at alternative ways to keep young children occupied throughout the flight, travellers said.
Canadian Samarra Abu Samra, 30, a ballet studio director, is flying to the US with her children on Sunday, a day after the ban is due to come into force. She has four-month-old twins, a four-year-old and an eight-year-old.
"I need to start prepping my children for 16 hours of colouring book sessions," she said.
"My kids are allowed to use their iPads on vacation only and on the flights. I have no other option to keep them occupied for the entire flight next week and, unfortunately, it is a day flight so they will not sleep either."
http://www.thenational.ae/uae/frequent-flyers-to-us-frustrated-by-electronics-ban
Quote
From Slate -
“A giant middle finger”: The Trump administration’s new laptop ban—restricting large electronics on direct flights to the U.S. out of 10 countries on eight airlines—is more than just an inconvenience, Daniel Gross writes. It’s the latest in Trump’s “business class warfare,” and insults the very people you would think he would want to keep happy.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2017/03/21/trump_s_laptop_ban_is_a_giant_middle_finger_to_business_travelers.html?wpsrc=newsletter_tis&sid=554654ea10defb39638b510d
“A giant middle finger”: The Trump administration’s new laptop ban—restricting large electronics on direct flights to the U.S. out of 10 countries on eight airlines—is more than just an inconvenience, Daniel Gross writes. It’s the latest in Trump’s “business class warfare,” and insults the very people you would think he would want to keep happy.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2017/03/21/trump_s_laptop_ban_is_a_giant_middle_finger_to_business_travelers.html?wpsrc=newsletter_tis&sid=554654ea10defb39638b510d
Responding With His Money
From the Huffington Post -
While Trump Attacks Colin Kaepernick, The Quarterback Is Donating To Meals On Wheels
When the president goes low, Colin Kaepernick goes high.
By Maxwell Strachan
On Monday at a rally in Louisville, Kentucky, President Donald Trump took aim at NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who decided last season not to stand for the national anthem in protest of the mistreatment of people of color in the U.S.
“There was an article today … that NFL owners don’t want to pick [Kaepernick] up because they don’t want to get a nasty tweet from Donald Trump,” Trump said. “Do you believe that?”
He added, “I said, ‘If I remember that one, I’m gonna report it to the people of Kentucky because they like it when people actually stand for the American flag.’”
Kaepernick responded Tuesday not with his mouth, but with his money. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reported earlier today that the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback was donating $50,000 to Meals on Wheels America, which could face reduced federal funding if Trump’s budget were to be approved. (Worth noting: Meals on Wheels only gets a small percentage of its funding from the Community Development Block Grant and other federal programs that Trump has proposed cutting.)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/colin-kaepernick-donald-trump_us_58d185f0e4b0ec9d29e022ed?gml7qghd7xwhwu3di&
While Trump Attacks Colin Kaepernick, The Quarterback Is Donating To Meals On Wheels
When the president goes low, Colin Kaepernick goes high.
By Maxwell Strachan
On Monday at a rally in Louisville, Kentucky, President Donald Trump took aim at NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who decided last season not to stand for the national anthem in protest of the mistreatment of people of color in the U.S.
“There was an article today … that NFL owners don’t want to pick [Kaepernick] up because they don’t want to get a nasty tweet from Donald Trump,” Trump said. “Do you believe that?”
He added, “I said, ‘If I remember that one, I’m gonna report it to the people of Kentucky because they like it when people actually stand for the American flag.’”
Kaepernick responded Tuesday not with his mouth, but with his money. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reported earlier today that the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback was donating $50,000 to Meals on Wheels America, which could face reduced federal funding if Trump’s budget were to be approved. (Worth noting: Meals on Wheels only gets a small percentage of its funding from the Community Development Block Grant and other federal programs that Trump has proposed cutting.)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/colin-kaepernick-donald-trump_us_58d185f0e4b0ec9d29e022ed?gml7qghd7xwhwu3di&
Loving Your Brain
From the Good -
A Former Olympic Snowboarder On His Journey From Tragedy To Mindfulness
After a brain injury derailed his career, Kevin Pearce dedicated his life to teaching others to love their brain
by Sheila Mulrooney Eldred
In 2009, Kevin Pearce was considered to be one of the best snowboarders in the world. Then, while training to compete against rival Shaun White in the 2010 Olympics, Pearce collided with the half-pipe wall, shattering his left eye socket and causing bleeding to his brain. He suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury that almost killed him, and after a six-day coma and years of recovery, his competitive snowboarding career was over. The day of the accident, Pearce was riding with symptoms of a recent concussion; he wasn’t aware that training after a concussion amplifies the risk for the often-fatal Second Impact Syndrome. (He was wearing a helmet in each incident.) Now, Pearce and his brother, Adam, have founded the LoveYourBrain Foundation, a nonprofit which aims to educate people about brain injury and the healing powers of yoga and meditation.
“We’re hoping we can help athletes and young people see the long-term effects that TBI can have and help people understand how fragile our brains are,” Adam says. “The more we can show people what we have been through with this really difficult experience, we can help people make smart decisions to reduce their risks.”
https://sports.good.is/features/kevin-pearce-snowboard
A Former Olympic Snowboarder On His Journey From Tragedy To Mindfulness
After a brain injury derailed his career, Kevin Pearce dedicated his life to teaching others to love their brain
by Sheila Mulrooney Eldred
In 2009, Kevin Pearce was considered to be one of the best snowboarders in the world. Then, while training to compete against rival Shaun White in the 2010 Olympics, Pearce collided with the half-pipe wall, shattering his left eye socket and causing bleeding to his brain. He suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury that almost killed him, and after a six-day coma and years of recovery, his competitive snowboarding career was over. The day of the accident, Pearce was riding with symptoms of a recent concussion; he wasn’t aware that training after a concussion amplifies the risk for the often-fatal Second Impact Syndrome. (He was wearing a helmet in each incident.) Now, Pearce and his brother, Adam, have founded the LoveYourBrain Foundation, a nonprofit which aims to educate people about brain injury and the healing powers of yoga and meditation.
“We’re hoping we can help athletes and young people see the long-term effects that TBI can have and help people understand how fragile our brains are,” Adam says. “The more we can show people what we have been through with this really difficult experience, we can help people make smart decisions to reduce their risks.”
https://sports.good.is/features/kevin-pearce-snowboard
Dope Grannies
http://www.ozy.com/provocateurs/dope-grannies-can-cannabis-help-senior-citizens-survive/65957
She Escaped!
From BlackWebAmerica -
An Alabama woman is lucky to be alive – thanks to a Facebook video. A week ago, nursing student Brittany Diggs was forced into the trunk of her own car by a man demanding money. Diggs was terrified, until she remembered watching a Facebook video that explained how to get out of a car trunk via a latch newer cars have inside their trunks.
Essence.com reports:
Brittany Diggs appeared on the Today show Monday, describing the terrifying ordeal she experienced on Tuesday when a man approached her with a gun and demanded money while she was walking to her apartment in Birmingham.
https://blackamericaweb.com/2017/03/21/facebook-and-insulin-pump-help-abducted-woman-free-herself-from-car-trunk/
Nasty Tweets Lead to Donations
From Kotaku -
Game Developers Respond To Nasty Tweets By Donating Thousands To 'Girls Make Games'
By Jason Schreier
Over the weekend, Naughty Dog artist Alex Neonakis started getting nasty Twitter messages from GamerGaters and other internet cretins. Exasperated, she tweeted some screencaps, along with a message: “I just donated to @GirlsMakeGames in honor of these lovely boys. Thanks guys!” Other developers followed her lead.
By Tuesday, hundreds of game developers had donated thousands of dollars to Girls Make Games, an organization that provides workshops and summer camps to young women who are interested in developing video games. (Before you start asking “why isn’t there a ‘Boys Make Games’?”, consider that, by the ESA’s account, just 22% of game industry employees are women. That’s why.)
http://kotaku.com/game-developers-respond-to-nasty-tweets-by-donating-tho-1793483940
Game Developers Respond To Nasty Tweets By Donating Thousands To 'Girls Make Games'
By Jason Schreier
Over the weekend, Naughty Dog artist Alex Neonakis started getting nasty Twitter messages from GamerGaters and other internet cretins. Exasperated, she tweeted some screencaps, along with a message: “I just donated to @GirlsMakeGames in honor of these lovely boys. Thanks guys!” Other developers followed her lead.
By Tuesday, hundreds of game developers had donated thousands of dollars to Girls Make Games, an organization that provides workshops and summer camps to young women who are interested in developing video games. (Before you start asking “why isn’t there a ‘Boys Make Games’?”, consider that, by the ESA’s account, just 22% of game industry employees are women. That’s why.)
http://kotaku.com/game-developers-respond-to-nasty-tweets-by-donating-tho-1793483940
Unclaimed Property
From the NY Times California Today -
There is more than $8 billion just sitting in the unclaimed property fund run by California.
Some of it could be yours.
The state controller requires that banks, insurers and other companies turn over customers’ property after three years of account inactivity.
It comes in the form of stock dividends, tax refunds, wages — even the contents of safe deposit boxes.
The controller’s office says more than 32 million individuals and businesses in its database have unclaimed property. (I plugged in my name and found an old $20 bank balance.)
To find out if you’re owed money, it’s as easy a Google search. Give it a go here.
There is more than $8 billion just sitting in the unclaimed property fund run by California.
Some of it could be yours.
The state controller requires that banks, insurers and other companies turn over customers’ property after three years of account inactivity.
It comes in the form of stock dividends, tax refunds, wages — even the contents of safe deposit boxes.
The controller’s office says more than 32 million individuals and businesses in its database have unclaimed property. (I plugged in my name and found an old $20 bank balance.)
To find out if you’re owed money, it’s as easy a Google search. Give it a go here.
https://ucpi.sco.ca.gov/UCP/Default.aspx
http://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/2017/03/21/california-today?nlid=38867499
Accessible Coding School
From KQED - Please share this.
Oakland Coding School’s New Pay Model: No Tuition Until You Land a Job
By Alyssa Jeong Perry
Then Vashti clicked on an online ad for Learners Guild, a 10-month developer program located in downtown Oakland. The program is one of a handful of coding schools that offer “income-share agreements,” which means students don’t have to pay until they get a job making more than $50,000 a year. And depending on their salary, graduates will fork over 12 to 20 percent of it for three years.
The coding school also offers a monthly stipend. For Vashti and the other students at Learners Guild, the stipend and income-share agreement allowed them to pursue a career change.
~~~~~~~~~~
Learners Guild president Ian Inaba believes that by using this income-share agreement model, the school removes barriers that can keep women and people of color out of tech. He said that the school is more diverse than the tech industry at large — 50 percent of students in the program are African-American and Latino, and 35 percent are female.
“There’s no reason why there aren’t women or African-American, Latino programmers,” Inaba said.
https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/03/18/oakland-coding-schools-new-pay-model-no-tuition-until-you-land-a-job/
Oakland Coding School’s New Pay Model: No Tuition Until You Land a Job
By Alyssa Jeong Perry
Then Vashti clicked on an online ad for Learners Guild, a 10-month developer program located in downtown Oakland. The program is one of a handful of coding schools that offer “income-share agreements,” which means students don’t have to pay until they get a job making more than $50,000 a year. And depending on their salary, graduates will fork over 12 to 20 percent of it for three years.
The coding school also offers a monthly stipend. For Vashti and the other students at Learners Guild, the stipend and income-share agreement allowed them to pursue a career change.
~~~~~~~~~~
Learners Guild president Ian Inaba believes that by using this income-share agreement model, the school removes barriers that can keep women and people of color out of tech. He said that the school is more diverse than the tech industry at large — 50 percent of students in the program are African-American and Latino, and 35 percent are female.
“There’s no reason why there aren’t women or African-American, Latino programmers,” Inaba said.
https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/03/18/oakland-coding-schools-new-pay-model-no-tuition-until-you-land-a-job/
What Toxic Looked Like
From Upworthy -
These old photos reveal why we needed (and still need) the EPA.
MATTHEW GAULT
http://www.upworthy.com/these-old-photos-reveal-why-we-needed-and-still-need-the-epa?c=upw1&u=6861cbea6edfdfe5a709ee39ad3c14b64135e61f
These old photos reveal why we needed (and still need) the EPA.
MATTHEW GAULT
http://www.upworthy.com/these-old-photos-reveal-why-we-needed-and-still-need-the-epa?c=upw1&u=6861cbea6edfdfe5a709ee39ad3c14b64135e61f
Highest & Lowest Paying Jobs
From Thrillist -
THESE MAPS SHOW THE HIGHEST AND LOWEST PAYING JOBS IN ALL 50 STATES
By SAM BLUM
https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/zippia-maps-show-the-highest-and-lowest-paying-jobs-in-each-state
THESE MAPS SHOW THE HIGHEST AND LOWEST PAYING JOBS IN ALL 50 STATES
By SAM BLUM
https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/zippia-maps-show-the-highest-and-lowest-paying-jobs-in-each-state
Single Parents Day
From USA Today -
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/03/21/best-single-parents-day-posts-weve-seen-today/99446378/
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/03/21/best-single-parents-day-posts-weve-seen-today/99446378/
The Padre for Life
From Now I Know - I'm not a baseball fan, but this is a great story.
The Padre for Life
http://nowiknow.com/the-padre-for-life/
The Padre for Life
http://nowiknow.com/the-padre-for-life/
A Flying Cruise
From Bloomberg -
See All the World’s Greatest Places in One Month On a Flying Cruise
The ultra-elite trend is hoping to tap a broader crowd.
by Nikki Ekstein
So you want to see all of the world’s greatest sights … in 29 days?
Good news: For the first time ever, it’s a realistic proposition.
But there’s a catch: You’ll have to do it on a private jet. And it’ll run you $159,000 per person.
At least that’s what Edie Rodriguez, chief executive officer of Crystal Cruises, is proposing with the company’s soon-to-launch AirCruises, whose first “Around the World: Iconic Sights” tour will pit stop in Easter Island, Uluru, Lhasa, Jaipur, Victoria Falls, and Prague (among others)—all between Oct. 21 and Nov. 18.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-20/best-around-the-world-private-jet-trips-four-seasons-crystal?bcomANews=true
See All the World’s Greatest Places in One Month On a Flying Cruise
The ultra-elite trend is hoping to tap a broader crowd.
by Nikki Ekstein
So you want to see all of the world’s greatest sights … in 29 days?
Good news: For the first time ever, it’s a realistic proposition.
But there’s a catch: You’ll have to do it on a private jet. And it’ll run you $159,000 per person.
At least that’s what Edie Rodriguez, chief executive officer of Crystal Cruises, is proposing with the company’s soon-to-launch AirCruises, whose first “Around the World: Iconic Sights” tour will pit stop in Easter Island, Uluru, Lhasa, Jaipur, Victoria Falls, and Prague (among others)—all between Oct. 21 and Nov. 18.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-20/best-around-the-world-private-jet-trips-four-seasons-crystal?bcomANews=true
Monday, March 20, 2017
Love This "This is Us" Review
From Very Smart Brothas -
I BINGED WATCHED ‘THIS IS US’ AND MY FEELINGS ARE IN SHAMBLES. I MAY NEVER RECOVER. ZOMG!
Panama Jackson, 3/20/17
http://verysmartbrothas.com/watch-this-is-us/
I BINGED WATCHED ‘THIS IS US’ AND MY FEELINGS ARE IN SHAMBLES. I MAY NEVER RECOVER. ZOMG!
Panama Jackson, 3/20/17
http://verysmartbrothas.com/watch-this-is-us/
Sesame Street Parodies Trump
From the Washington Post -
https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/entertainment/sesame-streets-brutal-parodies-of-donald-trump/2017/03/20/2a53a75e-0d72-11e7-aa57-2ca1b05c41b8_video.html
This is What Terrorism Looked Like For Us
From the Huffington Post - Click the first link below for interactive map
This Interactive Map Reveals The History Of Lynching In America
Take a comprehensive, shocking look at lynchings from the 1830s to the 1960s.
By Zeba Blay
From the early 1900s to the late 1930s, African American sociologist Monroe Nathan Work researched every known lynching in the United States. Now, his tireless work has become the inspiration for an interactive map that offers a striking visualization of racist domestic terrorism spanning decades.
The Monroe Work Today research group launched a map earlier this year that allows users to discover the roughly 4,770 people of color lynched in the United States from the 1830s to the 1960s. By clicking on each colored point on the map, users can read information about each known individual, including their name and the circumstances of their lynching.
http://www.monroeworktoday.org/explore/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/this-interactive-map-reveals-the-history-of-lynching-in-america_us_58d0204fe4b0ec9d29de4056?section=us_black-voices
This Interactive Map Reveals The History Of Lynching In America
Take a comprehensive, shocking look at lynchings from the 1830s to the 1960s.
By Zeba Blay
From the early 1900s to the late 1930s, African American sociologist Monroe Nathan Work researched every known lynching in the United States. Now, his tireless work has become the inspiration for an interactive map that offers a striking visualization of racist domestic terrorism spanning decades.
The Monroe Work Today research group launched a map earlier this year that allows users to discover the roughly 4,770 people of color lynched in the United States from the 1830s to the 1960s. By clicking on each colored point on the map, users can read information about each known individual, including their name and the circumstances of their lynching.
http://www.monroeworktoday.org/explore/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/this-interactive-map-reveals-the-history-of-lynching-in-america_us_58d0204fe4b0ec9d29de4056?section=us_black-voices
Is This the Answer?
From Wired -
Running Delivery Trucks on Trolley Wires Isn’t as Crazy as It Sounds
By Jack Stewart
ELECTRIC TRUCKS OFFER all the advantages of electric cars, namely, they’re greener. Trucks are a big source of the noxious emissions linked to smog and climate change. Minimizing the number of stinky, dirty diesels rumbling through town carries obvious public health benefits. But powering delivery trucks, let alone an 18-wheeler, with a big honkin’ battery simply isn’t practical. So engineers are taking another look at a century old solution: Stringing electrical cables over the road.
Siemens, best known in the transportation world for its trains, and the truck manufacturer Scania developed a hybrid electric truck that draws power from overhead cables like a bus or trolley. You can find some of the trucks undergoing testing on a 1.25-mile stretch of highway in Gävle, Sweden, and crews installing cables alongside a stretch of the 710 and 405 highways in Los Angeles.
https://www.wired.com/2017/03/running-delivery-trucks-trolley-wires-isnt-crazy-sounds/?mbid=nl_32017_p7&CNDID=
Running Delivery Trucks on Trolley Wires Isn’t as Crazy as It Sounds
By Jack Stewart
ELECTRIC TRUCKS OFFER all the advantages of electric cars, namely, they’re greener. Trucks are a big source of the noxious emissions linked to smog and climate change. Minimizing the number of stinky, dirty diesels rumbling through town carries obvious public health benefits. But powering delivery trucks, let alone an 18-wheeler, with a big honkin’ battery simply isn’t practical. So engineers are taking another look at a century old solution: Stringing electrical cables over the road.
Siemens, best known in the transportation world for its trains, and the truck manufacturer Scania developed a hybrid electric truck that draws power from overhead cables like a bus or trolley. You can find some of the trucks undergoing testing on a 1.25-mile stretch of highway in Gävle, Sweden, and crews installing cables alongside a stretch of the 710 and 405 highways in Los Angeles.
https://www.wired.com/2017/03/running-delivery-trucks-trolley-wires-isnt-crazy-sounds/?mbid=nl_32017_p7&CNDID=
Period Tracker
Thank God I don't need this, but for you ladies who are still visited by Aunt Flo each month, there's an app that can help. It's called Clue.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/clue-period-tracker-period-ovulation-tracker/id657189652?mt=8
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/clue-period-tracker-period-ovulation-tracker/id657189652?mt=8
How About Dinner?
From 100 Days 100 Dinners -
For millennia, sharing a meal has stood as one of the few things that all of us—whoever we are and wherever we come from—have in common. In the wake of this divisive election, we're hungrier than ever for spaces to break bread, be heard, and build bridges across lines of difference.
Over the course of the first 100 days of the new Administration, we invite you to pull up a chair.
https://www.100days100dinners.us
For millennia, sharing a meal has stood as one of the few things that all of us—whoever we are and wherever we come from—have in common. In the wake of this divisive election, we're hungrier than ever for spaces to break bread, be heard, and build bridges across lines of difference.
Over the course of the first 100 days of the new Administration, we invite you to pull up a chair.
https://www.100days100dinners.us
Sunday, March 19, 2017
Filed Under "No Sh*t Sherlock"
From the Huffington Post -
White House Admits Trump ‘Insurance For Everybody’ Guarantee Isn’t Going To Happen
“The only way to have universal care, if you stop to think about it, is to force people to buy it under penalty of law.”
By Amanda Terkel
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-insurance-mulvaney_us_58cea736e4b00705db502fef?mvq1e5ddvz6txd2t9&
White House Admits Trump ‘Insurance For Everybody’ Guarantee Isn’t Going To Happen
“The only way to have universal care, if you stop to think about it, is to force people to buy it under penalty of law.”
By Amanda Terkel
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-insurance-mulvaney_us_58cea736e4b00705db502fef?mvq1e5ddvz6txd2t9&
More Affirmations for Kids
From Planet of Success -
Positive affirmations for children
Positive affirmations for children
- I am loved.
- I listen to my heart.
- I am safe.
- I have lots of friends who love me.
- My dreams are coming true.
- I am helpful.
- I am friendly.
- Every problem has an answer.
- I am kind.
- I can do it.
- I play well with others.
- I’m intelligent.
- I learn from my mistakes.
- I act responsible.
- I am calm.
- I love myself even though I sometimes fail.
http://www.planetofsuccess.com/blog/2015/powerfully-positive-affirmations-for-kids/
Daily Student Affirmations
From the Affirmation Spot -
- Today and every day, my thirst for learning is alive and well in me!
- I can learn anything! I can know anything! I can be anything!
- This semester is MY learning experience and I take from it what is useful to me.
- I love the challenge of finals! I am acing all my finals this semester.
- I am a student and being a student is ALL about the possible!
- I am a great student and getting better each and every day!
- Learning new things is a challenge and I love challenges!
- I am prepared for my tests. I love taking tests. Tests are a breeze for me.
- I thrive and I succeed at school! Learning is my gateway to an abundant future.
- When I am exposed to information that benefits me, I absorb it like a sponge!
https://affirmationspot.me/2012/01/30/student-and-learning-affirmations/
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