Thursday, November 15, 2018
Survivor recalls Jonestown tragedy 40 years later
https://apnews.com/08719a0375204841ba4efaa718b96dff
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Monday, November 12, 2018
Sunday, November 11, 2018
What Would He Think
An excerpt from the Washington Post -
I was Pat Tillman’s wife, but I can’t speak for him. Neither can you.
By Marie Tillman
I think that patriotism is complex, like Pat himself. It is not blind or unquestioning. And it’s a fool’s errand to argue over who’s allowed to claim sacrifice. Many of the kneeling athletes say they are protesting as American patriots who want the nation to be better than it is. When I look around at the vitriol aimed at them for expressing their beliefs, and at the compulsion to simplify complicated issues to pit people on opposing sides, I want to kneel, too. Because I believe we are at our best as Americans when we engage in constructive dialogue around our differences with the goal of understanding one another.
This mind-set is where change happens, progress is made and bridges are built. I believe that in our hearts we are all the same: We all want our children to be healthy and safe and to have opportunities. We may have significant differences in how we think we should get there, but divisive rhetoric will only deepen the chasm and make us forget all that we share.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/i-was-pat-tillmans-wife-but-i-cant-speak-for-him-neither-can-you/2018/11/08/18374652-d8a0-11e8-83a2-d1c3da28d6b6_story.html?utm_term=.6b244a1f165c
I was Pat Tillman’s wife, but I can’t speak for him. Neither can you.
By Marie Tillman
I think that patriotism is complex, like Pat himself. It is not blind or unquestioning. And it’s a fool’s errand to argue over who’s allowed to claim sacrifice. Many of the kneeling athletes say they are protesting as American patriots who want the nation to be better than it is. When I look around at the vitriol aimed at them for expressing their beliefs, and at the compulsion to simplify complicated issues to pit people on opposing sides, I want to kneel, too. Because I believe we are at our best as Americans when we engage in constructive dialogue around our differences with the goal of understanding one another.
This mind-set is where change happens, progress is made and bridges are built. I believe that in our hearts we are all the same: We all want our children to be healthy and safe and to have opportunities. We may have significant differences in how we think we should get there, but divisive rhetoric will only deepen the chasm and make us forget all that we share.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/i-was-pat-tillmans-wife-but-i-cant-speak-for-him-neither-can-you/2018/11/08/18374652-d8a0-11e8-83a2-d1c3da28d6b6_story.html?utm_term=.6b244a1f165c
Saturday, November 10, 2018
Getting Into Harvard
An excerpt from the NY Times -
Getting Into Harvard Is Hard. Here Are 4 Ways Applicants Get an Edge.
By Anemona Hartocollis
Harvard gives advantages to recruited athletes (A’s); legacies (L’s), or the children of Harvard graduates; applicants on the dean’s or director’s interest list (D’s), which often include the children of very wealthy donors and prominent people, mostly white; and the children (C’s) of faculty and staff. ALDCs make up only about 5 percent of applicants but 30 percent of admitted students.
While being an A.L.D.C. helps — their acceptance rate is about 45 percent, compared with 4.5 to 5 percent for the rest of the pool — it is no guarantee. (One of those rejected despite being a legacy was the judge in the federal case, Allison D. Burroughs. She went to Middlebury College instead.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/07/us/getting-into-harvard.html
Getting Into Harvard Is Hard. Here Are 4 Ways Applicants Get an Edge.
By Anemona Hartocollis
Harvard gives advantages to recruited athletes (A’s); legacies (L’s), or the children of Harvard graduates; applicants on the dean’s or director’s interest list (D’s), which often include the children of very wealthy donors and prominent people, mostly white; and the children (C’s) of faculty and staff. ALDCs make up only about 5 percent of applicants but 30 percent of admitted students.
While being an A.L.D.C. helps — their acceptance rate is about 45 percent, compared with 4.5 to 5 percent for the rest of the pool — it is no guarantee. (One of those rejected despite being a legacy was the judge in the federal case, Allison D. Burroughs. She went to Middlebury College instead.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/07/us/getting-into-harvard.html
Talking to a Jacka**
.@acosta has comported himself with remarkable restraint while dealing with this Imposter-in-Chief. But as people in Hollywood have long known -- everything is harder when you're working with animals. pic.twitter.com/5sQGaEgeeT— Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) November 10, 2018
Friday, November 9, 2018
Finding Peace at the Spot
https://bittersoutherner.com/why-am-i-on-this-stage-ray-christian-storyteller?utm_source=The+Bitter+News&utm_campaign=3fa05c3f0f-97s_2018_11_09&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8269ec3593-3fa05c3f0f-92175213&goal=0_8269ec3593-3fa05c3f0f-92175213&mc_cid=3fa05c3f0f&mc_eid=0b6dd8ed2d
Calling It Like It Is
An excerpt from the Atlantic -
America's Problem Isn't Tribalism—It's Racism
Only one of America’s major political parties relies on stoking hatred and fear against those outside its coalition.
By Adam Serwer
In the fallout from Tuesday’s midterm elections, many political analysts have concluded that blue America and red America are ever more divided, ever more at each other’s throats. But calling this “tribalism” is misleading, because only one side of this divide remotely resembles a coalition based on ethnic and religious lines, and only one side has committed itself to a political strategy that relies on stoking hatred and fear of the other. By diagnosing America’s problem as tribalism, chin-stroking pundits and their sorrowful semi-Trumpist counterparts in Congress have hidden the actual problem in American politics behind a weird euphemism.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/11/racism-not-tribalism/575173/
America's Problem Isn't Tribalism—It's Racism
Only one of America’s major political parties relies on stoking hatred and fear against those outside its coalition.
By Adam Serwer
In the fallout from Tuesday’s midterm elections, many political analysts have concluded that blue America and red America are ever more divided, ever more at each other’s throats. But calling this “tribalism” is misleading, because only one side of this divide remotely resembles a coalition based on ethnic and religious lines, and only one side has committed itself to a political strategy that relies on stoking hatred and fear of the other. By diagnosing America’s problem as tribalism, chin-stroking pundits and their sorrowful semi-Trumpist counterparts in Congress have hidden the actual problem in American politics behind a weird euphemism.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/11/racism-not-tribalism/575173/
They Do It Better
An excerpt from CNN -
10 things the UAE does better than anywhere else
By Manar Al Hinai
The United Arab Emirates is famous for its relentless sunshine, its golden dunes that roll on for miles and some of the most ambitious, opulent building projects of modern times.
But it's not all super-tall skyscrapers and shifting sands. The country founded just 47 years ago by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan is now home to more than 200 nationalities and a world pioneer in many sectors.
Each year, we welcome millions of tourists from around the world to explore the rich and diverse experiences that our Arabian gem has to offer.
Here are 10 things that make the UAE special when you travel here:
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/uae-reasons-to-visit/index.html
10 things the UAE does better than anywhere else
By Manar Al Hinai
The United Arab Emirates is famous for its relentless sunshine, its golden dunes that roll on for miles and some of the most ambitious, opulent building projects of modern times.
But it's not all super-tall skyscrapers and shifting sands. The country founded just 47 years ago by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan is now home to more than 200 nationalities and a world pioneer in many sectors.
Each year, we welcome millions of tourists from around the world to explore the rich and diverse experiences that our Arabian gem has to offer.
Here are 10 things that make the UAE special when you travel here:
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/uae-reasons-to-visit/index.html
From FAMU to the Daily Show
An excerpt from the Tallahassee Democrat -
Roy Wood Jr. of 'The Daily Show' grew into comedy at FAMU
By Mark Hinson
Stand-up Roy Wood Jr. was a student at FAMU in the late ‘90s when he took the Greyhound Bus from Tallahassee to do the opening spot at an Atlanta comedy club.
He bombed. Stunk up the joint. Tanked.
“They rattled their keys at me,” Wood, 39, said on the phone and chuckled from Manhattan recently. “The worst part of them rattling their keys is that they do it under the table. You can’t tell who is rattling and who is not.”
Instead of leaving, Wood stuck around to learn from other comics performing that night. Maybe he could get a few pointers. That is when a server walked up to his table.
“There is a two-drink minimum at this club,” she said.
“But I’m talent, I did comedy earlier tonight,” Wood said.
“No, you didn’t,” she said, offering a withering critique.
Wood ordered two bottles of water and then took the bus home. Chalk it up to tough lesson learned. He has never forgotten the trip.
https://www.tallahassee.com/story/entertainment/2018/11/07/roy-wood-jr-daily-show-comedy-central-famu-trevor-noah/1905991002/
Roy Wood Jr. of 'The Daily Show' grew into comedy at FAMU
By Mark Hinson
 |
| Getty Images |
Stand-up Roy Wood Jr. was a student at FAMU in the late ‘90s when he took the Greyhound Bus from Tallahassee to do the opening spot at an Atlanta comedy club.
He bombed. Stunk up the joint. Tanked.
“They rattled their keys at me,” Wood, 39, said on the phone and chuckled from Manhattan recently. “The worst part of them rattling their keys is that they do it under the table. You can’t tell who is rattling and who is not.”
Instead of leaving, Wood stuck around to learn from other comics performing that night. Maybe he could get a few pointers. That is when a server walked up to his table.
“There is a two-drink minimum at this club,” she said.
“But I’m talent, I did comedy earlier tonight,” Wood said.
“No, you didn’t,” she said, offering a withering critique.
Wood ordered two bottles of water and then took the bus home. Chalk it up to tough lesson learned. He has never forgotten the trip.
https://www.tallahassee.com/story/entertainment/2018/11/07/roy-wood-jr-daily-show-comedy-central-famu-trevor-noah/1905991002/
Winners in Texas
An excerpt from Upworthy -
19 black women ran for Texas county judge posts. Every single candidate won.
by Leo Shvedsky
Tuesday night’s midterm elections had a series of historic firsts, including a record-breaking year for female candidates across the nation. but the results out of one Texas county may be the most feel good story of the year.
In Harris County Texas, 19 black woman ran for judge posts. And guess what? Every single candidate won their campaign.
https://www.upworthy.com/19-black-women-ran-for-texas-county-judge-posts-every-single-candidate-won?c=upw1
Thursday, November 8, 2018
Tuesday, November 6, 2018
HBCU!
An excerpt from the Huffington Post -
The Candidates Embracing Their Black-College Roots
Andrew Gillum and Stacey Abrams are part of a wave of black politicians who are playing up their HBCU bona fides, and in turn raising the profile of the beleaguered institutions.
By ADAM HARRIS
Another, perhaps unforeseen renaissance, however, has been the rise of black politicians who graduated from these colleges. In addition to Gillum, Stacey Abrams, a gubernatorial candidate in Georgia, and Mandela Barnes, a candidate for lieutenant governor in Wisconsin, both attended historically black colleges. The prospect of so many black-college graduates being elected to statewide office in the same year is unprecedented, Keneshia Grant, an assistant professor of political science at Howard University, told me.
Now, of course, there are HBCU alums across all levels of government. Senator Kamala Harris graduated from Howard University, and the mayors of Atlanta, New Orleans, and Birmingham—all of whom were elected in 2017—also attended HBCUs. And there have previously been governors who attended black colleges: In 1989, Douglas Wilder became the governor of Virginia and the first elected black governor in the United States. In the 1870s, there was P. B. S. Pinchback, who very briefly served as the governor of Louisiana. These candidates—Abrams, Gillum, and Barnes—are continuing that black political tradition.
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/11/gillum-abrams-and-blue-wave-hbcu-politicians/574921/?utm_source=feed
The Candidates Embracing Their Black-College Roots
Andrew Gillum and Stacey Abrams are part of a wave of black politicians who are playing up their HBCU bona fides, and in turn raising the profile of the beleaguered institutions.
By ADAM HARRIS
Another, perhaps unforeseen renaissance, however, has been the rise of black politicians who graduated from these colleges. In addition to Gillum, Stacey Abrams, a gubernatorial candidate in Georgia, and Mandela Barnes, a candidate for lieutenant governor in Wisconsin, both attended historically black colleges. The prospect of so many black-college graduates being elected to statewide office in the same year is unprecedented, Keneshia Grant, an assistant professor of political science at Howard University, told me.
Now, of course, there are HBCU alums across all levels of government. Senator Kamala Harris graduated from Howard University, and the mayors of Atlanta, New Orleans, and Birmingham—all of whom were elected in 2017—also attended HBCUs. And there have previously been governors who attended black colleges: In 1989, Douglas Wilder became the governor of Virginia and the first elected black governor in the United States. In the 1870s, there was P. B. S. Pinchback, who very briefly served as the governor of Louisiana. These candidates—Abrams, Gillum, and Barnes—are continuing that black political tradition.
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/11/gillum-abrams-and-blue-wave-hbcu-politicians/574921/?utm_source=feed
VOTE!
On the road to all 254 counties of Texas. No one written off. No one taken for granted. Watch our new ad featuring Willie Nelson and RT to share. pic.twitter.com/dIVtVqF8ZK— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) November 5, 2018
Monday, November 5, 2018
Brown Ballet Shoes
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/entertainment-arts-46065366/brown-ballet-shoes-made-for-first-time
Sunday, November 4, 2018
Comfortable in His Skin
An excerpt from HuffPost -
Andrew Gillum Is At Home With His Blackness
Florida’s Democratic nominee for governor is black in a way that is commonplace in real life but basically nonexistent in high-level American politics.
By Julia Craven
See, it’s homecoming, y’all. And Gillum is a fixture of FAMU’s homecoming parade. They love him here, not in the way that fans love a celebrity or adherents love their leader. It’s simpler than that — something like a mother doting on a long-lost son. Except that Gillum is at home here. He served on the Tallahassee City Commission from 2003 to 2014 before he was elected mayor, a position he has held since. He’s a Rattler, having graduated from the university in 2003. This is his element.
Around here, Gillum needs no introduction, and he don’t meet no strangers. These are his talents. He is at home everywhere, and everywhere he is loved like someone who finally came home.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/andrew-gillum-florida-governor-race_us_5bdc8bc1e4b09d43e31ec713
Andrew Gillum Is At Home With His Blackness
Florida’s Democratic nominee for governor is black in a way that is commonplace in real life but basically nonexistent in high-level American politics.
By Julia Craven
See, it’s homecoming, y’all. And Gillum is a fixture of FAMU’s homecoming parade. They love him here, not in the way that fans love a celebrity or adherents love their leader. It’s simpler than that — something like a mother doting on a long-lost son. Except that Gillum is at home here. He served on the Tallahassee City Commission from 2003 to 2014 before he was elected mayor, a position he has held since. He’s a Rattler, having graduated from the university in 2003. This is his element.
Around here, Gillum needs no introduction, and he don’t meet no strangers. These are his talents. He is at home everywhere, and everywhere he is loved like someone who finally came home.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/andrew-gillum-florida-governor-race_us_5bdc8bc1e4b09d43e31ec713
A Grim Education: 72 Years of School Shootings
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/10/school-shooting-survivors.html
Friday, November 2, 2018
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
96-and-a-half
What is on my mind will be coming out of my mouth as you watch this: pic.twitter.com/fZkyGg8rlU— carl reiner (@carlreiner) October 30, 2018
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Monday, October 29, 2018
Sunday, October 28, 2018
Meet a Hallmark Card Writer
An excerpt from the New York Times -
She Made the Shift From Academic Writing to Hallmark Cards
As told to Perry Garfinkel
 |
| Through her writing at Hallmark, Melvina Young tries to reach people on a direct, emotional level. CreditCreditChristopher Smith for The New York Times |
How hard could it be to write pithy lines for a greeting card?
That’s what many people think, that we are the lowbrow ditch diggers of the writing profession, the punch lines of jokes and films. Frankly I, too, thought this would be a quotidian task.
But it requires a specific, well-honed skill set. I do a lot of research, sit in on focus groups, read The New York Times, check discussion boards, Tumblr, Pew Research, Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight, consumer trend studies, and we have team brainstorming sessions before I sit down to write.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/26/business/from-academic-writing-to-hallmark-cards.html
Quote
An excerpt from ELLE - (Bold is mine)
Megyn Kelly Has Always Been Racist
BY MICHAEL ARCENEAUX
Lack and others at NBC News who championed Kelly made a calculated choice to sacrifice the humanity of others for the sake of a perceived ratings boost. They wanted a return on their investment and were willing to put up with the stench until it became unbearable. But you can’t Febreze a defense of blackface—particularly when you managed to never match the ratings of the Black talent you replaced.
https://www.elle.com/culture/a24317698/megyn-kelly-has-always-been-racist/
Megyn Kelly Has Always Been Racist
BY MICHAEL ARCENEAUX
Lack and others at NBC News who championed Kelly made a calculated choice to sacrifice the humanity of others for the sake of a perceived ratings boost. They wanted a return on their investment and were willing to put up with the stench until it became unbearable. But you can’t Febreze a defense of blackface—particularly when you managed to never match the ratings of the Black talent you replaced.
https://www.elle.com/culture/a24317698/megyn-kelly-has-always-been-racist/
Saturday, October 27, 2018
Friday, October 26, 2018
Libraries Around the World
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2018/10/a-photo-appreciation-of-libraries/573811/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=atlantic-daily-newsletter&utm_content=20181026&silverid-ref=MzEwMTkwMTQ4ODk4S0
Words Matter
Today they tried to murder two Presidents as well as public servants and journalists. Make no mistake, these terrorists were encouraged and emboldened by the hate speech of Donald Trump. If you can’t see the clear menace of this man’s influence by now then you are a part of it. pic.twitter.com/L7kYcpcPKO— Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) October 24, 2018
Monday, October 22, 2018
Sunday, October 21, 2018
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